29LT Ada: Ruqah Type System

29LT Ada is a contemporary type design based on the Ruqʿah Arabic calligraphic style. It is a superfamily of Sharp, Flat, and Round typefaces, each in 6 weights, adding up to 18 styles. With all of its variants, Ada is the largest Ruqʿah-based type system to date. Challenging the boundaries of the style, it acts as a strong visual communication tool with different typographic voices.

29LT ADA DIVERSE TYPE FAMILY

The three styles give vast typographic hierarchical options. It makes the Ruqʿah style a versatile design tool offering different typographic solutions and endless possibilities. While each style has its own skin, they all share the same essential inner skeleton. They can exist individually and combine perfectly when typeset together. All the fonts share an equal foundation and structure, but have distinctive aspects and features. It is a superfamily with three voices.

In general, all the heavyweights of all three styles can be considered as display styles. With high-contrast letterforms, all of the weights of the Sharp are classified as display or headlines fonts, while the Flat and the Round can be considered text or body typefaces offering a homogeneous weight distribution in small point sizes.

Ada Sharp and Ada Flat are united in one variable font of two axes: weight and contrast. On the other hand, the Round stands alone as a separate variable font with only one weight axis.

Ada Sharp is a display typeface with steep cuts, pointy terminals, and high contrast. It is the closest in style to the traditional calligraphic Ruqʿah style.

Ada Flat is a blunt typeface with neutral cuts, straight terminals, and low contrast. It can be described as a Neo-Ruqʿah typographic style, focusing on the flow of the pen stroke while removing any additional calligraphic cuts.

Ada Round is a rounded low contrast typeface with smooth cuts. It comes close to handwriting style with a ballpoint pen.

WHY IT IS A TOP PICK

Generally, the Ruqʿah style can accompany the Naskh style for titling or to add an extra level of typographic hierarchy. 29LT Ada can accompany any other 29LT typefaces based on the Neo-Naskh style or even Kufic geometric ones. 29LT Ada diverse styles can work together for different typographic voices, or accompany other typefaces as an alternative style such as a slanted style.