An Interview with the Yemeni Designer on "Sifr" Podcast – Hosted by Salah Al-Dahar

Salah Al-Dahar: Welcome to the first episode of "Sifr" Podcast. Our guest today is a man who didn't just write letters but rebuilt them digitally. Sultan Al-Maqtari, the Yemeni type designer with over 200 Arabic fonts. Sultan, when did this journey truly begin?

Sultan Al-Maqtari: Welcome, Salah. It started at home; my father was an architect with beautiful handwriting, and he was the first to put a pen in my hand. But the real shift was a "technical coincidence." After returning from Moscow and opening an advertising shop, computers entered the field. I hated the available fonts back then—they were lifeless. I thought, "Why don't I create my own?" That’s how (Sultan Fonts) started in 2003.

Salah Al-Dahar: Many think font design is just "pretty drawing," but you speak of it as a philosophy and a function. How so?

Sultan Al-Maqtari: Exactly. A font isn't just decoration. Digital type is a technical extension of manual calligraphy but with a different purpose. For example, when designing for children, I make it rounded and close to hand movement. For marketing to women, we lean towards elegant, soft fonts. Typography is a "visual sensation" that affects the reader before they even read the words!

Salah Al-Dahar: Let’s talk about your massive project: digitizing "Musnad." How did you move this heritage from ancient rocks to modern keyboards?

Sultan Al-Maqtari: It was painful to see our history excluded from the digital space. I started in 2004 by studying inscriptions in museums. In 2007, with researcher Dr. Kamal Mansour, we submitted a proposal to Unicode to include Musnad as a global standard. Today, anyone can type in Musnad on their phone thanks to that effort.

You can view the technical proposal via Unicode here: South Arabian Script Proposal

Salah Al-Dahar: But this creativity faces the "monster" of piracy. How do you deal with your work being stolen?

Sultan Al-Maqtari: That’s the real pain. You see your fonts on major TV channels and huge ads without even a "thank you" or a license. Piracy doesn't just steal money; it discourages the entire industry. However, I’ve recently noticed a shift in awareness—young designers are reaching out for official licenses, which gives me hope.

Salah Al-Dahar: A final word for the young designers listening to us?

Sultan Al-Maqtari: Don’t wait for support. Start, persist, and learn programming alongside design. A designer who doesn't understand the technical side will remain limited. We need a generation to carry this legacy; the Arabic letter is our remaining identity.