The BBC commissioned Titus Nemeth to customise his typeface Nassim as part of a major redesign of the BBC World Service web portals. They required an Arabic typeface with high legibility and a contemporary aesthetic.
About BBC Nassim Arabic
The BBC commissioned Titus Nemeth to develop an extended and customised version of his award-winning typeface Nassim. BBC World Service – the world’s largest broadcasting service – underwent a major redesign of all its web portals at the time. The design team, around Senior Creative Director Kutlu Çanlıoğlu, was looking for an Arabic typeface with high legibility and a contemporary aesthetic, that would work on the screen, and across platforms. A challenging task since there was no successful implementation of Arabic webfonts at that point.
The project was realised in close cooperation with Rosetta and was the first of its kind to bring distinguished Arabic typography to the web. Language-specific editions of the fonts for Arabic, Pashto, Persian, and Urdu made it possible to deliver news in a culturally sensitive way. Each of the fonts has a strong tonality, unique to the respective region. The development and successful application of BBC Nassim marks an important step for digital Arabic typography. It set a new standard as millions of people around the globe read their news in it every day. The typeface was in operation from 2010–11 until 2021.
Supported scripts and languages
Arabic
36 languages- Aimaq
- Algerian Arabic
- Baharna Arabic
- Chadian Arabic
- Dari
- Dehwari
- Dogri (individual language)
- Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic
- Egyptian Arabic
- Gulf Arabic
- Hadrami Arabic
- Hazaragi
- Hijazi Arabic
- Iranian Persian
- Iraqi Arabic
- Libyan Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic
- Najdi Arabic
- North Levantine Arabic
- North Mesopotamian Arabic
- Omani Arabic
- Qashqa'i
- Saidi Arabic
- Sanaani Arabic
- Sindhi
- South Levantine Arabic
- Southern Uzbek
- Standard Arabic
- Standard Malay
- Sudanese Arabic
- Sudanese Creole Arabic
- Talysh
- Ta’izzi-Adeni Arabic
- Tunisian Arabic
- Uighur
- Urdu
Latin
315 languages- Acheron
- Achinese
- Acholi
- Afar
- Afrikaans
- Ahtna
- Alekano
- Aleut
- Amahuaca
- Amarakaeri
- Amis
- Anaang
- Andaandi, Dongolawi
- Anuta
- Ao Naga
- Aragonese
- Arbëreshë Albanian
- Arvanitika Albanian
- Asháninka
- Ashéninka Perené
- Asu (Tanzania)
- Atayal
- Balinese
- Bari
- Basque
- Batak Dairi
- Batak Karo
- Batak Mandailing
- Batak Simalungun
- Batak Toba
- Bemba (Zambia)
- Bena (Tanzania)
- Bikol
- Bislama
- Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo
- Bosnian
- Breton
- Buginese
- Candoshi-Shapra
- Caquinte
- Caribbean Hindustani
- Cashibo-Cacataibo
- Catalan
- Cebuano
- Central Aymara
- Central Kurdish
- Central Nahuatl
- Chamorro
- Chavacano
- Chiga
- Chiltepec Chinantec
- Chokwe
- Chuukese
- Cimbrian
- Cofán
- Congo Swahili
- Cook Islands Māori
- Cornish
- Corsican
- Creek
- Crimean Tatar
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dehu
- Dimli
- Dutch
- Eastern Arrernte
- Eastern Oromo
- Embu
- English
- Ese Ejja
- Falam Chin
- Faroese
- Fijian
- Filipino
- Finnish
- French
- Friulian
- Gagauz
- Galician
- Ganda
- Garifuna
- Ga’anda
- German
- Gheg Albanian
- Gilbertese
- Gooniyandi
- Gourmanchéma
- Guadeloupean Creole French
- Gusii
- Haitian
- Hakha Chin
- Hani
- Hiligaynon
- Ho-Chunk
- Hopi
- Huastec
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Iloko
- Inari Sami
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Istro Romanian
- Italian
- Ixcatlán Mazatec
- Jamaican Creole English
- Japanese
- Javanese
- Jola-Fonyi
- K'iche'
- Kabuverdianu
- Kala Lagaw Ya
- Kalaallisut
- Kalenjin
- Kamba (Kenya)
- Kaonde
- Kaqchikel
- Karelian
- Kashubian
- Kekchí
- Kenzi, Mattokki
- Khasi
- Kikuyu
- Kimbundu
- Kinyarwanda
- Kirmanjki
- Kituba (DRC)
- Kongo
- Konzo
- Kuanyama
- Kven Finnish
- Kölsch
- Ladin
- Ladino
- Latgalian
- Ligurian
- Lithuanian
- Lombard
- Low German
- Lower Sorbian
- Lozi
- Luba-Lulua
- Lule Sami
- Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)
- Luxembourgish
- Macedo-Romanian
- Madurese
- Makhuwa
- Makhuwa-Meetto
- Makonde
- Makwe
- Malagasy
- Malaysian
- Maltese
- Mandinka
- Mandjak
- Mankanya
- Manx
- Maore Comorian
- Maori
- Mapudungun
- Marshallese
- Matsés
- Mauritian Creole
- Meriam Mir
- Meru
- Mezquital Otomi
- Minangkabau
- Mirandese
- Mizo
- Mohawk
- Montenegrin
- Munsee
- Murrinh-Patha
- Muslim Tat
- Mwani
- Mískito
- Naga Pidgin
- Ndonga
- Neapolitan
- Ngazidja Comorian
- Niuean
- Nobiin
- Nomatsiguenga
- North Azerbaijani
- North Ndebele
- Northern Kurdish
- Northern Qiandong Miao
- Northern Sami
- Northern Uzbek
- Norwegian
- Nyanja
- Nyankole
- Occitan
- Ojitlán Chinantec
- Orma
- Oroqen
- Otuho
- Palauan
- Paluan
- Pampanga
- Papantla Totonac
- Papiamento
- Pedi
- Picard
- Pichis Ashéninka
- Piemontese
- Pijin
- Pintupi-Luritja
- Pipil
- Pite Sami
- Pohnpeian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Potawatomi
- Prussian
- Purepecha
- Quechua
- Romanian
- Romansh
- Rotokas
- Rundi
- Rwa
- Samburu
- Samoan
- Sango
- Sangu (Tanzania)
- Saramaccan
- Sardinian
- Scottish Gaelic
- Secoya
- Sena
- Seri
- Seselwa Creole French
- Shambala
- Shawnee
- Shipibo-Conibo
- Shona
- Sicilian
- Silesian
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Soga
- Somali
- Soninke
- South Azerbaijani
- South Ndebele
- Southern Aymara
- Southern Qiandong Miao
- Southern Sami
- Southern Sotho
- Spanish
- Sranan Tongo
- Standard Estonian
- Standard Latvian
- Standard Malay
- Sundanese
- Swahili
- Swati
- Swedish
- Swiss German
- Tagalog
- Tahitian
- Taita
- Talysh
- Tedim Chin
- Tetum
- Tetun Dili
- Tiv
- Tok Pisin
- Tokelau
- Tonga (Tonga Islands)
- Tonga (Zambia)
- Tosk Albanian
- Totontepec Mixe
- Tsakhur
- Tsonga
- Tswana
- Tumbuka
- Turkish
- Turkmen
- Tzeltal
- Tzotzil
- Uab Meto
- Ume Sami
- Upper Guinea Crioulo
- Upper Sorbian
- Venetian
- Veps
- Võro
- Walloon
- Walser
- Wangaaybuwan-Ngiyambaa
- Waray (Philippines)
- Warlpiri
- Wayuu
- Welsh
- West Central Oromo
- Western Abnaki
- Western Frisian
- Wik-Mungkan
- Wiradjuri
- Wolof
- Xhosa
- Yanesha'
- Yao
- Yapese
- Yindjibarndi
- Yucateco
- Zapotec
- Zulu
- Zuni
- Záparo
Credits
Leads
Titus Nemeth
Design
Titus Nemeth is a type designer, typographer, and historian. His internationally recognised practice spans commercial and cultural work, with a focus on Arabic and multilingual design. Titus’s research interests revolve around Arabic typographic history, and the history of the book, technology, and design. His publications reflect his activity in two spheres and seek to bridge historical research and contemporary design practice. Titus has taught typographic design at schools in Austria, France, Morocco, Qatar, and the UK.