Known for its penchant for starting new trends, Dubai has become the first city in the world to have its own font which will be used in all official communications.
Developed by Microsoft exclusively for Dubai, the new font comes in both Arabic and Latin script and will be available to 100 million Office 365 users around the world. The new font is also available in 23 languages.
The announcement about the font was made in a series of near-simultaneous posts on Twitter from a regional division of Microsoft and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai.
The prince, through a tweet, called the font a “unique project that reflects heritage and culture” of the United Arab Emirates, the seven-member federation that Dubai is part of, “and reaches out to the whole world.”
Prince Hamdan shared a video on Twitter that presented it as a powerful tool for self-expression. “Expression knows no boundaries or limits,” the video said. “Expression is strength and freedom. It defines who you are.”
Prince Hamdan has urged all government institutions to adopt the font in official correspondence
“It is the first font to be developed by a city and to carry its name,” council secretary general Abdulla al-Shaiban told a news conference.
Image-conscious Dubai has pushed in recent years to broaden its appeal by investing in technology and culture on a large scale.