The Dubai Font was designed as a gift from Dubai to the world. But it's more than just a font. It carries the values of Dubai and represents the city and its people. It was created to promote literacy and freedom of expression for all. Dubai Font is the typographic voice of the city and its people, bearing values like Harmony and Innovation. Our task was to narrate this story to the world and ensure it was heard by everyone.
Keeping in mind that the font was created to be a new medium for expression and to champion the cause of literacy, we created and launched the campaign #Expressyou.
It encouraged people to express themselves freely, their thoughts ideas and inspirations. As a font that was free to download, the campaign encouraged people around the world to adopt the font and its values.
Creative Execution
Dubai Font was designed by Dr. Nadine Chahine of Monotype. Drawing inspiration from traditional Arabic text and Dubai's futuristic visage, she crafted a typeface that embodies the old and new, local and global.
Dubai Font is designed to create harmony between Latin and Arabic scripts - resulting in a compatibility between the two, without sacrificing the authenticity of either. The font integrates softer, more simplified forms to create a typeface that's practical for everyday use. The first of its kind Arabic typeface, doesn't lose its proportionality and weight once scaled or outlined and can sit hand-in-hand with the Latin script. The Font integrates softer and more simplified forms creating a typeface that is more practical for everyday use. The Arabic letters have improved legibility to make for easy reading. Although inspired by traditional Arabic calligraphy, Dubai Font has no angular shapes and harsh edges. Therefore, it is very easy to
Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market
Results:
115,712 Dubai Font Downloads from the official website and counting.
Over 356 Million Total Campaign Impressions.
Over 4.8 Million video views across social media.
More than 2.3 Million Post Engagements on Instagram and Twitter.
More than 29 Million people reached in UAE, GCC & Global markets through Instagram & YouTube.
Over 52 Million impressions across search, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
50% adoption by Government entities in the first 3 months of the launch.
The Dubai Font is a typeface designed to carry the vision of Dubai and its values to the world. Values like Innovation, Harmony and Tolerance while championing the cause of literacy and free expression. Therefore, the Dubai Font needed to be seen globally to spread its message and values to everyone. The campaign was designed to maximize reach, on ground and online. It launched in Dubai, home to over 200 different nationalities before going global. The font was introduced globally by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan via social media making #dubaifont the top trending topic on twitter and Instagram in just an hour. Microsoft then launched the font to reach over 100 million Office 365 users. From there on we strategically deployed the campaign across various media like strategic installations, promotion by social media influencers, online content, print and even Emirates Airlines inflight entertainment system.
Credits
Name
Company
Role
Kalpesh Patankar
Y&R Dubai
Executive Creative Director
Dhruv Warrior
Y&R Dubai
ACD
Vineet Parrikar
Y&R Dubai
Art Director
Nora Ferneine
Y&R Dubai
Associate Client Servicing Director
Elisa Binda
Y&R Dubai
Copywriter
Fabio Tridenti
Y&R Dubai
Art Director
Kapil Bhimekar
Y&R Dubai
ACD
Zaid Alwan
Y&R Dubai
CD
Sambhav Khandelwal
Y&R Dubai
Copywriter
Georges Barsoum
Y&R Dubai
CEO
Harvey George
Y&R Dubai
Senior Arabic Copywriter
Sam Eid
Y&R Dubai
Head of Production
Khushi Rawat
Y&R Dubai
Producer
Binnu Cherian
Y&R Dubai
Production
Prathyush Kumar
Y&R Dubai
Editor
Olga Kudryashova
Y&R Dubai
Planner
Rene Reda
Y&R Dubai
Group Business Director
Nadine Chahine
Monotype
Type Director
Samah El Manzalawy
The Executive Council of Dubai
Corporate Communication Team
Ahmad Al Mahri
The Executive Council of Dubai
Assistant Secretary General – EC & GS Affairs, Executive Council & General Secretariat Affairs
Moosa Altartir
The Executive Council of Dubai
Advisor, Executive Council & General Secretariat Affairs
Ayman Aldeik
The Executive Council of Dubai
Director of Government Communication, Government Communication
Ibrahim Alsobeh
The Executive Council of Dubai
Senior Executive - Corporate Communication, Government Communication Department