Tatreez
Palestinian embroidery red on cream, a gallery of cross-stitch bands and photos inside arches, for an exhibition of thread and memory.
Marcellus · Lora
Heritage
Arabesque, arches and embroidery
From Arab architecture and crafts: geometric stars, arches and mashrabiya, Palestinian cross-stitch, and true Arabic scripts (Kufi, Ruqaa, Naskh) in earth, clay and indigo tones.
12 designs
What defines this style
- Typography
- An authentic Arabic display script (Ruqaa, Kufi or a simplified Thuluth), clear Naskh for text, and a classical Latin capital face to pair.
- Colour
- Earth tones (sand, clay, olive) with embroidery red, indigo or zellige turquoise, and touches of brass.
- Layout
- Symmetrical compositions, photos inside arches, ornamental bands between sections, centred headings.
- Shapes
- Pointed or round arches for images, eight-point stars, cross-stitch borders, ornamented corners.
- Imagery
- Old architecture, doors and alleys, handicrafts, traditional food in warm light.
- Motion
- Calm: soft reveals and a very slow rotation of ornamental stars.
- Details
- A faint geometric pattern as a background, embroidery ribbons, Arabic-Indic numerals in details where they fit.
- Avoid
- Ornament so dense it smothers content, broken or disconnected Arabic lettering, letter-spacing Arabic.
12 designs
Mashrabiya
Dark wood, brass and a geometric lattice behind every section, like a restaurant in a Damascene house.
Marcellus SC · Cormorant Garamond
Zellige
Moroccan tile blue and warm clay, eight-point stars and white arches like a riad.
Marcellus · Source Serif 4
Khatt
Black ink and gold on paper with an old Kufic hand, like a school of calligraphy.
Cinzel · Lora
Diwan
Crimson, gold and patterns, an old-city bookshop named after the poetry collection: a framed headline, the books in a dotted list and eight-pointed stars between sections.
Cormorant · EB Garamond
Qandil
Indigo night and lantern gold, twinkling stars and arches, in the spirit of Ramadan nights.
Cormorant Garamond · Lora
Bakhoor
Dark oud wood, gold and eight-pointed stars, a perfumer from the caravan days: a photo in an arch, a faint pattern and perfumes in cards.
Cinzel · Cormorant Garamond
Henna
Henna red and gold on warm paper, like a henna night: an embroidered edge, the evening's timeline and photos of loved ones in a grid.
Cormorant · Lora
Olive Press
Olive and amber on pale stone, like the old village press: an arch over the photo, a quiet pattern and the pressing in numbered steps.
Marcellus SC · Source Serif 4
Courtyard
Deep teal, copper and zellige, old houses restored around a courtyard: an ornate frame, a large quote and homes in alternating rows.
Marcellus · Lora
Calligrapher
Night blue, gold and deep red, a hand-lettered sign workshop: a Ruqaa headline, eight-pointed stars and work on a wall.
Italiana · EB Garamond
Alleys
Warm Jerusalem stone, rust and teal, a photographer of old quarters: a photo in an arch, a wall of pictures and packages in a ruled table.
Cormorant Garamond · EB Garamond