Mohamad Dakak

Dr. Mohamad (Mo) Dakak is a type designer, researcher, and co-founder of Foundry5, an independent type design studio. His practice focuses on harmonising Arabic and Latin typography, with an emphasis on legibility and wayfinding. He designed Arabic typefaces for various companies including Google and Microsoft, and consulted on Arabic typefaces for various foundries.

He studied Visual Communication at Damascus University before earning his Master’s and PhD in Typeface Design at the University of Reading. His doctoral research, “Diversity in Arabic type styles and their influence on Arab readership,” examined how common Arabic typographic representations affect Arab readership and type-use practices across the Arab world.

Mohamad is the designer of Jali, a humanist sans serif family developed for multilingual signage. The project received the Type Directors Club Certificate of Typographic Excellence and Granshan’s First Prize in the Arabic and Latin category (2019). Through Foundry5, Jali was expanded into full Arabic, Latin, and Greek families for clarity in multilingual design.

Alongside his professional practice, Mohamad has taught in higher education. He served as a Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University of Reading and as an Associate Professor at the German University in Cairo. He divides his time between design practice, research, and teaching. He has spoken about Arabic type design and multilingual typography at conferences and workshops, sharing insights on cross-script design and the role of type in shaping cultural accessibility.

Born in Hama, Syria (22 September 1984), Mohamad is bilingual in Arabic and English. He currently lives between Cairo, Egypt and Cambridge, UK.