Although Arab graphic design emerged in the early twentieth century, graphic design became recognized as a formal genre of visual art only in the twenty-first century in the region. This development occurred out of a need to influence and give expression to the far-reaching economic, social, and political changes that were taking place in the Arab world at the time.

Resources:

Books/Literary Texts/Articles

• Signs for Peace, An Impossible Visual Encyclopedia edited by Design2context, Ruedi Baur & Vera Baur Kockot

• The Face of Human Rights edited by Lars Müller, Walter Kälin, Judith Wyttenbach

• Don’t Brand my Public Space! On the Symbolic Poverty of the Representational Systems of Territorial Collectivities edited by Ruedi Baur, Sébastien Thiéry, Civic City, Head Genève, EnsadLab

• Arabic Type Design for Beginners, An Illustrated Guidebook edited by Huda Smitshuijzen-AbiFarès, Khajag Apelian, Lara Assouad-Khoury, Majid Al-Yousef, Yara Khoury-Nammour, Kristyan Sarkis, Wissam Shawkat, and Pascal Zoghbi

• Arabic Typography by Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès

• L’affiche palestinienne - Collection d’Ezzedine Kalak by Yasser Arafat

• Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents by MoMA

• Linha do Tempo do Design Gráfico No Brasil by Chico Homem de Melo & Elaine Ramos

• Thami Mnyele + Medu, Art Ensemble Retrospective edited by Clive Kellner and Sergio-Albio Gonzalez

• L’art du livre arabe, du manuscrit au livre d’artist by Annie Vernay-Nouri,Marie-Geneviève Guesdon

• The Palestinian Poster: Popularizing National Landmarks and Symbols

• Off the Wall: Political Posters of the Lebanese Civil War by Zeina Maasri

• Diwan of Arabic Calligraphy in Egypt during the Muhammed Ali Dynasty