A Point In The Center
Centrepoint represents the strategy of Landmark Group, a retail giant operating in twelve countries and has over 750 stores. Centrepoint is trying to project the concept of a single destination “shopping experience”.
First launched in Kuwait in 2005, Centrepoint already has 53 stores across GCC & Jordan and plans to have over 100 stores across Jordan, Kuwait,Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain by 2011 which will make it the largest retail store chain in the Middle East. The most visible benefit of this convergence has been the enhanced design and stimulating shopping experience for consumers.
Centrepoint offers great value for money in a visually exciting destination for the whole family. The brand is shaping consumer perceptions, increasing brand worth and fuelling future growth for the group in the mid market retail section. The current chain includes four main sub-brands under one roof: Babyshop, Splash, Shoe Mart, and Lifestyle.
Following the concept described above, Centerpoint created a visual identity that catches the eye and appeals to all. Showing a closed circle with several vibrant colors, the circle having one single center and therefore works well with the name, and the several color tones inside show a central movement, guiding the spectator’s eye from the outside to the inside, the center. Using several color tones has a very important connotation, it shows the availability of diversity and choice, as well as the appeal to all tastes and people. The four colors as well show in a subtle way the availability of the four brands (Babyshop, Splash, Shoe Mart, and Lifestyle) as well. The brands appeal to the young generation of fashion savvy people, of young mothers and children since the chain sells products for kids, with Babyshop where the image created is a world full of fun for kids, Shoe Mart for shoes and accessories which of course appeal to the young and the shop offers casual and sporty footwear. In addition to the young and dynamic fashion house, Splash, bringing international fashion, multi-brands with a core focus on fashion and design apparel for men, women and teenagers. Lifestyle holds and embodies the essence of a woman, offering a wide range of products to celebrate the free spirit of today’s women. As it is noticed, free, fun and dynamic are essential features to show in the main image of Centrepoint and are therefore shown through a simple geometrical form, that is in fact the simplest of them all, with no sharp edges, flashy and colorful yet very straightforward.
The typeface as well is sleek and simple, with no Serif or sharp edges. It is geometrical and easy to read, neutral and not colorful to keep a more serious tone and give a certain equilibrium to the logo as a whole.
As with each brand, the Sub-brands are shown in the main logo composition each shop embodies the essence of the products it sells. Babyshop is colorful and fun. Lowercase letters are used to show a less serious tone with more curves and round forms just like a small baby is, very soft and round. The other three logos are more serious since they appeal to a much bigger audience and show a lot more character, mainly elegant and thin (Lifestyle) showing a lot more feminine character. The dynamic attitude of “Splash” is shown in the typeface with a play between thick and thin in each of the letters. The letter “S” for example shows a more flowing and moving form starting from a thinner line becoming thick and going back to thin in the end. This play with the letters does not give it a total feminine feel, since men are also a clientele for that shop, and therefore the logo must invite men to the shop and appeal to them. The Shoe Mart logo is the most neutral of all, it has a general square form which is stable and solid, with a black color that relates to every member of the family while at the same time showing a classy and neutral attitude since the shop does not include only sporty footwear but casual as well.
Centrepoint recently achieved the status of a ‘Superbrand’ following rigorous assessment across well established criteria by the Superbrands Kuwait Council. Competing with big names in the communication industry, retail industry, trading industry and other sectors, Centrepoint Kuwait was recognized for its outstanding achievement for the year 2008-2009 from over 1,300 short listed brands. “Superbrands is an important industry recognition and we are proud to have achieved this status. It is a prestigious acknowledgement of our performance and the recognition reflects on our continuous efforts to build upon our competencies and offer customers added value in the coming years” said Mr. Sumit Gue, General Manager, Centrepoint Kuwait.
The Superbrands brand selection process starts by creating a list of major brands operating in Kuwait, then the list is reduced to around 1,300 brands which are presented to the council members to grade candidates. The scoring then is tabulated to result in the top scoring brands being designated Superbrands. This shows how much brands and people (weather potential clients or employees) interact with the image and create for themselves a way of interacting with each other, a relationship.
At The Center of Culture
But there is always something major to consider regarding this issue. The name and image are created based on Latin logotype standards, and have no Arabic implemented neither in the main logo nor in the visual form which can be clearly seen on their new website. From this, and following the success of the brand as previously stated, the Arabic audience is more and more moving away from Arabic in specific visual creations to work with Latin typefaces and logos which is alarming to the cultural richness and main aspects of the Arabic lifestyle.
On another hand, the west cultures, which are the creators of the Latin typefaces and major global visual trends, are getting more and more interested in Arabic letterforms and communication systems which is quite ironic. Take for example one of the biggest font libraries in the world, Linotype in Germany.
The company has a special Arabic font section and releases new fonts on a regular basis. Its involvement with Arabic type design goes one century back and was the first to produce machines for the mechanical typesetting of the Arabic script. Working closely with Arab designers and calligraphers, it launched in the mid 1950′s typefaces like Mrouwa and Yakout. Dubbed as the genre of Simplified Arabic, these typefaces responded to the need for faster and more economical typesetting and helped in the growth of the newspaper industry. In other words, the West contributed in the development of communications in the Arab world. Ironically, the Arab world today is trying to incorporate more of the Western visual codes into its daily lifestyle.
Today, Linotype boasts a number of high quality Arabic typefaces that have proven very popular across the Arab world.
At The Center of Latin and Arabic Relationships
When we talk about Arabic typeface design and the West, Nadine Chahine is always mentioned.
Nadine Chahine is an award winning Lebanese type designer with a special interest in Arabic typography. She studied Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut and MA in Typeface Design at the University of Reading, UK. During her study at Reading, she focused on the relationship of the Arabic and Latin scripts and the possibilities of creating a harmonious relationship between the two. She taught Arabic type design as a visiting lecturer at the American University in Dubai and at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. In 2005 she joined Linotype, Germany, as the Arabic specialist and has been living in Germany ever since.
In September 2007 she started a PhD program at Leiden University and her focus is on legibility studies for the Arabic script. She has won the Dean’s Award for Creative Achievement from the American University of Beirut in 2000, and an Award for Excellence in Type Design from the Type Directors Club in New York in 2008. Her typefaces include: the best-selling Frutiger Arabic, Palatino Arabic, Koufiya, Janna, Badiya, and BigVesta Arabic.
The following is a recent interview conducted with Chahine regarding Latin and Arabic type creations and Modern Arabic adaptations.
Gabriel Ghali: How long have you been designing type? What do you enjoy in this part of design?
I started designing type in my final year at AUB so it’s been almost 10 years now. At AUB I had the luck to take an Arabic typography course with Samir Sayegh who is the unsung hero of Arabic typography. I learned a lot from him, and decided to pursue this interest. I went for a Masters in Typeface Design in Reading, UK and my focus was the relationship of the Arabic and Latin scripts. The result was my Koufiya which is the first Arabic+Latin typeface designed by the same designer at the same time. I am currently working on a PhD in legibility studies for the Arabic script.
Type design is a form of meditation for me. I love to design and to lose myself in the details of the outlines. When I design, everything else fades into the background and all the noise of every day life almost disappears. I like to look at the interplay of black and white and the contrast of lines and curves. Type design is a form of visual communication that has an immediate impact on our visual environment. My inspiration comes from the streets of Beirut, and my typefaces are my expression of the Beirut that I wish to see.
I often play Fairuz when I’m designing and her old songs conjure an image of a peaceful Lebanon, a dream of a beautiful country unscarred by hatred and war. My calligraphic typefaces refer to a nostalgic past, but my more modern designs are a wish to move forward and put to rest our troubled past. It is a statement of equality, of hope for the future and aims to challenge the notions of cultural superiority. We are all equal and Lebanon is a brilliant mix of Eastern passion and Western openness.
GG: You say you are influenced by the works of Frutiger and Zapf. These work with Latin type, how can you relate their works to Arabic typography creation?
Adrian Frutiger and Hermann Zapf are the 2 gods of typography. They are very different but working with both has been one of the best opportunities that I ever had. When designing the Arabic versions of their typefaces, I wanted to translate into Arabic the concept of the typeface. It’s not an easy task, and the most important aspect is that the Arabic stays Arabic ie. true to the aesthetics and structure of the Arabic script.
GG: Modern Arabic type is “closing in” on Latin creations, but it has mostly started with companies in the west, like Linotype where you work and designers who were interested in the Arabic letter. Today, how do you see the evolution? where do you see it going?
Actually it’s the other way around. The now-retired Managing Director of Linotype, Bruno Steinert, saw my work in 2003 and loved the concept of Koufiya and offered me a job. So in reality, the impetus for the new direction has started in Beirut. However, the moral and financial support to produce this vision came from Linotype. Linotype was the first to move in this direction and the other institutions and foundries followed a few years later.
At Linotype we’ve had amazing feedback for the work that we’ve produced and I hope that we continue with this momentum. The reason why we see Arabic versions of Latin typefaces is because of the bi-lingual nature of visual communication in the Arab world today. This is a market demand that we want to support.
As for design trends, I see a bigger number of Kufi style typefaces today and I expect that we’ll see more of that. Kufi is definitely IN.
GG: It is clear that the writing forms of Arabs are a way of promoting the Arabic culture as well as establishing an “image” of Arabs in the world. Can the new creations, in your opinion, help in that evolution and integration of Arabic as a major influence on the global design scene? how can type help in promoting culture?
Arabic typography is a very popular topic within international circles these days. People want to learn more about it and it’s great to be able to project an image of cultural refinement and elegance and to start what Edward Said calls “a dialogue of civilizations rather than a clash of civilizations.”
I also hope that improved standards in type design and book design will positively influence the reading habits of our generation. The more people read, the better it is for everyone.
GG: Today, in all the Arabic markets, there is a transfer and adaptation of Latin logos to Arabic (for example Pringles chips boxes have a Latin logo and on the other side an Arabic one) While a lot of brands in the Middle East are neglecting Arabic. Creating Arabic adaptations for existing Latin logotype is not a matter a copy pasting, but a real understanding of both Latin and Arabic script. What can you say more on that matter? What do you say to fresh designers regarding that?
Quite a lot! Some of the designs are a true horror. To put it simply: if you want to dress 2 people in a similar fashion, you don’t just make them wear the same shoes. One needs to look at the structure of the script and make sure that the end result is still authentic. There’s no need to blindly copy the body parts, but rather to create forms that are in harmony. I’ve seen some seriously misshapen logos that have nothing to do with how we write letters in Arabic. Elegant serifs cut off from a Latin typeface and looking ridiculously out of place in an Arabic logo. I call them Frankensteins.
GG: A lot of designers may argue that the Arabic script is becoming more of a graphical form, and we can notice its use in Western designs. What are your brief ideas regarding this matter?
It depends on how you use it. The Arabic script has so many different calligraphic styles that there are many various ways to apply it. This is in the nature of our calligraphic heritage. The Arabic script has been applied on walls, in tiles, on tapestry, on plates and so many other instances.
It is very flexible and that’s a good thing.
GG: Where do you see Arabic writing (script and type) in five years from now? (knowing that this is growing and evolving in a fast pace now)
I hope we get less Frankenstein and more good designs! I also wish that schools would focus a bit more on good penmanship and that more young people train with calligraphers. It’s important for the survival of this art.
GG: How do you see the Lebanese design and type scene from your perspective? (A Lebanese working on Arabic in Europe)
The Lebanese design scene is very advanced. As I said, this is in thanks mainly to Samir Sayegh who taught at AUB. He has inspired a whole new generation of designers. We owe him a lot.
GG: Any comments or insights for Arab designers? For Ad companies in the region?
Arabic typography is an important vehicle of our visual communication and cultural development. It’s important that we give it its due. There’s a lot more to be done, but we’ll get there if we all work together.
Although Arabic designers are creating brands and identities that appeal and work well in the region, these are slowly missing the cultural core of the Middle East. With the interest of the West in the Arabic communication and visual form, its letters, the West is slowly helping the embrace of a great culture. It is therefore essential to keep it growing in our own homes, and our own markets. Imagine what that will do, imagine the growth and the propagation of a great culture to the world. As Nadine Chahine said, it might need a little work, but it if we work all together, we will eventually succeed.
