BY Armin

In Brief: The Arabic Brand Experience

DATE: Jan.20.2009CATEGORY: In Brief 41 COMMENTS

John’s comment is:

That is sooo cool!
It's amazing how the language is different yet the style/identity of the logo is still there.. love it!

On Jan.20.2009 at 09:57 PM

Jackson Cavanaugh’s comment is:

Awesome. Coincidently, I just watched the Thomas Milo presentation from http://river-valley.tv/conferences/arabic_typography_2008/ which includes a compelling linguistic/typographic analysis of the arabic logos for Coca-cola and Pepsi.

On Jan.20.2009 at 10:55 PM

Matt May’s comment is:

I took loads of product photos while I was in the Middle East just to show off how similar many of them are. I think the best one I've seen is Tang. I mean, Coke looks like Coke no matter what writing system they use, but Tang pretty much had the whole brand nailed.

(BTW, this one actually says, phonetically, "Taid Subr Bls", which is about as close as they can get without a P or short vowels.)

On Jan.21.2009 at 01:25 AM

Matthew R’s comment is:

It's a shame that the Arabic language doesn't have the same range (for lack of a better word) of typefaces. Some fonts get lost in translation: see Rolex's.

On Jan.21.2009 at 01:35 AM

CCP’s comment is:

Its striking how the simple typographical logo-types for most of the high-end shops are completely lost in translation, while the more funky logos of fast food places and such keep the branding intact. It must be a weird job translating a logo to a completely different alphabet.

On Jan.21.2009 at 04:15 AM

AL’s comment is:

Wow! They even managed to keep the arrow in Arabic version of FedEx :) But yeah, visual language of some of the logos are completely lost.

On Jan.21.2009 at 05:17 AM

Colin’s comment is:

"Some fonts get lost in translation: see Rolex's."

"But yeah, visual language of some of the logos are completely lost."

Um, how exactly could you, without a deep understanding of the target culture, know whether or not the Dubai Rolex logo FEELS like the American Rolex logo? As long as it invokes the same emotional feeling (or at least retains the same equity) wouldn't you conclude that it translates perfectly? Whether or not it has the same visual language to a non-Arab is not relevant.

On Jan.21.2009 at 05:26 AM

AL’s comment is:

So... Can someone explain whether Arabic versions are translations of brand names or their phonetic equivalents? What is the power of a brand then if it's visual characteristic is lost? A sound? Why?

On Jan.21.2009 at 05:44 AM

AL’s comment is:

Colin, but by using Arabic, does it STILL feel like American Rolex to THEM? Isn't it all done to feel more THEIRS? So they can identify more with a brand? I'm Polish and the word 'Rolex' doesn't mean anything to me. And we don't have 'x' in our alphabet, so it should be written 'Roleks'.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all fascinated by Arabic culture. I just want to understand the reasoning behind it.

On Jan.21.2009 at 06:05 AM

AL’s comment is:

Swiss Rolex, of course :)

On Jan.21.2009 at 06:21 AM

Ida’s comment is:

Another very nice example (in my opinion) is Carlsberg beer, where the Arabic logo has gotten almost famous on it's own.

On Jan.21.2009 at 07:51 AM

Matthew R’s comment is:

Colin, I should have disclosed that I could read the Arabic.

In Rolex's case, the emotion (or classiness) of an all caps fine serif is lost when it's translated to that Arabic font. That font's your equivalent Times New Roman.

I was referring to the limitations of Arabic typefaces (lack of caps, serif-ability) in exuding the same meaning. It lacks the subtleties that we embrace (the difference between Helvetica and Gotham, for example).

On Jan.21.2009 at 08:29 AM

Matthew R’s comment is:

Al, they are phonetic translations. For example, KFC's sign would be "Kay Eff See".

I guess even though the visual characteristic is lost, at least it's more familar and recognisable to them (if there were a series of Japanese retailers, we'd recognise and differentiate them more if their names were in English, even though it would mean nothing.)

On Jan.21.2009 at 08:38 AM

Chris’s comment is:

Looking through that Arabic branding makes me wonder how much of the brand messaging behind the graphics gets through to the Dubai consumers. For example, does the Tide box still stand for bright, fresh clothes? Are the consumers there just really embracing Western culture? Is there something more global brands can do to 'regionalize' their message for more specific consumer bases?

Any thoughts?

On Jan.21.2009 at 09:39 AM

kristin’s comment is:

i'm just excited to learn there's a pringles flavour called CHEESY CHEESE.

On Jan.21.2009 at 10:09 AM

Rodrok’s comment is:

Sweet contribution~ thanks I wish I could read Arabic to really know what's going on with those logos.

On Jan.21.2009 at 10:51 AM

Joel Califa’s comment is:

I love the new Fanta packaging in Arabic. The 7up one just looks bizarre, I wonder what they did with the 7 there.

For those of you interested, the Hebrew Coca-Cola logo. I think they really captured the logo's elements.

English
Hebrew

On Jan.21.2009 at 11:15 AM

Darrel’s comment is:

There's a Hardees in Dubai?

On Jan.21.2009 at 11:31 AM

Paul’s comment is:

What's up with the Olympus logo? (Page 8 of the branding set)

It's got extremely long lines in between groups of characters... does that signify something in Arabic or is that the equivalent of a really wide letter-spacing?

On Jan.21.2009 at 11:37 AM

AL’s comment is:

An insight in this would be definitely valuable. So many '?' so far...

On Jan.21.2009 at 11:54 AM

JJ’s comment is:

I wish I could provide a little more insight, but alas - I don't know arabic much. I simply found them interesting and worth discussion. I do have a few friends in the ad/design community over there - and will try to post a little more in-depth, arabic-based insight. It's a good idea.

On Jan.21.2009 at 11:56 AM

hall of fame name’s comment is:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

I don't really remember what the old one looked like but I think the new administration will definitely score more support from the design community.

On Jan.21.2009 at 12:46 PM

Jeff’s comment is:

Capri-Sonne! That makes me so happy!

On Jan.21.2009 at 03:01 PM

Rodrigo Müller’s comment is:

awesome!

On Jan.21.2009 at 03:15 PM

Jonathon’s comment is:

I lived in the UAE for three years, and yes Darrel, there are MANY Hardee's in the UAE. And Krispy Kreme too. And a Baskin Robins on almost every corner. There were 5 within two blocks of my flat.

To address some of the questions above, the signs are phonetic transliterations of the English. I had a conversation about this with my students and most of them hated the Arabic signs. I don't speak Arabic, but all of my students were Emirati.

I disagree with the comment from Matthew R. on the Times New Roman/Arabic equivalent for the luxury brands. I think classic serif type is chosen for the English to show class and history and the traditional Arabic calligraphic forms are chosen for the same reason. They imply class and history.

Tarek Atrissi came to our University to give a lecture and brought the Typographic Matchmaking project sponsored by the Khatt Foundation to my attention. Dutch type designers were paired with Arabic type designers to create Arabic versions of some really amazing type. In fact, the collaboration between Fred Smeijers and and Lara Assouad Khoury was featured in the TDC 2008 (TDC 29) annual that has just come out. There is some great work being done out there.

On Jan.21.2009 at 04:06 PM

Shawn S’s comment is:

I'm from Iran and speak Farsi but I can still read the characters.
What's interesting is that these Arabic words are not translations of the words but rather a direct written pronunciation. So the exact way that "Foot Locker" is written in English is written the same way in Arabic, not translated; which is odd.

On Jan.21.2009 at 07:03 PM

Mark’s comment is:

Cool.

I'm interested in the type of stuff like this.

I have this feeling that stores in the US in the future will look like this except it would be English and Spanish. Nothing paranoid I just think it would be practical in the future since there will be an influx of immigrants of that type in the future. It may not be far off, we already have instructions in English and Spanish over here. Sometime it comes in several more languages as well.

Plus it looks really really cool.

On Jan.22.2009 at 05:56 AM

kristin’s comment is:

I'm in Canada, and it doesn't work that way here. There are very few logos re-created in French (KFC and Five-Alive come to mind).
I think this dual-signage is only necessary in places where the common languages aren't written with the same alphabet.

On Jan.23.2009 at 10:38 AM

Coffee’s comment is:

Well, I guess in Afghanistan, they'll change the slogan from "Your Tide is showing" to "Your face is showing"!

On Jan.23.2009 at 11:42 AM

numismus’s comment is:

What Matthew fails to realize in his critique of the 'limitations' of Arabic type is that the inverse is true: that Latin lacks characteristics that can only be used in Arabic, like the 'flow' of the connected letters.

Graphic design is not as developed in Arabic-speaking countries compared to the West, but subtle nuances are there to be found and harnessed in Arabic. The language has thousands of traditional fonts, and an exponentially growing set of contemporary lines.

The geometric dexterity of Arabic/Persian calligraphy puts Latin calligraphy-based work in the dust ... But you can't compare apples and oranges!

On Jan.24.2009 at 07:36 PM

numismus’s comment is:

What's interesting is that these Arabic words are not translations of the words but rather a direct written pronunciation.

@Shawn: that's not odd; it's usual MO for when you're translating a brand from any language to another. Whether you translate or transliterate depends on the nature of the product.

On Jan.24.2009 at 07:42 PM

Panasit’s comment is:

Not only brand, but actually every big name Hollywood movie have their logos design in different languages.

Studying graphic design in other country, one of the most classic typography assignment is to convert an english language logo into Thai (I'm from Thailand) language.

I don't know, I always assumed that typography students in all part of the world have to go through the same set of classic assignments we do (kerning, typeface design, modular grid, newsletter design, book jacket, catalog, paragraph adjustment, CD cover, calendar, logotype, etc.). It wasn't until this post that I realized you guys probably didn't have to do this particular one back in school. It only works if every person in class knows a second language.

On Jan.24.2009 at 10:10 PM

Brian Hasenkamp’s comment is:

I saw another great graphical interpretation of this on a Hebrew Coke can a few years back. This is best shot i could find online, check out the Coke Zero bottle...
http://tinyurl.com/bq59ls

On Jan.28.2009 at 01:11 PM

ghazaleh’s comment is:

Coming from someone who can read that, it's spectacular cut-and-paste typography. The "d" in the Tide in Arabic could looks close to an "l" however. So it could be read as Tile, but na, people are smart enough. Great work.

On Feb.02.2009 at 09:59 PM

kirk’s comment is:

this may have been said but some brand IDs seem like they should be iconic and carry over in every language. Especially the status symbol ones like GUCCI and COACH. I cant imagine a Coach bag with Arabic writing all over it instead of the patterned "COACH" logo. maybe its just me.

Also, dont you pronounce English company names in English? "Budweiser" and "Miller Lite" are the only thing I can ever understand on the Mexican radio stations.

On Feb.03.2009 at 12:02 AM

kirk’s comment is:

also, I think the sad part is that they have all the same crappy mall stores.

sorry world.

On Feb.03.2009 at 12:05 AM

kirk’s comment is:

me again, holy crap they got the arrow in the FedEx logo still.

On Feb.03.2009 at 12:07 AM

Matias’s comment is:

hey
i'm from argentina..
if you are here sometime.. look up for "ACE"... its also the same logo..
http://www.gotemar.com/images/productos/Ace.jpg

as you can see..

great job!

On Feb.04.2009 at 11:31 AM

TikiHead’s comment is:

It's odd to me that the slant of the brand is still western style -- if Arabic reads right to left, shouldn't the angle of the brand be reversed?

On Feb.05.2009 at 04:41 PM

Daid Goldberg’s comment is:

This might sound flamey, but seriously what did you all expect, they even got the electricity now!

On Feb.05.2009 at 09:24 PM

Ruby’s comment is:

As someone who's Arab, and has lived in the UAE for over 18 years, I can honestly say I'm surprised that people of the deisgn community don't understand that the only way to read a proper name or brand name that is not originally in the Arabic language is by transliteration, very simply because the alphabets are not the same, and the sentence structure is also hugely different.
Inanimate objects have gender, unlike English, and "The" does not exist as a seperate word at all, making it extremely difficult to communicate to an Arabic speaker whether or not it's a pure attempt at communicating, or simply advertising.
To be completely honest, most brand names are recognized on corporate identity and logos, not the words themselves.

On Feb.17.2009 at 03:43 PM