Dubai Font appeals to firm’s branding vision

InfoFort, a records and information management company, is believed to be the first company to adopt the emirate’s homegrown typography.

Above, the Arabic version of InfoFort’s logo. Courtesy InfoFort

A Dubai company has unveiled a new logo using the recently launched Dubai Font.

InfoFort, a records and information management company that is part of the Aramex group, is believed to be the first company to adopt the emirate’s homegrown typography.

InfoFort is also using the typeface for all its internal and external communications.

One branding expert said the font is well suited to tech companies such as InfoFort.

“Usually a Sans Serif font, similar to the Dubai Font, is considered to be a contemporary and modernistic typeface, ideal for companies or brands in the technology sector,” said Gaurav Sinha, the founder and chief executive of the branding agency Insignia Worldwide in Dubai. “Distinct typography is one of the key components of creating an impactful identity and a unique graphic and visual DNA for a brand.”

While InfoFort appears to be the first private sector company in the UAE to go with a Dubai Font logo, the Dubai Courts and Dubai Municipality are among government entities that have already done so.

The font was created by the Executive Council of Dubai in collaboration with Microsoft and was unveiled on April 30.

Several multinational companies use fonts that are so distinct and so entwined with their brand that merely saying the company’s name can make the font come to mind – Coca-Cola, Facebook, Walt Disney and Canon.

All of these have a story behind them.

Coca-Cola, for instance, created its logo in 1885 using a font known as Spencerian Script. The Facebook logo was custom-made for the company but is similar to Klavika Bold. The Disney logo’s font was original and is now available as Waltograph, according to the website fontmeme.com. The red Canon logo was created for the company and is now known as the Canon font.

Abed Shaheen, the chief executive of InfoFort, said: “The Dubai Font presents a unique way of expressing our core values, while driving our strategy to embrace innovation, digital transformation and commitment to deliver value to our clients.”

InfoFort operates in 25 cities across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. It was started in Dubai in 1997 and was bought out by Aramex in 2005.

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