Typography is written language presented in aesthetic form to communicate a message to a public audience. Within the state of Israel, the typography of public spaces reflects the political systems of language preferences. Hebrew and Arabic are the two official languages of Israel, and English is used as the semi-official language. Currently, trilingual signage is a commonality of Israel’s urban environment, where letterforms of Hebrew, Arabic, and English are presented to supply a translation of the same information. This session examines the use of Hebrew, Arabic, and English typography within Israeli public spaces and explores language preferences in relation to social and cultural nationalism.
