Calligraphy Qalam.com

Submission Description

Due to a rapid increase in the number of U.S. students taking Arabic language classes in the past two decades (see graph, right), there is an ongoing need to inform and educate students about the cultures, traditions, and history of the Middle East and the Islamic world. CalligraphyQalam.com was created to respond to the need for quality, engaging information about Arabic script calligraphy online, in a way that is both informative and interactive. This website introduces U.S.-based audiences to the art of Arabic, Ottoman, and Persian calligraphy. It includes nine videos about calligraphy, an extensive image gallery, and detailed information about scripts, calligraphers, classes, and other resources.

I designed the original website in 2009, and it has been a trusted source of information about these art forms for educators around the U.S. for the past eleven years. In 2021 I redesigned the website, introducing a responsive layout that works on mobile and tablet interfaces, and updated the backend technology to reflect current best practices in web design. This project was designed using Adobe XD and and developed in WordPress, using Generate Press as the base theme / block-based theme builder, and the Envira gallery and Generate Blocks plugins.