Lalezar

Lalezar is a free Arabic and Latin display font for emphatic titles. For a bilingual magazine or a publication cover, it offers a strong opening voice that needs a quieter reading face beside it.

From film lettering to a digital family

Borna Izadpanah drew on the lettering of Iranian Film-Farsi posters from the 1960s and 1970s. Those popular cinema posters used exaggerated, energetic letters alongside their imagery. Lalezar carries that display character into an Arabic-script design with a Latin companion.

In an editorial layout or advertising design, use that heritage deliberately. Try Lalezar for the publication name or a feature title, then set the subtitle and opening paragraph separately. The title should announce the subject while leaving the reader a clear route into the article.

Regular is the only style

The package contains one TTF: Lalezar Regular, recorded as CSS weight 400. “Regular” names the style; it does not describe a light drawing. There is no separate Bold or Italic file. Check the existing counters and spacing before allowing software to synthesize extra boldness.

Before fitting a bilingual cover, compare a short title with a much longer one in each language. The Arabic and Latin lines need not have equal point sizes to carry equal emphasis. Compare Tajawal for the subtitle. If the Arabic title needs a more handwritten voice, try Aref Ruqaa alongside it.

Keep the reading task short

The files supplied here contain Arabic and Latin characters. Test complete titles rather than isolated letters. If your text uses vowel marks, check their availability and positioning in your application. Persian and Urdu text also needs its own character checks.

Use a different face for long paragraphs. For a publication with a traditional Arabic text section, compare Amiri and inspect the transition from the display title to the reading text.

Balance the two scripts on a cover

Use the built-in Latin as a first companion for an Arabic title. Compare the two lines in the intended cover width, including punctuation and any line breaks. If the Latin title must use an established brand face, let Lalezar carry the Arabic headline and keep the subtitle treatment consistent across both languages.

Download and license

This download includes version 1.004 and the original SIL Open Font License 1.1. Personal and commercial use, embedding and redistribution are allowed under its conditions. Keep the license with redistributed files; the font may not be sold by itself.

The Google Fonts Lalezar source directory provides the reference files. Explore more Arabic display fonts, write a sample using the Arabic keyboard, and consult our guide to choosing an Arabic font for a testing method.

For a different script tradition by the same lead designer, explore Gulzar, an Urdu Nastaliq family. Its descending word structure serves a different reading task from Lalezar’s dense display letters.