Led by award-winning Lebanese design Nadine Chahine (designer of Frutiger Arabic and DIN Next Arabic), the natural starting point for the Arabic companion to Basis Grotesque was the Naskh style. It is the prevailing typographic style for typesetting Arabic books, newspapers and publications. Basis Arabic is a contemporary interpretation of that style, using familiar structures but with open counters that promote legibility at various sizes, and a mono-linear low contrast design that allows it to be used comfortably for onscreen applications as well.

Basis Arabic is ideal for brands looking for a typeface that can perform well in both large and small sizes, and a large family that offers different tonalities of expression. It is well suited for online presence largely due to the strictly horizontal baseline that gives it stability and clarity of rendering on screen.

The tone of voice is fresh and dynamic; simple yet characterful, with open, legible forms that created harmony with their Latin counterpart. The design also offers surprising touches of energetic movements as can be seen in the Jeem characters.

Basis Grotesque Arabic is available in five weights—Light, Regular, Medium, Bold and Black. The Arabic version contains additional the PRO Latin language support, including Cyrillic and Greek scripts, OpenType features, stylistic alternates, and copious marks and symbols.