shared/references/arabic-rtl-and-cultural.md

# Arabic RTL and Cultural Direction

Treat Arabic composition as native RTL communication, not an English layout mirrored at the end

## Reading order before coordinates

Start with the language hierarchy and intended eye path

For Arabic-first work, arrange primary information so the reading sequence feels native from the leading RTL side through supporting content

Do not impose a fixed percentage or fixed right-side text box across all compositions

Valid Arabic layouts can be right-aligned, centered, asymmetric, radial, editorial, or image-led when the hierarchy and reading flow remain clear

Use right alignment as a strong default for paragraph and headline blocks when no stronger compositional reason exists

A deliberate left-side Arabic headline can be valid when the visual structure, gaze, grid, or brand language supports it

Judge the result by reading order, grouping, legibility, and balance, not by a universal coordinate rule

## Bilingual hierarchy

Define which language is primary

Do not force Arabic and English into equal visual weight when the brief gives one language priority

Possible structures include

- Arabic leading, English supporting
- shared alignment with separate language blocks
- split composition
- stacked bilingual hierarchy
- common hero with language groups on different anchors

Preserve each script's natural direction inside its own text block

Do not mirror Latin letters, product names, numerals, logos, or semantic marks

## Arabic typography craft

Exact Arabic copy is locked content

Check

- contextual letter joining
- hamza placement
- dots
- taa marbuta and haa distinction
- yaa and alif maqsura where relevant
- lam-alif construction
- word order
- punctuation behavior
- numeral direction and placement
- line breaks
- no duplicated glyph fragments

Do not approve text that is merely recognizable but malformed

Do not use Latin-style character tracking to fit Arabic

Do not stretch Arabic glyphs horizontally

Do not insert fake kashida as decoration or spacing filler

## Line breaking

Break by phrase and meaning

Avoid isolating short particles or creating a line shape that makes reading feel mechanically forced

Balance the text block by word grouping, font size, width, and real Arabic typographic behavior rather than broken letter spacing

## Two-pass workflow

When exact Arabic rendering is at risk

1. generate the visual foundation with an intentionally designed text field
2. add exact Arabic in a deterministic layout surface or targeted correction pass
3. inspect every glyph, punctuation mark, number, and line break
4. re-check the full frame for unintended changes

## Regional direction

For Saudi, UAE, Qatar, GCC, and Egyptian work, use audience, category, occasion, place, fashion, architecture, materials, photography, and language evidence rather than stereotypes

Avoid using mosques, desert, camels, generic geometric ornament, gold decoration, or heritage cues merely to signal `Arab`

Use local cultural cues only when relevant to the brand, occasion, audience, or concept

Respect modesty and representation requirements from the brief and context without flattening people into generic stock imagery

## Cultural specificity test

Ask

- would this visual still make sense for the actual audience without the location label
- is the cue specific to the brand or occasion, or just a regional cliché
- does clothing, architecture, environment, behavior, and language feel current for the intended context
- are cultural details serving the idea rather than being added as decoration