Right-to-Left Typesetting and Design in InDesign | Washington, D.C.

About this workshop

In English and European languages words are read left-to-right, but in Semitic languages such as Farsi, Arabic and Hebrew, text is read right-to-left. In these languages the layout reflects this directionality. For example, in a three-column layout, the first column starts at the top right of the page. In a table, the first column is the right-hand one.

This special presentation will start by covering the technical aspects of using InDesign to create right-to-left text such as versions, language set-up, customization of the various menus, etc. It will then continue with a myriad of formatting issues and will conclude with aesthetic considerations including positioning multiple languages and numbers in the same layout.

Even if you don’t work with right-to-left designs, this presentation will provide an interesting peek into another world of our namesake program. Activate your InDesign multiculturalism!

Takeaways

Text composition right-to-left

– Number composition left-to-right

– Fonts

– Nikkud (Hebrew vowels)

• Special Hebrew symbols

• Kerning and editing special characters

• Location of special characters

• Other languages