Text messaging technology in the early days was only available in the characters of the Latin alphabet. Arabs struggled to use the English keyboard in their daily texting communication. So they created their own system, referred to as “3arabizi” or “FrancoArabic”, which allowed them to write Arabic sentences using Latin letters . The designer created a system to appropriate the English keyboard to reflect the MENA context, inspired by how Muslims use their hands and fingers gestures as a method to keep track of their prayers in the Zikr remembrance of God ceremony (either with the tip of their finger to count the finger joints, or with a string of beads Misbaha / Sibha). The project aims to question globalization and to show the significance of finding the right methods to adapt globalized systems to a specific culture.
