New Media Society in collaboration with Lajevardi Collection presents:

New Media Talk Serie #8 | Sam (Siavash) Anvari

P-English | Problems & Side Effects

Along with the growth of the Internet and mobile technology in Iran, a mixed-sub language called, “P-English” by which chat and email users utilize Roman English characters to convey messages in Persian Language, has initiated.

As P-English has never been a replacement for the Persian alphabet, it can be comprehended as an auxiliary communication tool to convey Persian cultural values. Along with the possibilities that P-English has offered to the Persian community, yet, there are issues that must be addressed. The biggest issue is that there is no standard for writing certain vowels in P-English. For example, a specific word in Farsi could be written in various combinations in P-English, which can generate chaos in writing street signs in Iran, which are mostly bilingual.

This research is a practical approach to observe the visual effects of P-English. As a result, this project can encourage P-English users to stick to a unified standard that would not only fix the street sign problem and eventually assist Iran’s truism industry, but also can benefit the Iranians living overseas by providing them a standard tool to learn the real Persian alphabet.

P-English has been presented in a number of conferences such as:

• TypeCon 2010 Babel / Society of Typographic Aficionados / Los Angeles
• ATypi 2011 The Word / Association Typographique Internationale / Dublin
• OTIS College of Art and Design 2012 / Los Angeles

  Sam Anvari

Sam (Siavash) Anvari, Master’s in Graphic Design has earned his MFA in 2012 from OTIS College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. He has 15 years of experience in graphic, web and mobile application design. Sam completed his Bachelor degree in Biomedical Engineering in 1998 at Islamic Azad University in Tehran/Iran. His engineering knowledge compliments a significant dimension to his professional repertoire as an artist. With his multi-dimensional abilities, from science to art, he has been able to deftly combine technical elements with creativity to approach his projects. Through both an engineer’s analytical eye and a designer’s creative flair, Sam produces are not only mathematically high performing, but also visually stunning.

Currently, Sam is teaching courses at California State University, Long Beach and California State University, Dominguez Hills. Moreover, he is also the proprietor of his own design studio; SAM Arts Design Studio, LLC where he learns, develops, and creates awesomeness.
July 13, 2015 – 7:30 pm  

Lajevardi Collection