Behind the font
The Story Behind
Riyal Font.
Riyal Font was designed by Tamer Azab, a Dubai-based creative director with 20+ years in branding, campaigns and digital product, in Arabic and English. Here is why it exists, how the symbol was drawn into a font, and who it is for.
Who made the Riyal Font?
Riyal Font is made by Tamer Azab, who also goes by TAMZ. His portfolio at tamer.ae describes him as a Dubai-based creative director and art director with 20+ years across branding, campaigns and digital product, for names including Amazon, Emirates, Porsche, Hugo Boss, Tiffany & Co. and L’Oréal. Campaign work listed there spans the UAE and Saudi Arabia, for brands such as Al Baik. Today he works in Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab in Dubai.
On this site he sums up his approach in one line: Branding is where I start. Not where I stop.
He works in Arabic and English, and both are native languages for him.
Why was the Riyal Font made?
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques approved the new Saudi Riyal symbol on 20 February 2025. A currency symbol only becomes useful once you can type it. Unicode 17.0 added it as U+20C1 on 9 September 2025, but there is still no key for it, and many phones, laptops and apps don’t have it in their fonts yet.
So people did what they could. The symbol got pasted into menus, price lists, invoices and social posts as a screenshot or a PNG. It went blurry when enlarged, came out in the wrong colour, and couldn’t be edited like the rest of the text.
Riyal Font is the fix. In Tamer’s words on this site, it brings the same instinct to a national symbol: find a useful idea, make it work beautifully, and put it to use.
How was the symbol drawn for the font?
The font is built around the official mark, in line with the Saudi Central Bank’s font-design guidance. That guidance asks for the symbol to sit in harmony with the numerals: the top of the Lam lines up with the top of Latin numerals, and the stroke weight can be adjusted to suit the typeface.
In practice, you set only the symbol in Riyal Font and keep your numbers in the typeface you already use. The symbol goes to the left of the number, with a space, which is how the prices on riyalfont.com are built.
What’s inside the Riyal Font?
- One symbol, easy to reach. Type R or r with the font selected and you get the Riyal symbol. It is also mapped to its Unicode code point U+20C1 and to the private-use code point U+E000.
- Three formats. OTF and TTF to install on Mac or Windows, and WOFF for websites. The font family is called “Riyal Symbol”.
- A clear licence. Personal and commercial use with a one-time purchase of 10 riyals. No redistribution.
Who is the Riyal Font for?
Anyone who prices things in riyals and wants the symbol to behave like text: cafés and restaurants with menus, salons and shops with price lists, freelancers and studios sending invoices and quotes, designers working in Canva, Figma or Adobe apps, and developers who want the symbol on a website without changing the rest of the typography.
If you are just getting started, read how to type the Riyal symbol in Word, Excel and iPhone, then how to install and use the Riyal symbol font.
Is there a UAE Dirham version?
Yes. Tamer also designed Dirham Font for the new UAE Dirham symbol, built the same way: type D and the symbol appears. Read the story behind Dirham Font.
Keep reading: How to type the new Saudi Riyal symbol in Word, Excel and iPhone. Pricing in UAE dirhams too? The story behind Dirham Font.
Questions people ask
Who designed the Riyal Font?
Tamer Azab (TAMZ), a Dubai-based creative director and art director with 20+ years in branding, campaigns and digital product. His portfolio is at tamer.ae.
Is Riyal Font an official SAMA font?
No. It is an independent font, not a Saudi Central Bank publication. It is built around the official mark, in line with SAMA’s font-design guidance.
Does Riyal Font use the Unicode code U+20C1?
Yes. The symbol is mapped to U+20C1, and you can also type it with R or r, or the private-use code U+E000.
How much does Riyal Font cost?
10 riyals, one time. The licence covers personal and commercial use.
Sources
- tamer.ae: Tamer Azab, Creative Director & Art Director (portfolio, about and case studies)
- riyalfont.com: About the designer, product details and licence
- Saudi Press Agency: “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Approves Saudi Riyal Symbol” (20 February 2025)
- SAMA: Saudi Riyal Symbol guideline page
- Unicode Blog: Unicode 17.0 release announcement (September 2025)
- Unicode: release dates (Unicode 17.0.0 — 9 September 2025)