A UAE website that looks considered in English and broken in Arabic did not finish the design. Colour, type and direction are one system. If you bolt on Google Translate and keep the buttons on the left, you told Arabic readers they were optional.
ITZ specifies this on almost every Dubai brief, even when the first launch is English-only: choose Latin faces that will not fight a future Arabic cut, and choose colours that still read on a phone at noon. Fixing both after the brand guidelines are laminated is more expensive than doing it in week one. The job is web design plus a real bilingual layout.
Brand colours that die in sun glare
Agency palettes are approved on a calibrated display. Customers stand on a pavement in Sharjah. Light gold on white, mint on sky photos, and faint body copy all disappear. ITZ pushes brand colours into large fields and buttons only when the contrast holds. Otherwise the colour is a stripe, a hover, a chart — not the paragraph. Red and green as the only error/success pair is a problem for colour-blind users; add an icon or text.
Pairing Arabic and Latin type
You cannot stretch a Latin display font over Arabic and call it a pair. You need a face with a proper Arabic cut, or a second family that matches weight and mood. Hairline scripts fail. All-caps Latin next to Arabic looks like two different companies. Size for the script that needs more room.
RTL is a layout, not a font swap
Nav, chevrons, forms, captions, the WhatsApp chip. Mirroring is a design pass. How bilingual should work.
What Google Translate does to a layout
It overflows buttons, breaks line lengths, and leaves English UI chrome. It is a stopgap. It is not Arabic UI.
A type scale that holds on cheap Androids
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the same Latin display font for Arabic?
Only if it has a real Arabic cut. Most do not. Pair a Latin family with an Arabic family that matches weight, or choose a family built for both.
Why do my brand colours fail on mobile in Dubai?
Sun glare and mid-range screens. Colours approved indoors vanish outdoors. Test contrast on a phone at noon, not only in Figma.
Is a Google Translate widget enough for Arabic UI?
No. It breaks layout and tone. A real RTL design plus a human translation is the product.