The most significant visual shift in Arabic books during the 1960s was the rise of the pictorial book cover. Moving away from standardised calligraphic or typeset titles, covers increasingly incorporated imagery, engaging the visual expertise of artists, illustrators, and graphic designers.

Some commissions were driven by personal and political networks between publishers, authors, and artists. Others marked the emergence of a professional practice in book cover design and illustration, led by pioneers such as Hussein Bicar, Helmi el-Touni, Bahgat Othman, and Ihab Shaker in Egypt; Abdel Kader Arnaout in Syria; and Ismail Shammout and Radwan al-Shahhal in Lebanon.

The increasing volume of production led major publishers, like Dar al-Hilal in Cairo and the Arab Institute for Research and Publishing in Beirut, to employ in-house graphic designers. Modern, eye-catching covers and carefully designed graphic systems—differentiating book series, genres, and authors—created a systematic and recognisable house style, helping publishers brand their books for the Arabic reading market.

The changing visual economy of Arabic books extended beyond the cover image. Books are three-dimensional objects, closely linked to the human body in terms of size, weight, paper, and binding. These physical qualities cater to various reading contexts, and in doing so, helped create new book markets. From low-cost paperback editions and children’s picture books that fit in the palm of a hand, to large, lavishly printed poetry anthologies and limited-edition artists’ books, each design choice shaped a distinct reader experience.