He had previously tried to create a calligraphic typeface for Stempel in 1948, but hot metal composition was too limiting on the freedom of swash characters.

Such a result could only be achieved using modern digital technology, and so Zapf and Siegel began work on the complicated software necessary.

[2] Siegel also hired Gino Lee, a type designer from Boston, Massachusetts, to render the extensive character set.

However, just before the project was completed, Siegel wrote a letter to Zapf, saying that his girlfriend had left him and that he had lost all interest in anything.

Siegel abandoned the project and started a new life, working on bringing color to Macintosh computers and later becoming an Internet design expert.

This font family uses Apple Advanced Typography and OpenType technologies, allowing automatic ligatures and contextual glyph substitutions, accurately reflecting the fluid and dynamic nature of Zapf's calligraphy.

Designed by Nadine Chahine of Monotype Imaging, it is an Arabic version of Zapfino combining Naskh and Nastaaliq calligraphic styles.

[7] Officially, the "scarlet A" is used as the logo of the Out Campaign, a public awareness initiative for freethought and atheism, which has been endorsed by Richard Dawkins.