Behdad Esfahbod he/they /behˈ·dɒːd ɛs·fæhˈ·boːd/ ▶

I’m an Iranian-Canadian software engineer and consultant working on fonts, text rendering, and internationalization. In Persian, my name is بهداد اسفهبد. I’m best known as the author of HarfBuzz—the text-shaping engine used across major operating systems, browsers, and apps.

For more than 25 years, my work has grown from making Persian work well in open-source software to improving digital text for writing systems around the world. Along the way, I’ve worked at FarsiWeb, Red Hat, Google, and Facebook.

I was born in Sari, Iran, and have lived in Tehran, Toronto, Menlo Park, Seattle, and now Edmonton, Canada.

∞ Software Projects

• HarfBuzz — the text-shaping engine behind modern digital typography
• HarfRust — a Rust implementation of HarfBuzz
• FontTools — Python tools for building, inspecting, and modifying fonts

More Open Source projects on my GitHub. For earlier work, see Past Software Projects on the résumé page.

∞ Explore

Papers & Talks

25 years of work on fonts, text rendering, and open source.

Games

Playful browser games made with code, art, and friends.

Short Films

Experimental and essay films about identity, memory, and mental health.

Pixels & Poems—چیزها و شعرها

Poetry and personal writing in Persian and English.

Persian Projects

Persian computing, literature, and digital-preservation projects.

Iran Detention

My arrest by the IRGC in 2020, and what followed.

Résumé

A concise CV spanning software, games, writing, and film.

∞ Beyond Software

Beyond software, I’m drawn to food, travel, photography, filmmaking, writing, leathercraft, mental health, psychonautics, polyamory, and alternative ways of living.

Markéta Jakešová is my partner in life and crime, and my collaborator in writing and film. Our wedding website and its source code are public.

∞ Around the Web