Treasured Reflections delves into childhood nostalgia and cherished memories.

Vibrant artworks transport visitors back to the age of the innocence of youth, where imagination thrives and magic abounds. The colourful scenes evoke joy and wonder while also exploring urban architecture as a backdrop to a shared history. Each piece captures fleeting moments, offering a glimpse into peoples collective past and the enduring power of memory. The works celebrate the beauty of treasured reflections, reminding onlookers of the timeless connections that bind them to their childhood and each other.

Crafted with ingenuity and passion, this dynamic pop-up experience is my brainchild. It showcases my innovative spirit and dedication to creative expression.

In collaboration with SLE’s Student Recognition Karak Hour, I worked with the Communications team to create an engaging pop-up event, adding a vibrant touch to the celebration of the School's 25th Anniversary. Attendees participated in an immersive experience where they experienced the art of silkscreen printing, guided by myself and the Communications Art Director, Sara Shaaban. Moreover, the excitement didn’t end there; students were treated to exclusive sticker giveaways, adding an extra layer of festivity to this milestone occasion.

Collaborating with the Communications Department at VCUarts Qatar, I had the privilege of contributing to creating a visually compelling identity for our institution's prestigious 25th-anniversary celebration. Together, we embarked on a journey to encapsulate the essence of our vibrant community and illustrious history in a cohesive visual narrative. Through brainstorming sessions and iterative design processes, we crafted a dynamic identity that resonated with our diverse audience while honouring our past accomplishments and looking towards the future. It was a rewarding experience to witness our collaborative efforts come to life, reflecting the spirit of innovation and creativity that defines VCUarts Qatar.

Collaborating with the Northwestern University Studio20Q team was an exhilarating experience as we worked together to craft a vibrant and dynamic brand for their movie premiere event. Infusing bright colours and captivating visuals, we aimed to capture the essence of creativity and excitement surrounding the occasion. Through close communication and iterative design processes, we brought their vision to life, ensuring that the brand reflected the energy and enthusiasm of the Studio20Q community. It was gratifying to witness the culmination of our collaborative efforts in the form of a visually stunning and memorable event.

Premiere Photos: Studio20Q

As the current artist in residence at the Doha Fire Station, I find myself immersed in its vibrant artistic community, continually drawing inspiration from my surroundings. Here, amidst the energy and creativity, I explore the depths of childhood nostalgia in my work. Each day brings new experiences and insights that shape my artistic vision, infusing my creations with emotional depth and vibrant storytelling. Through my art, I strive to capture the essence of youthful memories, inviting viewers to embark on nostalgic journeys that resonate with their own experiences. My presence at the Fire Station adds a unique perspective to the creative discourse, enriching Doha's cultural landscape with my evocative past explorations.

The outdoor exhibition allowed me to showcase some of the work created early on in the AIR programme. The work presented was “Feathered Guardian” (2021-2022) and “Chromatic Odyssey” (2023).

Title: Feathered Guardians: Royal Liver's Tale in Stone
Medium: Digital Drawing

Description: The Liver Building, a distinctive symbol of Liverpool's skyline, stands as a testament to architectural grandeur and maritime heritage. Its silhouette evoking nostalgic childhood memories of gazing up in wonder, as the mythical Liver Birds seemed to guard over the city and harbour, creating a timeless connection that resonates through the years.

Title: Chromatic Odyssey: Past, Present, and Future in Hues and Lines
Medium: Digital Scan of Colour Pencils and Ink

Description: As the vibrant hues spiral outward, they encapsulate the memories and experiences of the past, the vivid complexities of the present, and the ethereal uncertainty of the future, inviting viewers to traverse the intricate tapestry of a life unfolding in a mesmerising dance of lines and colours.

A yearly open call that explores the creative boundaries of letterforms by challenging participants to design a letter or number each day for 36 consecutive days. The result is a global and simultaneous act that showcases the ability to represent the same symbols from thousands of different perspectives.
- 36 Days of Type

Here is my adaptation of the Latin alphabet and numbers for the 2023 edition. This is the first year that I have fully completed the challenge with a theme and a unique approach.

The letters have been created only using a limited colour scheme along with the same line width. This was an added challenge and a way to build my letterform skills.

Embark on a typographic odyssey with 'Wordplay Wonders.' These TypoPosters delve into the subtle narratives of daily designer life, transcending letters into living posters. From the dance of serif and sans-serif to the eloquent strokes of analogue typography forms, each composition unveils the underlying meanings of our creative journey. Immerse in a symphony of letters, where glyphs tell stories, and design becomes an artful language.

Graphic Design themed stickers!
*part of my honours ELP / Project Phoenix ‘21

The GDES sticker pack was a collaboration between myself and GDES CSAC students! Thank you to @roudahalsheeb @113.jpeg @its.fmy for participating!

This playful sticker pack aims to bring humour to the struggles GDES students have.

Materials like glitter, holographic and vinyl were used to continue the playful approach!

Stickers were printed with @stickerapp

Primrose is a florist based in a fictitious location called Suhail, based in the ‘Way Back Home’ story.

Primrose remains elegant and timeless in an ever-growing futuristic city where traditions are getting lost. It follows a pink and grey colour scheme to keep it light and airy while remaining modern and flexible.

Have a look at the last image to see the founder of Primrose, Lujain Illustration by Ghada Ali (@113.jpeg on Instagram )

Firefly is a DJ that loves to get a crowd off their feet.

The brand consists of using bright oranges and blacks to bring light to the darkness. The logo mark is an abstracted form of a firefly body with flames at the bottom to represent the “light”.

Have a look at the last image to see an Illustration of Ciara, Firefly, by Ghada Ali (@113.jpeg on Instagram). This poster is a concept design for a poster that would be used to advertise her playing a gig.

JJ Creations is a handmade crochet business that was established in 2014, in Qatar, Doha!

They approached me with the idea of having a refresh of their logo and brand identity! They wanted stickers, new business cards, thank you cards and social media assets.

The brand is fun and playful and messes around with primary colours to attract children and their respective parents.

I was the Head Curator for the Cultural Fusion Exhibition. This Exhibition “Cultural Fusion” focused on the artwork of seven graphic design students from VCUarts Qatar. It was a proud collaboration between the US Embassy, Qatar Museums, W Hotel and VCUarts Qatar. It was held at ART29 gallery at the W Hotel, in Qatar. The Exhibition travelled international and was exhibited in Washington, DC at the US Embassy headquarters and is now currently in Richmond, Virginia at the VCU Richmond Home campus.

Fusion Signs in my own individual exhibition within the Year of Culture 2021: USA X Qatar - Cultural Fusion Exhibition.

FUSION SIGNS
Using shops signs to show a united front.

To help bridge a connection between Qatar and the United States, shop signs were used as visual inspiration to connect both countries and cultures.

A collection of online photos were used to combine both the vintage and contemporary signs from America. They were used as visual inspiration to compare to the unique and one-off signs scattered around Qatar. This combined both the mechanical with the handmade aesthetic.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。゜。°。°。°。

The Year of Culture provides a platform to voice the culture of both nations. The design uses the familiar formal language of shop signs and their representation of their interior contents.

Using the simple and readable stacked type with contrasting colours, it should be able to distinguish some of the shared and different cultures present in Qatar and the United States.

The Maroon colour is to distinguish Qatar. As cliche as it may be, people in the United States don’t know about Qatar as a country, so the colour is there to present Qatar using visual elements. The beige colour represents both Qatar and the United States due to the barren land being the same colour.

Course: Design and Publication
Taught by: Law Alsobrook

Due to COVID-19, the course was altered to be a digital publication rather than a physical printed magazine publication.

The goal was to pick a topic that we had a passion for and create visuals, content and navigation formatted for an iBook. I created an epub based on my love for books and for bookworms called “Bookmarkd”.

Digital Publications required a working navigation to flip between pages, a working Table of Contents and photo galleries to flip through. Along with this, Youtube videos were embedded and the creation of my own 2-minute video.

For the purpose of showing off the pages, some of them are presented in a paper format for the sake of representing details. The final publication was submitted using the iBook format.

Course: Core Studio 3
Taught by: GDES Professors
Leland Hill and Maryam Al-Homaid

Graphic Design Team:
Hagar Allam
Ghada Ali

Multiple packages were created based on the branding of our bookshop and coffee shop, Chapters and Atlas with variations based on flavours. A systems design approach was required for a coherent and unified system. An organized approach was required to take into account all related constants and variables of the system. We used a design language for each part of the brand to express the information and knowledge in a structure of the system that was defined by a consistent set of rules and definitions.

My personal contribution to this group was creating the illustrations for the sparkling water cans, along with the design system for the chocolate bars and tea boxes!
This all resulted in the products you see on this page in relation to our coffee shop, Atlas.
Atlas believes in bringing the community together. We are passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans from all around the world to uplift our customers.

Atlas’ main goal is to bring the flavours of the world to the customer’s fingertips through the food and drink provided but also a sense of belonging, our shop becomes a haven, a break from the worries outside.

Exploring animated type and the flexibility of programs like Adobe Illustrator and After Effects to create simple, unique and complicated compositions.

This project was done during the start of the pandemic and greatly influenced the content of the project.

Course: Core Studio 3
Taught by: GDES Professors
Leland Hill and Maryam Al-Homaid

This project was a collaborative exercise where design teams compiled from Graphic Design and Interior Design students created a unique brand identity & experience of a retail store (“post” / during COVID-19 times).

The outcomes were presented in multiple phases that showcased the brand identity; and the brand implementation within a speculative retail store design. This, of course, was connected with the space design and the user experience.

Branding was created for our bookstore, Chapters, along with the interior coffee shop, Atlas.
This was evident within the brand manual, branding of future products and the interior space itself which incorporated our brand values, beliefs and vision.

Design Team included:

Graphic Design:
Hannah Fakhri
Ghada
Hagar

Interior Design:
Shainah
Deema
Aldana

Langour: Refers to lethargy or weakness in body and mind. You might experience this phenomenon when you've been working too many hours and are starting to hit burnout.

Creating a sans serif typeface that represents my preferred typeface choices. I wanted to create a display like a typeface I could use for all future projects and something that I could call my own.

36 days of Type inspired exercise:
Before the creation of Langour, I went through the process of creating some interesting letterforms to get a better understanding of typography. This led to some interesting visual developments.

You will also be able to see the beginnings of Langour within the initial type experiments, and then the drafting phase I went through before reaching the final.

Langour Movie Posters:
After creating my own typeface, I went ahead and created some minimalistic movie posters that would help visually enhance the look and feel of the typeface.

This project then later inspired an honours research project!

Movies displayed here:
Alien (1979)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Silent Hill (2006)
Resident Evil (2002)

Exploring versatile graphic visual language that can then be used to generate an icon library for personal use.

The initial visual language was further explored through the use of Indie Album covers that propped itself on the contradictions of modern society within the Middle East.

An accordion-fold book dedicated to England and 7 internal cities. Everything within this mini 10.5x10.5cm book has been cut by hand, typography included.

The vinyl typography are the coordinates for the corresponding cut out visual map. The goal was to create a visual book to show off these cities without using the city names.

Along with this, the use of shadows is important to show the scale and growth of these cities. Playing with direct light was a fun and interesting element in creating this final book form.

Materials used: 100gsm White Paper, black vinyl and a precision cutting knife.

Class: Typography
Taught By: Leland Hill

On this page, you will be able to see a collection of posters that were created, to help increase my fluency and design literacy within the typography element of design.

Project 2: Reimagined Movie Posters
The premise of this project was to recreate a movie poster of our choice. I picked the Sci-Fi Horror classic, Alien (1979). Part of the brief was to include imagery, to help understand the balance between typography and imagery. There was also a focus on smaller typographic elements like credits and actors names, these all played a role in the overall typographic element of the poster.

Project 3: Lyric Poster
The outcome of this project was to create a purely typographic poster, just using the lyrics from a song. The song I picked was “Burning Pile” by Mother Mother.
We picked one typeface and solely used that family alone to create contrast, imagery and other tidbits. I used the typeface Nimbus and used a wide range of weights, ranging from thin italic, all the way to extra bold.
Colour was also included within the poster, but only if it was to help the meaning of the lyrics come across.