A Manifesto of Change or Design Imperialism? A Look at the Purpose of the Social Design Practice

In June 2014, I had the opportunity to present my paper "A Manifesto of Change or Design Imperialism? A Look at the Purpose of the Social Design Practice" at the STS Italia conference 'A Matter of Design' in Milan, Italy. The proceedings were published a few months ago, and I'm happy to announce that my paper is available to read for free in the proceedings.

The proceedings can be found here: http://www.stsitalia.org/?p=1548&lang=en, and the paper is on pp. 245-260.

It's wonderful to see the journey the ideas within this paper have taken in the past three years. The idea started off through discussions with a colleague during our MA in Social Design at MICA, then evolved to a short presentation for the Goldsmiths Graduate Festival in May 2013, reworked for the STS Italia conference, and then reworked again for the proceedings. It's also making an altered appearance in Beirut next month as part of the Beirut Design Week International Conference (2-3 June 2015). I'm looking forward to presenting it in a non-academic oriented conference.

Don’t judge books by their cover – especially Arab works in translation| The National

Don’t judge books by their cover – especially Arab works in translation | The National

As a designer, I felt annoyed while reading this article. Despite agreeing with a lot of the author’s points, I also felt that it would’ve given it something more if she had bothered interviewing designers who work for these publishers. The fact is designers rarely have a final say when it comes to marketing. This neglect of a designer’s opinion makes us designers yet again seem irrelevant in the process.

The blame cannot just be put on marketing when it comes to stereotypical covers however - authors and translators likely play a role in constructing the brief. As a designer, I can’t tell you how many clients (both Arab and non-Arabs, both educated about the region and those merely interested in it) have asked me for “Arabian looks” that are nothing more but silly stereotypes. Yes people do judge books based on their cover: the proof that good design works is everywhere. When I browse a bookshop and come across books in translation, I often shake my head in disapproval. Frankly, I question a publisher who has the nerve to favour marketing over content.

I’m not saying designers are innocent either: the fact that the design profession is so reliant on the client allows this to happen. Rarely do designers question this unquestioned service to clients (it is their paycheque after all), or argue against the contents of a brief. But this is also the problem with universal/standard design. I’m certain when designers think of the Arab region the first imagery available to them is arabesque, veils, mosques, camels, turbans, and geometry. Context is everything - there is no one size fits all solution.

I believe that publishers need to start thinking about having teams of designers designated to work on specific regions - designers that are aware of the places they are designing about. Or better yet, publishers should hire an experienced and knowledgeable freelancer familiar with a specific region and who is capable of giving them an informed critique. Either way, designing book covers is like translation: the wrong choice can alter the meaning completely.

Notebooks

Notebook accumulation since beginning my MA in 2011. Actually this is not that accurate (many are missing!). Let’s call this the notebook accumulation since I moved to London in September 2012.

Kalimat at Facing Pages Magazine Biennale

kalimatkalimat:

Spotted: Kalimat Issue 08 posing for the cameras between Delayed Gratification and Varoom! at the Facing Pages Magazine Biennale in Arnhem last month.

Kalimat Issue 09

Hard to believe it has been three and a half years and nine issues. Kalimat Issue 09 is out - and it’s back in our initial format: online! Read it here: http://bit.ly/1gG2JZS and for a limited time, you can download a free PDF version. Of course, don’t forget the podcast: http://bit.ly/1l7A53o (free to download or stream)

Kalimat | Issue 09 - Vol. IV
Kalimat is an open outlet for political, social, and cultural expression for Arabs across the region and the diaspora to share their ideas and work. www.kalimatmagazine.com

Fantastic Man vs. Adam Levant

A few months back, I found myself in a waiting area sitting next to a famous graphic designer. This designer, who was formerly a big magazine collector, told me that he hates magazines because, “they all look like, or try to look like, Fantastic Man to me.”

While looking through Antoine bookshop in Beirut last week, I stumbled on “Adam Levant,” a magazine “for the man of the Middle East.” I snapped this shot to show you just how much this attempts to look like Fantastic Man, in both design and concept…guess the magazine cynic was right.