We are pleased to introduce Anti-Type, the first edition of the annual graphic design and poster exhibition and competition – Tasmeem. The exhibiting work of graphic art and typography was selected through an open call and aims to expand the discourse and display of graphic design for upcoming and established regional talent. The month-long exhibition will be open to visitors from Monday 25 July.
Throughout the long history of type design (the art and process of designing typefaces), people have used every tool at their disposal to make type legible and beautiful - from brushes to woodblocks to metal plates to digital software. Type design is evolving at a more dramatic rate than ever before. In this digital age, we have more variety and more access to typefaces than we have ever had. One by-product of this excess is the fact that space has opened up for experimentation and play within the realm of type design.
For its first edition, Tasmeem takes as a starting point the notion of ‘anti-type design.’ The selection of posters on display use letterforms as a tool to tell stories in new and exciting ways, exploring new horizons in type design.
Type design is all around us; it touches every aspect of our lives - we are constantly digesting it, whether we are aware of it or not. This exhibition aims to foster a deeper understanding of how letters are designed and facilitate a discourse related to the history, present, and future of type design.
The posters are not necessarily about challenging typographic conventions - legibility, functionality, visual balance - but leaving them aside altogether, allowing us to re-think what we take for granted about type and letterforms.
ICD Brookfield Place is proud to announce the winners of Tasmeem’s 2022 Open Call:
Ibrahim Zaki Khamayseh
Artist, Illustrator, and Calligrapher, Ibraheem Khamayseh inherited his passion for creativity from his father, a renowned calligrapher. Born in Palestine, he studied Graphic Design at Al Najah University and began his career as a graphic designer for advertising agencies in Palestine In 2013, Ibraheem moved to the UAE in 2013. He joined Tashkeel three years later as a Senior Graphic Designer.
Ibraheem is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design Information Graphic Summer School (2019). Committed to the pursuit of lifelong learning, he continues to refine his skills by attending conferences such as Type Berlin (2016, 2017) and advanced training by acclaimed organizations such as Khatt Foundation. Ibraheem receives many private commissions and is an active teaching artist, regularly delivering workshops for children, young people, and adults.
Nouran Abed
Nouran Abed is a Graphic Designer from Cairo, Egypt, with a bachelor degree in graphic design from the German University in Cairo. The scope of her work focuses on editorial design and crafting visual identities, and she also dedicates a portion of her time to passion projects by experimenting using different mediums and exploring visual storytelling.
Mohammed Khalil
Dubai based Syrian motion graphics designer, has been working in the media industry since 2010. Started doing 3d art at the age of 15, then expanded his work into animation, photography & video.
Sarah Shebl
Sarah Shebl is a Cairo-based designer and researcher who holds a B.A from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She specialises in typography; among her prominent works is the Arabic adaptation of the typographic logo for Azza Fahmy and Type Lab at AUC. Her work covers visual identity and publication design. She worked as a designer and research assistant in “A History of Arab Graphic Design” book and as a display designer for the “Si’Joublie” exhibition. Shebl continues to experiment and explore the creative range of typography.
Saba Sayfaiee
Saba Sayfaiee is an interdisciplinary designer from the United Arab Emirates. Her main interests lie in editorial design, typography, and photography. She examines and explores different cultural, social, and behavioural topics through different mediums. In 2021, she graduated with a B.S. in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah.
Kinda Ghannoum
Kinda Ghannoum, Awarder Graphic designer Based in Belgium, worked on developing identities, Passionate about Art, typography & Research
She graduated from Damascus University with a Bachelor of Architect, after graduation she shifted her career into graphic design. She finished her Master of Visual Arts in Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Belgium.
Co-Founder of Syrian Design archive.
Rana Wassef
Rana Wassef is a Graphic Designer and Artist from Cairo, Egypt. She holds a BA in Graphic Design from the German University in Cairo and currently getting her MA in Editorial Design form ELISAVA in Barcelona, Spain. Her work focuses on Editorial Design, Type Design and Visual Identities. In May 2022, she curated Cairo Type Collective (ig @cairotype) which supports Arabic Type Design in Cairo, MENA and Worldwide. In October 2021 she was featured in Slanted Magazine, Colors Edition #38 and in February 2021 her poster was selected among the winning posters for Hundred Best Arabic Poster 3rd round. www.ranawassef.com & ig @ranawassef
Zeid Jaouni
Zeid Jaouni, is a Palestinian communications designer, brand/identity developer, editorial designer, and graphic fanatic, with experience in digital and printed media. He is passionate, respectful, and a creative person with intact leadership skills and capabilities who has a drive for improvement, success, and ethical decision-making. Zeid Jaouni completed his education at Parsons School of Design with honors in BFA Communication Design, 2022, in New York, NY.
Maryam Belhoul
I chose to design an ayah (phrase) from the Quran that my mother always recites to my and my sister imprinting it in my brain since I was younger. "ادفع بالتي هي أحسن" which means whenever you feel wronged by someone pay it back with kindness and a better attitude. The pattern of the type was inspired by bluebells since they are a symbol of kindness. The bubble design was taken from my adolescent drawing, I used to draw lots of shapes to express my emotion.
Reina Hasbini
Reina is a Graphic Designer at The Farm. She graduated from the American University of Beirut in 2020 with a BFA in Graphic Design & a minor in Art History. She's very interested in experimenting digitally and exploring new ways of using design as a communication tool.
Ana Escobar
Ana Escobar Saavedra has a cross-disciplinary practice, working on the frontiers of art, craft and design.
Born and bred in Colombia, after living and working 3 years in Italy and 13 years in France, she moved to Dubai in 2020. Her work has been featured in different printed publications and has been selected for group exhibitions across Europe, Colombia, Argentina, China, Australia, the USA and the UAE. For the last few years, she has combined a personal studio practice alongside, research, writing and other professional projects in a range of fields such as fashion, art and trend forecasting. Ana has a background in fashion and textiles and goldsmithing and currently she is pursuing an MA in object and jewellery from MASieraad in partnership with Hogeschool PXL in Hasselt Belgium.
Erin Collins
Erin Collins is a visual designer, researcher, and educator. She holds a BA in Visual Art and in Cognitive Science from New York University Abu Dhabi and an MFA in Graphic Design from Maryland Institute College of Art. Her research interests are at the intersection of design, cognitive science, sustainability, and health — what kind of design can transform human behavior. Though trained as a graphic designer with expertise in publication design and branding, she is passionate about interdisciplinary work and approaching all kinds of problems through design research and experimentation. Erin has worked as a designer and artist since 2013 and won several awards including the Christo & Jeanne-Claude Award. She currently works as an Instructor of the Arts in Design and manages the Visual Design Lab at NYUAD.
Curated by Graphic Designer and Art Director Jenan Saleh and inspired by last year's successful poster exhibition This is the Message: Four Voices in Contemporary Graphic Art, Anti-Type by Tasmeem was conceptualised by the ICD Brookfield Place Arts program to encourage creativity in the region. The exhibition’s selection committee members consist of a diverse group of renowned professionals, each bringing their considerable experience to the table. The committee includes Graphic Designer and Type Designer Wael Morcos; Type Designer and Multidisciplinary Artist Ali Almasri; and Curator & Public Programmes Designer Daniel H. Rey.
