Majid Al Futtaim is a holding company in Dubai with over 40,000 employees operating multiple business units including shopping malls, retail, and leisure establishments in 13 countries including the UAE, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia.

Within their Leisure business unit, there is Global Snow, and the flagship Ski Dubai snow park. Our brief for Global Snow was summarised down to following statement: “Develop a signature brand experience that embodies Global Snow’s excitement, optimise the booking process, and boost customer retention.”

Matching their ambitious goals of opening more snow parks, we were tasked to build a dual language scalable digital experience that would work across multiple formats – web, kiosk, display, apps and more.

Working with a brand which was “waiting for a brand update” we decided to move forward with typography and set a standard for a communication hierarchy utilising the Druk family for headlines – in Heavy Italic, Wide Heavy Italic as well as Text Heavy Italic and Text Wide Super Italic styles – and Inter for all body copy. For the Arabic headlines, we commissioned 29LT for a customised version of 29LT Bukra Wide Black.

EIPICO is a pharmaceutical company located in Egypt. The package design of one of its medical products uses Nasser. The product’s name is سيتال in Arabic, or CETAL in English. Other texts on the package also using Nasser include:
معلق للشرب: يؤخذ عن طريق الفم (“oral suspension: to be taken orally”)
مسكِّن للألم وخافض للحرارة (“analgesic and antipyretic”)

باراسيتامول (Paracetamol) is set in 29LT Bukra. Other fonts used are Source Sans, Swissra, AXt Manal Black, and Helvetica.

For the first time outside of the United States Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop arrived in the Middle East. A journey through four decades of photographs, memorabilia, album and magazine covers that document Hip-Hop culture.

Manarat Al Saadiyat in collaboration with Sole hosted the exhibition in Abu Dhabi. We worked closely with the Sole team to bring the vision for the show to life developing the exhibition’s brand identity, show design and marketing materials.

The exhibition is curated by Vikki Tobak, creatively directed by Fab 5 Freddy and produced by Joseph Patel. Featuring over 200 images by 60+ photographers including; Janette Beckman, Barron Claiborne and Jorge Peniche. Photographs are displayed alongside original contact sheets. The contact sheets give an intimate look into the photographer’s journey during the shoot and unrivalled insight into the personality of the subject in front of the camera.

A highly engaging experience was developed in partnership with the Sole team. Lightboxes were utilised to highlight specific moments and unique displays designed to showcase some of hip-hop’s most iconic pieces. Minimal wall and floor graphics were used to enhance the overall experience and helped guide visitors around the show.

A range of marketing materials were created for the show from billboards, exhibition catalogues and flyers to a comprehensive social media and digital campaign.

Neue Helvetica Condensed is used as the main typeface, set in capitals. Arabic texts are set in 29LT Bukra.

“The Campaign of Hand Washing in Yemen” took place in December 2017 at Al-Mukalla City and Aden City and was organized by Yemen Aid, with support by Lifebuoy Soap (a brand of soap marketed by Unilever).

“Life does not go according to your plans; expect the unexpected”. For this poster design in her تجــربة [Trial] series, Saudi Arabian designer Malak Mohammed used 29LT Bukra, modified with extended bottom parts.

Musrara Graduates 2019 presents the works of students graduating from the different departments of Musrara, the Naggar School of Art and Society in Jerusalem, Israel.

On display are works created on the intersection of art and technology, photographs, various visual pieces, books, site-specific photo and video installations, performance, and sound. Towards the appointed hour, the school in its different classes is transformed into a diverse display complex.

The exhibition title is set in Jérémy Schneider’s Sud (Latin); #37 by Michal Sahar (Hebrew); the SemiCondensed style of 29Letters’ 29LT Bukra is used for Arabic. The date in a circle uses Hoefler Text by Jonathan Hoefler.

Hoefler Text is also used on the prints material and website, alongside Hadassah Friedlaender by Yanek Iontef. Arabic texts are rendered in Greta Text Arabic by Krystian Sarkis.

A series of two posters for a workshop at the German University in Cairo, on which 29 LT Bukra and 29LT Zarid Display are mixed with illustrations in a loud style.

Baalbek, Archives of an Eternity is an exhibition curated by Vali Mahlouji. It was shown at Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon, from 28 June to 22 September, 2019:

Baalbek, Archives of an Eternity investigates the site of Baalbek. It reconstructs a complex network of histories and readings, encompassing the pre-historic origins of the site, its rise to prominence, mythologies, functions, occupations, appropriations, its role in identity politics, its role in modern national and political agenda, its hosting of the Baalbek International Festival, and its contemporary reality. The project brings together archaeological, ethnographic, anthropological, cultural, and artistic perspectives to unpack the history of Baalbek from its origins to the contemporary moment. It attempts to ascertain if, and how, Baalbek operates as a signifier, a point of reference, and an identity marker throughout history.

Exhibition graphics and communication design: Mind The Gap
Scenography: Jacques Aboukhaled
Photographs: Christopher Baaklini

Arabic edition of Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s bestselling series of children’s books with illustrated biographies of outstanding women. First published in Spanish in 2015 as Pequeña & Grande, the series is known in English as Little People, Big Dreams. The first three volumes published by Hachette Antoine as أطفال بأحلام كبيرة deal with Agatha Christie, Marie Curie, and Coco Chanel.

The Founder’s Memorial is a permanent national tribute dedicated to commemorating the life, legacy and values of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE. — The Founder’s Memorial

The 2018 New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Research Conference opened yesterday, showcasing the University’s innovative interdisciplinary research which addresses some of the world’s most pressing questions while furthering new knowledge and discovery. The conference is ongoing from November 5 - 7 and highlights the role that NYUAD plays as a hub for education, scholarship, and advanced research in Abu Dhabi. — Press release, New York University | Abu Dhabi

For the conference identity, 29LT Bukra is used throughout.

Poster designed in collaboration with the employees of Norac Foods Spain for the art biennale Les Ateliers de Rennes and FRAC Bretagne.

Design inspired by dynamic elements in transformation. The poster represents a contrasting view of the future between order and chaos. The font in use in 29LT Bukra Condensed.

Typographic poster illustrating a quotation from Al Ma’moon.

الخط روضة العلم، وقلب الفهم، وفن الحكمة، وديباجة البيان. المأمون.

The Arabic words الخط / العلم / الفهم / الحكمة / البيان are drawn in an abstract simplified form and interlock with circular and line shapes creating the design which is inspired by the Arabic astrolabes.

Shown in the exhibition RASM: Contemporary Arabic TypoGraphic Posters 2008—2018 at 1971 Design Space in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The book Beautiful Tragedies contains an Arabic theater play by Egyptian playwright Abdul Rahman Al-Sharqawi (1920–1987). It was published by Dar El Shorouk.

ملصق صدمة في … / في صدمة

Shock In… / In Shock Poster

Inspired by the 2017 political situation in Lebanon and the Middle East, this poster was created during the “Stop, Collaborate” workshop led by Mayar El-Bakry at Tashkeel as part of Weltformat DXB exhibition’s program.

Dia Al-Azzawi. Taking a Stand: Activism Through Graphic Design was designed by Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès and published by Khatt Books.

Dia al-Azzawi is a renowned contemporary Iraqi artist whose graphic design work is largely undocumented. Dia al-Azzawi’s multifarious involvement with graphic design — encompassing a rich output of illustration, publication and print design as well as a variety of promotional, curatorial and critical activities — is unmistakably a form of activism: a fervent expression of al-Azzawi’s social, political and artistic position and an energetic endeavour to bring about change. His interest in literature and poetry manifests throughout his career in projects ranging from publications in collaboration with authors to formal explorations of image and text. Socio-political concerns, historical testimony, and the question of identity are also prominent themes throughout his practice. This book outlines al-Azzawi’s graphic activism, focusing on the period between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. It charts some key episodes from his journey in graphic design, from his beginnings in his native Baghdad to his later work at the Iraqi Cultural Center in London. It presents his prolific design output and demonstrates the potential of a modern Arab visual language rooted in the ancient cultural legacies of the Middle East.

The Arabic font used for the the artist’s name on the cover as well as for chapter titles is Ramzi, custom digitized following the lettering work of Nadhim Ramzi. Hoverunit from Typodermic was selected as its Latin equivalent. The subheadings are set in 29LT Bukra and the texts in 29LT Kaff, both from 29Letters.

29LT Bukra is used for the wayfinding and interactive applications in the Etihad Museum in Dubai.

Visit Dubai:

Dubai is well-known for always looking towards the future, but a new museum in the emirate gives visitors a deeper look into the UAE’s past. Opened on January 7, 2017, the museum chronicles the era before the country’s founding, the agreement signing and subsequent declaration of the Union in 1971. The museum also provides insight and understanding of the UAE constitution and the rights and responsibilities of Emirati citizens. The building design was inspired by the shape of a manuscript, with seven columns symbolising the pens used to sign the Union agreement.

This book is about the satirical TV comedy show Asaad Allah Masakom (“Good Evening”) by MBC. It was written by Zaven Kouyoumdjian, with illustrations by Hanane Kai. The cover was designed by Maajoun. Published by هاشيت أنطوان Hachette Antoine.

Poster series created by renowned Iranian graphic designer Reza Abedini, showcasing various typefaces by 29Letters.

Since we wanted the posters to be a collaborative effort between Abedini’s (graphic designer) and my (type designer) skills, Abedini had full freedom to play with the fonts and create unique visuals, instead of just designing the posters to showcase the fonts. Abedini wanted the posters to stand by themselves as unique visual items and not only as typographic products promoting a certain set of fonts.

A human figure was introduced in each poster to interact with the typeface displayed. A young Arabic literature expert, Hussein Nasseeddine, gave Abedini a set of phrases and quotes written by several renowned Arabic poets and writers such as Illias Khoury, Hassan Dawood, Mahmoud Darwish, among others. In each poster, the selected text, the human silhouette, and one of 29LT fonts were meticulously chosen to create the right visual aspect of the poster.

The 29LT posters were made available for the first time at Nuqat Design conference 2014 via The Yard bookstore. See the 29LT Blog for more information.

The 29LT Zeyn typeface is very delicate and reflects elegance and grace. Its extremely high contrast had to be displaced in a big size to reveal the intricacy of its outline. A silhouette of a determined, focused man in a precise outfit and elegant atmosphere is illustrated with a thin line and black mass reflecting the elegance and contrast of the typeface. Abedini chose the quote from Hassan Dawood, “I always want to have something to see, like I am watching something, to be able to write. Only then, when I am describing what I see, I find myself in writing.”

The 29LT Zarid typeface is very robust and echoes seriousness. Its black edgy pen strokes contrast sharply with the white space within and around them. Abedini chose to work with the quote of Mahmoud Darwish, “The Truth is white, so write it in the ink of crow. And the Truth is black, so write about it with the light of the mirage” to reflect the seriousness of the type design and the humanistic idea of Black and White. The font was outlined and overlaid with a pattern of striped lines reflecting the vagueness of black or white truth. The typographic visual was emphasized with a figure of a speechless woman and that of a superior woman with a loud voice coming from inside her.

The 29LT Massira typeface is a freehand type inspired from the political graffiti writings in Beirut. Abedini chose a revolutionary satirical quote from Mohammad Al Maghout “What is the benefit in being able to write anything in this world, when you are unable to change anything in it.” The human figure is taken from a screen shot of a woman from a political movie. She represents the revolutionary ideas of women even when they are shown to be calm in statues.

Community Jameel annual report designed by The Brand Union in Dubai.