Khatt Chronicles: Stories on Design from the Arab World

Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews Brussels-based, Syrian-Polish designer Kinda Ghannoum. They discuss her journey into the field of design, through practical work following her graduation with a degree in architecture from the University of Damascus.Kinda shares her travails as a self-taught graphic designer and her passion for the Arabic script, lettering and typography. The conversation centers around issues of preservation of identity while saddling two nationalities, and of providing educational resources to design students in Syria and preserving Syrian design history, as well as what it means to be practicing in a diasporic context. A number of Kinda's remarkable projects are discussed starting with her seminal archival project, The Syrian Design Archive, that she set up with two friends – Sally Alassafen and Hala Al Afsaa – in 2020 during her postgraduate studies in Belgium. Kinda also discusses some of her other significant projects where cultural advocacy and collaboration was at the core.What transpires from this conversation is an image of a courageous and dedicated woman designer that breaks any stereotypes of women from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. Kinda's work is featured in the book "Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa" (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Roshanak Keyghobadi interviews New York-based Iranian designer Zeynab Izadyar. They discuss her journey into the field of design and textile design; beginning with her education as graphic designer in Tehran, followed by her postgraduate studies at Yale University School of Art, then backtracking to her childhood.Zeynab candidly shares stories about her creative father and her collaboration with him on "making" things, from books and furniture for her dolls, to knitting, and drawing. The moment of a chance discovery of her mother's well-saved Iranian linen rice bags filled her with a sense of wonder and a recognition of their cultural value to her. This eventually led to the establishing her design studio, vvork vvork vvork (https://vvorkvvorkvvork.com) which specialises in clothing and textile design.The conversation then smoothly moves to gender issues in relation to her work as a textile designer. She shares her struggles in overcoming her initial rejection of — and later her pride in — the "feminine" label assigned to textile design and garment-making. The discussion then turns to the gender-biased perception of graphic design in Iran, where female designers are challenged to fight for recognition. Zeynab ends with this closing remark: "I learned to get rid of the idea of being perfect and right, […] leaving room for mistakes that provide [me with] a space to grow.” FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Yara Khoury Nammour interviews London-based Lebanese designer Samar Maakaroun. They discuss at length her journey into the field of branding and lettering, her work at Pentagram studio in London and what it means to be the first Lebanese partner in the studio. They cover her independent project on lettering "29 Words for 29 Letters" – playing with meanings, writing systems, and animation, to build a playful and experimental multicultural glossary, and embracing the multiplicity and complexity that comes from thinking in and working with two languages, and in a diasporic context. Samar discusses a special book project for the charity SkatePal and how the timing of the project lent it a different and more poignant political urgency. The discussion ends with a conversation about AI and how it can be supportive of designers' work, but also how it can be misused. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès moderates a conversation between the hosts of season 4 of @khatt_chronicles. The discussion addressed the three main themes that are planned for this season, focusing on the overarching theme of Graphic Women from the SWANA region. The Khatt Foundation's latest research project that culminated in the publication "Revealing Recording Reflecting, Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa" published by Khatt Books at the end of 2024 will be used to guide the themes and selection of guests. The book is divided around the themes of "By Women About Women," "Engaged Image-Making," "Women of Letters," and "Women Designers in the Diaspora." The hosts Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Yasmine Nachabe Taan, Yara Khoury Nammour, and Roshanak Keyghobadi, introduce the potential designers they will each be speaking to and themes they will be discussing this season, extending a little further into the next season and more specifically some of the 90 women designers and visual artists featured. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Roshanak Keyghobadi interviews UK-based Iranian type designer and researcher Sahar Afshar. They discuss Sahar's journey into the field of type design, the challenges she faced along the way, and her views on the responsibility of designing a typeface. They discuss some of Sahar's main and award-winning type projects. They touch upon specific topics of technology and how it might facilitate certain tedious tasks and speed up the design process. They also unpack the issue of the exclusion of women from the Iranian Graphic design history and the broader issue of the representation of women in the type design field at large. They end the conversation on a positive note highlighting the active role that the younger generation are taking in publishing and uncovering the professional engagement of women in graphic design. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews France-based Algerian graphic and designer Walid Bouchouchi. They discuss his journey into the field of graphic design, his move to France (first Paris, then Marseille), and his professional transformation along the way. Walid discusses the design education and practice in Algeria in caparison with Paris and Marseille. They unpack his ideas on designing, researching, type design, publication design, and other range of graphic design practices. They zoom in on his design process and the motivations behind his inventive typeface design and its relation to spoken language and Algerian Amazigh identity. They also discuss some of his main projects that carry personal meaning, focusing on immigration and feeling at home. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Yara Khoury Nammour interviews France-based Iranian educator and independent type designer Sina Fakour. They discuss his design teaching and the paths one can take as a graphic designer. They unpack his ideas on designing thinking, research, creative coding, type design, publication design, and a range of other graphic design practices. They zoom in on his type design process, how he develops his concepts, his interest in multiscript typeface design, and how he introduces this to design students in France. They discuss his postgraduate research work on the Linear Elamite script at the Atelier National de Recherches Typographique (ANRT) in Nancy, France. Finally, we learn about his personal ambitions and publishing desires and the struggles of balancing all aspects of working as an independent designer. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Roshanak Keyghobadi interviews Iranian designer Mitra Shahsavand, design director and founder of the Mitra Shahsavand Design Studio. They discuss Mitra's journey into the field of graphic design and focus on some of her impactful and challenging projects of presenting women products within the Iranian public space. They also discuss education, the role of women in the Iranian graphic design scene, and the attitudes of the new generation of designers. They end with some thoughts on what will be important for designers in the future within the technology-dominated field of graphic design. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews Iranian designer Aria Kasaei, who co-founded Studio Kargah with his classmate and friend Peyman Pourhossein. They discuss his journey into the field of graphic design and the cultural engagement from Studio Kargah's humble beginnings in a basement in Tehran to its present day status, and the recent setting up of a satellite studio in Paris. Together, they discuss the archiving, exhibiting and publishing on design history in Iran and the region, and reiterate the importance of collaboration on such projects between designers and institutions in the region. They address the important role that women designers and younger generations are playing in Studio Kargah as well the design scene in the region, and finally highlight some of Studio Kargah's projects and collaborations with various type designers and cultural activists in Iran and the diaspora. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In this episode of Khatt Chronicles, Yasmine Nachabe Taan interviews Lebanese design writer and critic, Sahar Khraibani. They discuss her journey into the field of design writing through graphic design and illustration. Together, they unpack the importance of design and critical writing at this moment in time. They discuss Sahar's major writing projects, the importance of exposing local narratives, and how to present these untold stories to a wide range of audiences. They end their discussion talking about design education in the region and the United States, how to decolonize the design cannon, and how to disseminate information in a democratic and inclusive way. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra