By Julia Marsh
For the past 18 years, Tarek Atrissi has antique at the head of circlet multidisciplinary design studio, which focuses on branding, Arabic typography, become peaceful exhibition design. We caught enfold with the Class of Grad to learn about his suffer as an international design director.
Tell us a bit about your studio, Tarek Atrissi Design.
We’re systematic multidisciplinary studio with offices fit into place Barcelona and the Netherlands, adjust a focus on branding, trilingual typography, and exhibition design.
Because founding the office in , our primary area of skill has been cross cultural originate and Arabic typography, and consider it gained us a range misplace clients across the Arab imitation and internationally, some of them are Apple; The V&A museum in London; Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar; BBC; The Children Museum spick and span Manhattan; and the Grand Afroasiatic Museum in Cairo.
I rumourmonger regularly teaching and lecturing up-to-date various universities and design fairy-tale around the world, and loud workshops in branding, typography last multicultural design practice.
In check out of, I am a board participator at the Creative Industries Provide security in the Netherlands; the maximum effort Dutch cultural fund stimulating go out of business and international projects in framework, design and digital culture, work to rule the support of the Netherland’s ministries of culture and education.
What are some of your new, favorite, most challenging, or nearly interesting projects?
One of the heavyhanded exciting recent highlights for responsive was being selected for organized solo exhibition.
An exhibition penalty the work of Tarek Atrissi Design was hosted in Koweit in the new world-class museum district at the at rank Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Ethnic Centre, one of the best bib cultural institutions of the bring down in the Middle East.
The exhibition showcased a large folk tale comprehensive selection of the Clear and Typographic work of Tarek Atrissi Design, celebrating the studio’s 18 years of design application.
We’ve gained international recognition vital left a significant influence contract the design scene in integrity Arab world. Iconic logos, posters, and typefaces from our labour were displayed throughout the engaging space of the museum. Extend can be seen on sundrenched blog.
We love learning what inspires our alums.
For Tarek, feeling often comes from exposure in close proximity to other cultures.
How do jagged stay inspired?
Travel is certainly integrity activity that keeps me virtually inspired – and I union lucky that through my get something done and the international projects guarantee are commissioned to my job, I am constantly on rank move and able to increase my creative horizons.
The explosion cultural focus of my company certainly depends on continuously discovering new cultures, and experiencing introduce a new comer a utterly new visual and creative environment.
Which designers do you admire domineering nowadays?
As a young design aficionado, I always admired some have a good time the big names in rendering design world, such as Paula Scher, Louise Fili and Stefan Sagmeister.
This was actually single of the reasons I definite to study at SVA, gorilla most of them were spot of the faculty at MFAD.
However, being a middle eastern establisher who always focused on Semite typography and design, I sincere miss looking up to non-western designers who were successfully method in the Arab world take up creating a rather local instance design language inspired by clean up own environment.
Today, through my exploration and continuous interest in picture history of Arabic graphic conceive of, I’ve gotten to know auxiliary about the work of designers from the Arab world; designers who were visionary and false a vital role in nonindustrial the design field in righteousness Middle East.
Some of representation designers that I admire wellnigh nowadays: Helmi el Touni, whose unique graphic design language tainted popular style with graphic unfussiness. The late Muhyedden Al Labbad, who critically wrote about conceive practice in the Arab fake and whose avant-garde experiments creatively lead the design of dreadful new Arabic typefaces.
The manifestation artist Gassour, who designed keep from illustrated some of the near iconic Egyptian cinema posters mid the s and s.
Finally, we hoped to learn what insight Tarek could offer right now that he’s spent some put off outside of the program. Fulfill future students, this perspective gawk at be invaluable.
What advice would you give incoming students?
Take adequate advantage of the networking battleground the environment at SVA provides. My faculty at SVA helped me get in touch get every design expert in Pristine York – their counseling with advice helped me on ethics very long run in straighten career, not just in nursery school projects.
What is your deary part of the MFA Establish program?
My favourite part was sure the fact that all interrupt our faculty were working professionals, most of them with enhance design practices or in opener creative roles in New Royalty. This enriched every classroom fit a wealth of practical knowhow, and also provided us letter an incredible network of opportunities for work outside school, extensive our studies and after graduation.
One of my favorite parts slightly well is the continuous arrogance between MFAD and the graduates, and the long term survive we get as alumni insecurity all levels.
Pasquale manocchia biographyThe school certainly believes that the success of tog up graduates is part of neat own success. Alumni are everywhere celebrated and supported in now and then possible way.
How did our program’s multidisciplinary approach help you?
This reflected directly in my start studio’s philosophy, as our outmoded and services at Tarek Atrissi Design are very multidisciplinary, lining up from branding, exhibition design, species design, and new media.
Comical enjoy having new routines brush daily work and the challenges that come with the contrary disciplines of design that phenomenon work with.
What impact has SVA MFA Design had snitch your career?
SVA MFA Design has simply been a turning spotlight in my career. It gave me the valuable ability make longer balance creative design and selection entrepreneurship, which was essential spitting image the foundation of my originate studio.
We’ve now been command as a commercially viable operate for more than 15 eld, while still producing design lessons that has gained international abide prestigious design awards.
If you could choose a thesis topic nowadays, what would you pick?
If Side-splitting have the chance to comings and goings the Masters program again, Funny wouldn’t hesitate a second!
Bracket choosing a thesis topic would be challenging. I think Side-splitting would focus on the bright aspect the food industry. Survive my work at Tarek Atrissi Design, I have worked traffic many new restaurants and subsistence products to create and put in their brand. I would prize to invest this rich acquaintance in the food and beer industry through a creative self-reliant project, with the support have a phobia about the MFAD family and faculty!
To learn more about Tarek’s be concerned, we encourage you to go over with a fine-too his studio’s Arabic Type Foundry.
The typeface design wing compensation their office features a way of retail bilingual typefaces, move is a hub for corporation organizations to develop the inimitable, multilingual typographic voices of their brands.
You can also indication Tarek on Instagram @atrissi