My name is Shamsa - I am a graduate of the American University in Dubai, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication, majoring in Graphic Design. I specialize in a variety of disciplines such as branding, package, book, and poster design. My inspiration usually comes from beautiful things and people around me, as I always try to find beauty in the most unusual places. My special interest in design is creating picturesque patterns; I believe that patterns have a way of beautifying the artwork. I also employ my culture and tradition in most of my work; it represents my values and who I am. Our father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is one of my main inspirational figures. I admire him for being a great leader, and father, and also for the importance he saw in holding on to our culture and tradition; which I think today people are starting to forget about. Injecting my tradition and culture into my designs is a way to remind people of the importance our Arabic culture and roots. This visual magazine is reusable - a ‘read, then wrap’ concept. Because of my love for patterns, I wanted to create something that was fun, and interesting at the same time. I first came up with an idea to create wrapping paper, then turned that idea into a cool visual magazine, which serves two purposes; reading, and wrapping. You simply read the magazine, and pull the spreads out and use them as wrapping paper when you are done. The magazine covers my interests, inspirations, and much more, I also wanted to make fun, and interactive, so I added a ‘Color Me Beautiful’ section, which invites you to color in my patterns and get creative yourself.
INSTAGRAM I’m not the best photographer but instagram sure makes me feel like one! Instagram is the coolest, most addictive iPhone app, it allows you to upload photos, and add filters to change the images look and feel. Instagram also allows you to share you photos on your facebook, twitter, and tumblr account. I use instagram to capture moments I never want to forget. I also get most of my inspiration using instagram, capturing the beauty of what’s around me, and using the images as my reference for certain projects! Look for me on Instagram: @Shamsaalabbar
INSPIRATION
I always look for inspiration around me. For my senior project ‘NAGSHA’ I went through my mother’s old henna drawing collection from the 70’s. My mother and her best friends used to gather and design beautiful henna patterns, to then have them drawn on their hands for special occasions like Eid, national day, weddings, and sometimes just for fun. They took some of their inspirations from floral patterns that were on rugs, curtains, and fabrics of their jalabyas. For my henna designs, I took elements from my mother’s beautiful henna sketches, and then injected my own modern angle.
The Square Kufi posters were created to be distributed as giveaways at live Arabic concerts as ‘iron on posters’. Using the square Kufi technique, each poster is made of a pattern using the words from specific Arabic songs. The overall design is very Islamic yet the use of a variety of bright and contrasting colors makes it perfect for the stylish and young. The main source of inspiration behind the posters is from arabesque patterns.
FINJAN FINJAN is a brand for a good cause, dedicating different designs of Arabic coffee cups to different relevant occasions or causes. The current theme presented is KAPPU- the Japanese translation of FINJAN or Arabic coffee cup. This theme is a dedication from FINJAN to the heroes and survivors of the unfortunate natural disaster that hit Japan - the earthquake. Through the sale of our line KAPPU, we hope to lend a helping hand to Japan and show our support. The packaging encasing the coffee cups are inspired by Japanese traditions and Japanese characters, using bright colors and boxed with a unique Japanese twist. The patterns used are of an arabesque nature, thereby bringing some of our identity into the overall Japanese feel. The coffee cups inside the packaging and designed using a mix of Arabic calligraphy and Japanese symbols. FINJAN is our gift to the heros in Japan.
READ I DARE YOU
The square kufi technique is on of most puzzling design in my opinion! Legibility is not the main concern, the overall beauty is! As I always say.. it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful! Try to guess what’s written in each design, and let the dare begin!
دبي دار الحي.6 اسهر معي ليله.5 انت محبوبي.4 الدلع يا كايدهم.3 سر حبي فيك غامض.2 ايوه قلبي عليك التاع.1
COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL
THE SYMPHONY EDIT Symphony is a high-end multiband boutique located at the Dubai Mall. The store focuses on luxury fashion apparel and accessories and also offers lifestyle items such as books, fragrances, and home items. The boutique has also worked with many artists for their creative campaigns and window installations. My sister, the owner of Symphony, gave me the opportunity to create The Symphony Edit, the boutique’s biannual magazine. I’ve done a total of three magazines up till now. This was a great experience as I learned a lot about being a graphic designer on the job, dealing with printers, and tight deadlines, and it also helped me get my name in the industry as many people were picking up the magazines!
ARABIC CALIGRAPHY
My love for Arabic calligraphy is indescribable! I love how beautiful its stocks are, and how the Arabic letters flow. I was recently enrolled in an Arabic Calligraphy workshop hosted by Saleh Al Shukairi and organized by The Ara Gallery. The workshop is a ten-day, weekly workshop purely for beginners. The workshop starts by teaching us to create our own bamboo pen, and preparing our ink, and more technical details, and then goes on into learning three to four letters from Al Ruqaa Script every session. I love the workshop so far, and I am learning a lot!
AL MAJLIS Being a cosmopolitan city, Dubai still lacks a proper Emirati restaurant. Visiting tourists mostly don’t have the chance to experience Emirati cuisine unless they’ve been invited into an Emirati home. Al Majlis (pronounced in slang elmeelas) is an area where friends and family gather and socialize. Customarily, each house has a majlis, which is a formal living room used more for formalities, special occasions and gatherings such as Eid. Al Majlis is one of a kind. Tourists visiting Dubai will finally be able to experience pure Emirati food. Al Majlis will give its customers the authentic Emirati atmosphere, with low-seated areas, Emirate cultural inspired furniture, and low soft Oud music to give the ideal experience. Since Al Majlis will have a bit of a modern twist to it, although still maintaining the purity of the food and style, the logo has the same feel, a mix between modern, traditional, and prestigious.
HIJRI CALENDAR The Hijri Calendar shows the beauty of Islam in our hearts through the months of the year. This is emphasized by ‘distorting’ the months of a year through cropping parts of the letters. The concept is inspired by Islamic ideals of beauty, which tells us that beauty is internal, yet beauty can be witnessed in the world no matter who you are and how you look. The design uses Arabic calligraphy, a staple of Islamic art, but the letters are cropped to emphasize their beauty in different forms.
COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL
“Shamsa is a passionate designer who is curious, flexible and reliable: a true creative problem solver.Her curiosity shows in her thinking process. Shamsa is always looking for inspiration and thinking how to best solve her design problems. Her flexibility shows in her experimentation. Shamsa is always exploring new techniques and styles before finding the right creative solution. Shamsa is reliable,a disciplined designer, able to meet her deadlines easily. What is more important is that Shamsa is passionate about what she does. This will always make her work stand out.” - Dina Faour Assistant Professor of Advertising (Creative)
“Shamsa designs in a clean, minimal way. She combines both English and Arabic typographic elements in many of her solutions, always looking for a simple, classical elegance to her compositions. Her portfolio work shown here is no exception: a restrained use of color combined with a love of pattern, and a bold use of white space. More often than not, she opts for the manipulation of vector graphics alone in her designs, preferring the stark contrast of the hard-edge shapes that define vector graphics. However, she brings a softness and femininity to the designs through the use of curvy, organic shapes. Her love of pattern shows a joy of design as decoration, and she finds a way of fusing traditional Emirati cultural symbols with modern techniques and visual elements, in a very organic, confident way. Patterns are mathematical, they are precise, they are speak to something quantifiable within us. Shamsa’s use of pattern is natural and bold, and we are looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.”
from there. The design that Shamsa eventually came with was absolutely perfect! It was simple, easy on the eye, delicate, fit flawlessly as a publication logo, and I completely loved it! Whatever tweaks that we asked from Shamsa on the final design, she took them very openly and was very enthusiastic on getting the final design done as efficiently as possible! Shams’s designs overall are beautiful art manifestations that are so detailed in a capturing way <3” - Iman Ben Chaibah Founder / Editor in Chief Sail eMagazine
“Shamsa Alabbar is former student of mine. Looking at the portfolio she has created during the last year, I see a sharp eye for details and very good sense of aesthetics. I suppose her design decisions are not driven purely by search for beauty. As far as I remember her approach, Shamsa conducts serious research on which she bases her design solutions. It is obvious that she is very interested on the subject of identity, national and corporate. The work is created with love. She is a promising young Emirati graphic designer.” - Krassen Krestev Associate Professor of Graphic Design
“No one can argue that Shamsa’s work is anything but exceptional. Her artistic flair is present in all her work. Patterns, calligraphy, and culture are focal points in her designs. Let’s admit, she does it well! The colors Shamsa uses have caught my attention. I’d like to see Shamsa design something completely western with no Arabic influences, while still maintaining her style. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with outside her comfort zone.”
- Sarah Lahti M.F.A. Associate Professor of Visual Communication
- Alia Al Midfa Communications Graduate from Zayed University/ Best Friend
“I love how shamsa always incorporate the Emirati tradition and Arabic calligraphy in her designs but in a contemporary way. I think that that makes shamsa unique as a graphic designer. Her designs are so creative and well thought of. I cant wait to see her upcoming designs, all the best of luck to her!”
“The reason I am inspired by Shamsa’s work is because she seamlessly blends certain aspects of our cultural heritage together with the modernity of our daily lives and making it relevant to today. I feel that it is important to display our culture through creative designs and patterns to keep our traditions alive.”
- Hind Dalmook Founder of 198 Events
- Maryam Al Marri Art Appreciator
“I worked with Shamsa on redesigning the logo of my online magazine “Sail eMagazine”. The original logo was rigid in nature, too horizontal, and did not fit as a publication logo. I discussed with Shamsa my vision of the new logo, the dilemma around avoiding any metaphorical symbols of the brand’s literal meaning on its design as the magazine doesn’t cover that topic, we then benchmarked it against different international publications logos, and she started
“Shamsa Alabbar’s work incorporates excellent element and design principles to create stunning designs. She has a classic strong design sense, that incorporates the UAE culture within modern elements. She is able to be a critically analyze a design challenge, conceptualize though final production, and capture the essence of beauty in her work.” - Brad Moody Associate Professor of Digital Media
MEMORY LANE I remember my first day at AUD, lost and confused. I remember my first freehand drawing class, thinking to myself “what am I doing here? I don’t even know how to draw!” I remember all the times I would spend my nights at printers and my mom kept calling me endlessly wondering when I would be home! I remember running through the A building corridors like a crazy person, to make it in time for class! I remember meeting wonderful people. I remember tripping, I can’t explain how many times. I’m just so clumsy! I remember staying for days in the same place - working non-stop. I remember not seeing my friends for months because of the heavy workload. I remember getting so mad when the program I was using suddenly crashed and I hadn’t saved the file! A valuable lesson learnt. I remember being over excited for graduation picture day! I remember advisor meetings, and there will always be a class I need to take! I remember cutting my finger accidently with the cutter while doing my mock-ups. I remember hating presentations! I remember learning from my mistakes. I remember sitting for an exit exam for 4 hours! I remember always having junk food with me in my bag. I can keep going on about things I remember, but one thing I will never forget is how this school became more like a home to me, and I know it will be hard to say goodbye…
COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL