Khatt Chronicles: Stories on Design from the Arab World

Huda AbiFarès interviews Hussein Alazaat about his passion since childhood for Arabic letters, Arab comics, and Arab graphic design. Alazaat discusses his influences: his education through his professional experiences in both Doha and Amman, prior to establishing his multi-functional studio space ElHarf House (elharf.com) where he hosts calligraphy and design workshops, and where his personal archive of rare printed Arabic books, magazines and ephemera are kept, that he named Khazanet El-Kutub el-Jamila / The Beautiful Books Trove (khazanet.org). Alazaat discusses his project Wajha (Wajha.org), a social design initiative he founded with his friend Ali Masri, that offers local shops in Jordan and other Arab countries, free visual identity and hand-painted shopfront signs as means to bring pride and beauty to less well to do neighborhoods. He also discusses his project related to old Jordanian/Arabian scripts and coins, and the importance of connecting old cultural heritage and visual culture of the 70s and 80s to contemporary graphic design.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com 

Huda AbiFarès interviews Farah Fayyad about her passion for and practice as screen printer at her co-founded Nice Nice Prints. She candidly tells her story about coincidentally becoming a graphic designer, staring with randomly studying design at the American University of Beirut (AUB), studying renowned local calligrapher, her professional experience with local design studios and cultural centers. She also discusses her design approach to printmaking, lettering and the intimacy of book design’s intricacies of formats, structure, and materiality.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com 

Huda AbiFarès interviews Turbo Studio founders Mothanna Hussein and Saeed Abu-Jaber about the story behind their the founding of their studio and their cross-disciplinary skills, backgrounds, and how they marry contemporary design with local heritage in their design practice. They discuss the way they create non-elitist design that speaks to everyone, bringing nostalgic well-designed everyday object into complex visual identities such the visual identity of Amman Design week and various music groups in the region. ***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com 

Huda AbiFarès interviews Magherita Abi Hanna about the relation between her graphic design background and her contemporary jewellery design. Ghita discusses her experimentation with form and material; her accidental mishaps that open up new design solutions and ideas; and finding inspiration in the urban context of her city of residence, Beirut.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com 

Yara Khoury Nammour interviews Pascal Zoghbi, from 29LT type foundry, about his love for Arabic letters and typography. Zoghbi discusses the practice and challenges of Arabic type design; and his educational and professional journey. The interview covers issues such as Zoghbi’s research, design process and his way of challenging the conventions of Arabic type design in order to create innovative and modern Arabic type design. The interview concludes discussing his publishing about type design and its importance to a more mature professional practice.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com 

Ghalia Elsrakbi is a design professional, researcher, and design educator. After obtaining her a Master's degree in Design at the Sandberg Institute, Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, she joined the post-academic interdisciplinary program " Design Negation" at Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. Her research was dedicated to the investigation of populist politics from the perspective of design and theory. ***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com

Yara Khoury Nammour interviews Nathalie Fallaha about her entrepreneurship and design ventures. The interview explores Fallaha’s agency specialisation in web design and branding. Together they unpack Fallaha’s design process and thinking, and her education and teaching in post civil war Beirut. ***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com

Huda AbiFarès interviews Karim Farah about his graphic design and Arabic lettering work. The interview explores the potential of music in Karim’s development of his unique visual language in which he questions the aesthetics of the Kufi style, abstracting it to extract a specific meaning out of compositions, while pushing the legibility of the letters as far they can go before losing recognizabilty, and challenging the reader to ‘read’ them as form and not as linguistic signs.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com

Khatt interviews Jana Traboulsi about the relation between drawing, illustration and expressive graphic design. The talk explores ideas on engagement with political and cultural issues, and on combining personal explorations with critical thinking. Jana elaborates on her publication design practice, Bidayat magazine and the Waraq collective.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com

Khatt interviews Joan Baz, designer, illustrator, and animator about her professional journey and process as an illustrator and animator. Baz discusses her involvement with Waraq, an interdisciplinary collective focused on creating projects that activated public space in experimental ways. She talks about her exploration of mapping techniques to uncover cultural or political issues, and her presenting this content through unexpected media like children's books, interactive projects, and audiovisual installations.***** About Khatt Chronicles *****Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. In line with the rest of the Khatt foundation projects, focuses on new developments with Arab typography and design. By Arab, we mean people working with the Arabic language, script, and audience, who are not necessarily Arabs. These initiatives are dedicated to the younger generation as an alternative medium. It also focuses on the younger generations of designers to fulfill three primary objectives:1. Promote designers in the Arab World to the region and the rest of the world.2. Continue the mission of Khatt foundation as a network between designers to support fostering and exploring new ideas.3. Present these podcasts for inspiration and educational reasons.The podcast is an ongoing platform covering design initiatives and developments around the world. Our aim is to identify and highlight designers from the Arab World that have made meaningful contributions in their fields or have demonstrated excellence in design.Through storytelling, the Khatt Chronicles podcast will get you to know the designers on a personal level, and get to learn about how they think, and what makes them tick.Khatt Chronicles podcast is in collaboration with afikra.FollowInstagram: @khatt_chroniclesTwitter: @khttnetYouTube: Khatt Chronicles - YouTubeKhatt.net_Khatt Chronicles: https://www.khtt.net/en/page/28678/khatt-design-chronicles***** About afikra *****afikra 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. Read more about us on afikra.com