16 May

Posted at 02:51h in Student Work & Teaching

It has been an absolute pleasure to serve on Asma Derouiche’s MFA committee and work alongside a fantastic group of interdisciplinary colleagues this year. Asma’s thesis brought together artisans and designers in Doha to reenvision the notion of product “authenticity” in this highly international capital city. I am looking forward to seeing Asma lead more critical collaborations such as these, shedding light on the importance of inclusive creative practices throughout...

16 May

Posted at 02:38h in Student Work & Teaching

I had a fantastic time serving with Diane Derr and Rab McClure on Zeinah Zahir’s MFA committee and can’t wait to see what happens next with this meaningful project! Zeinah’s thesis proposes concrete ways to capitalize on visually impaired students’ enhanced abilities through other intact senses like touch, sound, taste, or smell. Thesis Title: Sensory Substitution, Key to Inclusive Learning Abstract: Visually impaired students, in primary education, encounter unique challenges while learning...

26 Nov

Posted at 13:45h in Student Work & Teaching

Nuqta: End of the Line was a three-week exhibition held at VCUarts Qatar from November 23 to December 12, 2019. The show featured speculative design work created in the Co-Lab Studio course I adore(!) co-teaching with Basma Hamdy. In this iteration of our collaboration, we brought together students enrolled in the elective courses Future Realities + Design Activism to examine power and resistance positions. Our students worked together in small teams using world-building...

08 May

Posted at 13:17h in Student Work & Teaching

What does a Graphic Design thesis look like at VCUarts Qatar? Anything you can imagine! Students explore various materials, methods, and investigations to carve out a unique space for themselves, from printed matter to speculative artifacts. As a course dedicated to the BFA thesis, the Senior Studio engages with the multiple facets of design studies, serving as a proposition explained by design research and written elements. The form an individual...

06 May

Posted at 19:41h in Student Work & Teaching

It has been a rewarding semester co-teaching the 2019 edition of Senior Studio with Associate Professor Basma Hamdy. Our students worked on a wide range of topics for their thesis projects, from space exploration and mental health to Arabic typography and comparative religions. The culminating BFA + MFA Exhibition was an opportunity to showcase their outstanding work to a range of visitors from across Qatar. A massive shoutout to Basma for...

01 May

Posted at 16:20h in Student Work & Teaching

I am so proud of Rabeya Khatoon for passing her MFA Oral Thesis Defense this week. Her project "Whirling Hybrids: A Dichotomy Of Belonging" involved creating a series of hybridized spinning tops infused with sensory materials to celebrate Qatar's diverse cultures. It was an honor to engage with such a wonderful group of people around a project dedicated to belongingness across cultures and nationalities. A quote that beautifully captures the...

30 Mar

Posted at 20:04h in Student Work & Teaching

This Fall, I collaborated with Kelly Murdoch-Kitt (at the University of Michigan) and Basma Hamdy (at VCUarts Qatar) to engage students in the Designing Across Divides Conference at West Virginia University. As part of the conference call, participants were invited to "bridge a divide" through the creation of two banners, positioned to the left and the right of a light pole. Selected work was hung on Morgantown's streets during the conference...

21 Dec

Posted at 21:55h in Student Work & Teaching

This has been an incredible semester exploring dystopian visions and contradictions of power with students in Co-Lab, a joint elective co-taught with Basma Hamdy. In this iteration of the collaborative studio, my “Design Activism” course joined forces with Basma's “Language + Context” course in a model of speculative inquiry aimed at responding to current socio-political positions of power and resistance. Our course links concepts from design fiction and futuring to...

15 Dec

Posted at 13:22h in Student Work & Teaching

How might we foster intercultural communication skills in the interaction design classroom? How might we support productive design collaborations between students in North America and the Middle East? These questions were the driving force behind a project that brought together students at VCUarts Qatar with students enrolled in Kelly Murdoch-Kitt's design course at the University of Michigan. Organized into cross-cultural teams, students participated in a seven-week intensive dedicated to considering...

14 Nov

Posted at 13:35h in Student Work & Teaching

As a visual form of language, typography has cultural and social meanings embedded in its use. Typography can emphasize information, provide personal connections to an observer, and create deep emotional resonance. As such, this project explores how design can be used to help bridge social divides through communication and typography on light post banners. Students worked as part of a team (of two or three students) to address topics such as...

08 Nov

Posted at 13:50h in Student Work & Teaching

This project serves as a starting point towards finding connections between design and community engagement while helping develop students' confidence in their abilities as a researcher. As a community-researcher, students learn about the lives, experiences, opinions, and ideas of people and facilitate inclusiveness in their research process, project, and long-term goals. Working in teams, students decide on a strategy that honors the input of the participants and/or community members they work...

02 Sep

Posted at 20:05h in Student Work & Teaching

I am humbled to have received the Distinguished Achievement in Teaching award this past week! The recognition was not only an incredible surprise, but an opportunity to share the stage with a group of faculty who continue to inspire me with their talent, energy, and brilliance. VCUarts Qatar is comprised of so many dedicated educators, outstanding staff, and creative students who represent diverse geographic regions across the world, all of whom...

08 May

Posted at 16:17h in Student Work & Teaching

Sidra Zubairi captivated the crowd during her MFA thesis defense entitled “Gender Beyond Binary: Pakistan’s Hijra Community.” Her project is a vital exploration of how to support the transgender community in Pakistan through adaptable and transformative clothing. I am honored to have served as one of her thesis advisors and look forward to her continued work bridging the gap between what people need to fully express themselves—and how to cope...

08 Apr

Posted at 13:18h in Student Work & Teaching

Encouraging bilingual literacy is paramount to language and heritage conservation efforts in Qatar. Although Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation has produced a series of Arabic books that are a great start to a regional library, there is a need to expand access to children’s books’ that share a local perspective. This project aims to add to the library while addressing the growing demand for multilingual children’s books that embrace regional stories from...

27 Apr

Posted at 20:34h in Student Work & Teaching

Yesterday, our Junior Graphic Design students presented interactive prototypes at the Qatar Foundation Headquarters as part of the Qatar Dynamic History Information Platform. This project aims to link Qatar’s National historical narrative with regional and global events while fostering the development of a sense of identity unique to the nation. As part of the initiative, students devised prototypes around the notion of collaborative and interactive features that appeal to the general...

26 Apr

Posted at 22:03h in Student Work & Teaching

Have you ever missed hearing your mother's lullabies? Or wanted to hear your father's comforting words during a time of stress? Mona Makhlouf's thesis delves into the beauty of these intangible sound memories and transforms them into tangible (and beautiful) objects. Brilliant! Check out Mona's thesis and more great work at the upcoming BFA + MFA exhibition this Saturday, April 29 at 3 pm at VCUQatar. Looking forward to seeing you...

26 Apr

Posted at 16:13h in Student Work & Teaching

Wajiha Pervez's oral thesis defense today was an inspired examination of circular economies. She expertly shared her material explorations in paper-making and reused jeans from the fashion industry, sparking an exciting discussion about sharing this information with the VCUarts Qatar community through classes or workshops. Wajiha's work is a critical examination of the hospitality industry's throwaway culture and how a more mindful approach to production systems can help the environment. Check...

02 Apr

Posted at 11:05h in Student Work & Teaching

HoneyQueen, a little Bengali restaurant in Doha is getting a makeover thanks to a team of students winning 2nd place in the Wajha Project Competition! This regional honor and achievement was announced on March 25th during a live broadcast from Amman-Jordan, where Wajha founders Ali AlMasri and Hussein Alazaat announced the final results to a live and virtual audience. ‘Wajha’ is an independent social initiative that uses design and branding knowledge...