This file should eventually be removed, once shakeel.design content is folded into this repo.
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>Mark Rothko Documentary Campaign</h2></div>
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A poster triptych promoting the documentary episode.<br><br>
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Sean Adams, the Department Chair of Graphic Design at ArtCenter, selected one poster from the set to display in his office.<br><br>
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Screenshots of the augmented reality experience created using Adobe Aero.<br><br>
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During my research I visited MOCA in Downtown Los Angeles for another Rothko experience.<br><br>
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My research included reading Johanna Drucker’s recently released book, <i>Inventing the Alphabet</i>, as I saught a deeper understanding for primitive letterforms. Conceptually, this aligned with Rothko’s ability to tap into the viewer’s primitive emotions with his artwork.<br>
<br>{image 6}<br>Various sketches during the wordmark design process which ultimately led to me discovering the magic of this H-K ligature to minimize visual clutter.<br>
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The final wordmark set on a purple inspired by the colors of Rothko’s paintings in the Rothko Chapel. The primitive forms for “Mark” tie back to the primitive emotions evoked by his work. While “Rothko” is set in all caps to symbolize the monolithic scale of his paintings.<br><br>
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{image 8}<br>During our midterm critique with some recent alumni, Erin Georgia suggested looking at the placement of “Mark” as a dynamic element which could create a logo system. Conceptually, this connects back to Mark Rothko’s many years of searching before finally settling on the style of art we know him for (and his legacy) as Rothko.<br>
<br>{image 9}<br>Envisioning the start of an opening title sequence for the documentary.<br>
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The final set of posters with a call to action to stream the documentary at PBS.org.</div>
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<b>When:</b> 2022<br><b>Professor:</b> <a href="http://morindesignoffice.com/" target="_blank">Christian Perez-Morin</a><br><b>Course:</b> Graduate Studio 1, ArtCenter<br>
<b>Media:</b> Branding, Posters, Augmented Reality,<br>
<b>Tools:</b> InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, Aero<br>
<b>Recognition:</b> One poster was selected for display in office of the Chair of Graphic Design at ArtCenter. (Spring 2023)<br>
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Wordmark and posters for a campaign promoting a documentary about Mark Rothko, the abstract expressionist.<br>
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We selected an episode of the PBS documentary series American Masters, and the individual featured as our subject.<br>
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Design concept: in memoriam.<br>
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Depth of research and critique helped me to clarify the forms and vocabulary used throughout the project. Once I let go of initial logo concepts focused on the negative aspect of Rothko’s life, I landed on a dynamic system.<br>
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In my solution, “Mark” can be placed in numerous positions around “Rothko”, symbolizing the artist’s search among many styles of art. Big thanks to Erin Georgia for this idea during midterm guest critique!<br>
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The posters came together at the last minute once I embraced placing elements over Rothko’s artwork. This project taught me to design outside of my comfort zone and take risks once in a while.<br>
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During a break in our final presentation, I pulled together a rough augmented reality experience with Adobe Aero.<br><br>
<b>Future work:</b> I plan to expand this project further by envisioning a pop-up exhibition to promote the documentary episode. This exhibition would be focused on his life, rather than his art, giving the audience an opportunity to lean more about the artist through an immersive experience.<br><br>
<b>Special thanks to:</b> The National Gallery of Art for high quality images of Rothko’s artwork. I am also grateful to Sean Adams, Michael Neal, Erin Georgia, and Sean Shang for additional critique during the semester.</div>
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>Mark Rothko: Art for Mystics Book</h2></div>
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<iframe style="border: 1px solid rgb(119, 119, 119); aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%;" src="https://indd.adobe.com/embed/0ce1fbfe-ae15-462d-b89c-fc8d21c9b685?startpage=1&allowFullscreen=false" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br>
The complete book is available for viewing above.<br>
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<b>When:</b> 2022<br>
<b>Professor:</b> <a href="http://morindesignoffice.com/" target="_blank">Christian Perez-Morin</a><br>
<b>Course:</b> Graduate Studio 1, ArtCenter<br>
<b>Media:</b> branding, editorial, book<br>
<b>Tools:</b> InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator<br><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Mark Rothko, abstract expressionist painter<br>
<b>Goal:</b> Design a book to accompany the documentary campaign demonstrated in<a href="Mark-Rothko-Documentary-Campaign" rel="history"> the previous project</a>.<br>
<b>Title:</b> Mark Rothko: Art for Mystics.<br>
<b>Cover:</b> Stark off-white, reminiscent of mass market religious texts. People often feel unexpected emotions in front of Rothko paintings. To me, these are mystical experiences.<br>
<b>Typeface:</b> Neue Haas Grotesk was chosen to embody the crystal goblet concept, letting the content speak for itself.<br>
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Colors were inspired by the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. The non-denominational Chapel was one of Rothko’s final projects which he never saw completed.<br>
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Intro/outro: A few spreads guide the reader from from the everyday material world to that of the mystical, symbolized by a slow gray to purple gradient. The outro follows the sequence in reverse. This concept is based on an engawa, a Japanese architecture element to bridge the outside world to the home.<br><br>
Each chapter begins with a full spread. The chapter title is large, paired with a relevant Rothko quote on the opposite page.<br>
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<ol><li><b>Preface</b> — an introduction to Mark Rothko.<br></li><li><b>
Search</b> — early explorations through lesser known styles of art.<br></li><li><b>
Voice</b> — a photo essay of his best known abstract works.<br></li><li><b>
Wisdom</b> — his advice for new artists.<br></li><li><b>
Legacy</b> — an interview with Christopher Rothko, his son, which informed my overall design direction.<br></li><li><b>
Reflection</b> — my brief and emotional editorial capturing my thoughts as I completed the book.<br></li></ol>
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In the end, I found my 74 page book was not enough to convey the impact of one person’s life. Let alone a 500 page book.
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Special thanks to the National Gallery of Art for providing high quality images of Rothko’s artwork, and to Architectural Digest for a beautiful photo of the Rothko Chapel.
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>TYPO Mexico City Conference Identity</h2></div>
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<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zuxlgM3-SFs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" style="aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%;"></iframe><br><br>
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<b>When:</b> 2023<br>
<b>Professor:</b> <a href="http://morindesignoffice.com/" target="_blank">River</a> Jukes-Hudson<br>
<b>Course:</b> Graduate Typography 2, ArtCenter<br>
<b>Media:</b> branding, poster, t-shirt, augmented reality, motion<br>
<b>Tools:</b> InDesign, Illustrator, Artivive, After Effects<br><br>
<b>Typefaces:</b> Yink from Eclectotype and Ofelia from Blackletra.<br>
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TYPO is a fictional typography conference identity design project.<br>
<br>We were tasked with selecting a list of typographers to feature for the conference, designing a wordmark, 3' x 6' feet posters (huge), t-shirts, name badges… oh and we were restricted to black and white!<br><br>
I also designed: stickers and an augmented reality motion poster with a direct call to action to register for the conference.<br>
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Conferences are about the exchange of ideas and perspectives, design conferences should also be great fun. I chose this playful arrangement of curved organic letterforms to symbolize these concepts.<br><br>
The conference venue, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, has a sharp, brutalist architectural style. My identity design embraces the human aspect of the design community by contrast.<br><br>
I envision conference organizers and staff wearing black shirts to not draw attention to themselves backstage. Attendees would receive white shirts when checking in on the first day of the conference. <br>
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<b>Special thanks to:</b> our teaching assistant Noah
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Cousineau, Cheri Gray, Shuwen Ding, and Shengjie Wu, and the great audience at Type Thursday LA for additional critique.<br>
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>2022 AIGA Portfolio Festival</h2></div>
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<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HtRtGYQx480" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" style="aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%;"></iframe><br>
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<b></b><b>When:</b> July 2022<br>
<b>Reviewer:</b> Louise Sandhaus<br>
<b>Organization:</b> <a href="https://aiga.org" target="_blank">AIGA</a><br>
<b>Media:</b> presentation
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<b>Tools:</b> Keynote, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator<br><br>
<b>Topic:</b> One Your Can Change Your Whole life.<br>
<br><b>Recognition:</b> I presented my portfolio live to all Festival attendees over Zoom, where I received valuable feedback from Louise Sandhaus.<br>
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After my initial portfolio review at the 2021 AIGA Portfolio Festival, I recognized the need to improve my work to align with my career aspirations. One year later, at the 2022 Festival, I shared my growth journey, which ultimately led to my acceptance into ArtCenter's Graphic Design MFA program.<br>
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Months later, at the 2022 AIGA National Design Conference in Seattle, I had the pleasure of meeting Louise and Ace, another designer whose work she reviewed during the Festival.<br><br>
The recording is available on <a href="https://youtu.be/HtRtGYQx480" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.</div>
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>#Salgirah85 International Festival Identity</h2>
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{image 1}<br>Dubai World Trade Centre. The Ismaili community in Dubai, UAE held their first in-person celebration since the COVID-19 pandemic at the Dubai WTC. Unfortunately I was not able to attend for multiple reasons, but received some photos from the local team. Additional highlights are shown below. All assets were designed by the local team in Dubai.
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<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HtRtGYQx480?t=375s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" style="aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%;" class=""></iframe><br>
Above is the recording of my presentation of this project (at 6:15) from the 2022 AIGA Portfolio Festival.<br><br>
{image 2}<br>Full-color logo. The colors come from the Ismaili community’s flag, seen in the photograph of His Highness the Aga Khan (below).
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{image 3}<br>Here, His Highness the Aga Khan is pictured in front of the Canadian and Ismaili flags at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, Canada.
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{image 4}<br>Five Ring Motif. The motif is my take on Islamic geometric design. Initially, you see three rings of 17 diamonds. In the negative space between them, two additional rings are created for a total of five total rings of 17 (17x5 = 85). One diamond representing each year of His Highness’ life.<br>
{image 5}<br>The three rings are inspired by the three nuktas (dots) above the first letter in the Arabic word, shukr, meaning gratitude. The rings in negative space are a reminder of the esoteric aspects of the Ismaili faith.<br>
{image 6}<br>Additional logo variations. The system works in full color on white backgrounds, or in white on red or green backgrounds.
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{image 7}<br>Brand pattern. Designed by deconstructing the motif to an individual diamond and tiling them infinitely. These forms create an interesting 2.5D illusion.
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<h2>The following assets were created by marketing teams in various countries after delivering the completed brand package.</h2><br>
{image 8}<br>After delivering all brand assets, social media teams in the Ismaili community launched global, national, and regional digital marketing campaigns. These assets (social media content, videos, website) were created by many talented people around the world in multiple languages. I have included them here to show the context and impact of the brand identity.<br>
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{image 9}<br>Photo backdrop in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Designed by the local team.
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{image 10}<br><div style="text-align: left;">Retirement home celebrations in Calgary, Canada. Designed by the local team.
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<br>{image 11}<br>Wow. I didn’t even know they had access to large scale printing in the mountainous region of Hunza, Pakistan. Designed by the local team.
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{image 12}<br>I never expected a logo I designed to be on a cake! (Or sherbet bottle, a milk-based drink made for special occasions). Houston, Texas, USA. Designed by the local team.
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{image 13}<br>Branding displayed on stage during musical performances. Designed by the local team.
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<br>{image 14}<br>Signage for Golden Members (elders in the community, 65+), and wristbands to enter the venue. Designed by the local team.
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<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J4gO_TFNdxw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" style="aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%;" class=""></iframe><br>This is a mini-reel of all motion graphics I worked on for #Salgirah85. These animations were used across social media, opening slates for various forms of video content for the festival, and on stage at some live events. Music was selected by The Ismaili Sounds global team.
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<b></b><b>When: </b>2021 (6 weeks)<br>
<b>Organization:</b> <a href="https://the.ismaili/" target="_blank">The Ismaili Community</a> (globally)<br>
<b>Media:</b> Branding, Motion<br>
<b>Tools:</b> Illustrator, Photoshop, AfterEffects, InDesign<br><br><b>Goal:</b> Design a unified festival identity for the global Ismaili Muslim community in 21 countries.<br><br>
Salgirah is a religious festival observed by Ismaili Muslims every December. It marks the birthday of His Highness the Aga Khan, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, the spiritual leader of 15 million Ismailis worldwide. December 13, 2021, marked his 85th birthday, or Salgirah.<br><br>The brief given to me by the Ismaili global communications team was to embrace the theme of shukr (gratitude in Arabic) while conveying 85 through (Islamic) geometry. This brand identity would be used worldwide by the Ismaili community to promote a sense of unity.
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<br>This was by far the largest project I’ve worked on in terms of scale and one I will remember forever. The team only had two brief Zoom meetings over the six weeks of the project. I was impressed with our ability to collaborate across timezones through a Whatsapp group. Since this is a faith-based organization, all team members involved shared a common belief system about the festival.<br><br>
One year later I was invited to refresh the identity for the Aga Khan’s 86th Salgirah festival.</div>
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<div grid-col="8" grid-pad="2"><h2>86th Salgirah Festival Identity</h2></div>
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Community members from Afghanistan performed a traditional dance at the celebrations in Seattle.<br>
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The primary logo lockup in a vertical orientation to honor the new motif.<br>
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A secondary horizontal lockup was developed to emphasize the number 86.<br>
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The local decor team in Seattle beautifully applied the identity to a photobooth and various elements at the venue.<br>
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Stage backdrop and lighting designed by the local decor team in Seattle.<br><br>
{image 6}<br>A floating installation of the motif hanging over the dance floor, designed by local decor team in Seattle. I was told this took nearly six hours to assemble and hang.<br>
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I had the opportunity to support the local photography team on my quick trip up to Seattle.<br>
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Volunteer badges designed by the local team in Seattle.<br><br>
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Aprons worn by the kitchen staff, designed by the local team in Seattle.<br>
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Cakes! There were found on social media accounts.<br>
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Children’s celebrations, I believe this was in East Africa.<br><br>
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Additional celebrations in Pakistan.</div>
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<b></b><b>When:</b> December 2022 (6 days)<br>
<b>Organization:</b> <a href="https://the.ismaili/" target="_blank">The Ismaili Muslim Community (globally)</a>
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<b>Media:</b> branding<br>
<b>Tools:</b> Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign<br><br><b>Goal:</b> Quickly adapt my identity design from the previous year without disrupting the established geometry.<br><br>Salgirah is a religious festival observed by Ismaili Muslims every December. It marks the birthday of His Highness the Aga Khan, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, the spiritual leader of 15 million Ismailis worldwide. December 13, 2022, marked his 86th birthday, or Salgirah. For additional context, please read through <b><a href="Salgirah85-International-Festival-Branding" rel="history">the identity I designed from the previous year</a></b>.<br><br>
The main challenge in designing this year’s identity was finding a way to represent the number 86 with geometry in the logo. From the previous year, 85 had easy multiples to work with (7 x 15) however 86 could only be broken down to 43 x 2 which does not lead to a pleasing form.<br><br>
After discussions with international marketing leadership, I was given permission to explore the number 49 instead. His Highness the Aga Khan is recognized as the the 49th Ismaili Muslim Imam and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. 49 breaks down nicely into 7x7 and offered the opportunity to reuse the identity for future years.<br><br><div style="text-align: left;">The local team in Seattle told me about their ambitious design plans for the celebration, and that I had to be there to see my design come to life at the venue. Despite my intense workload for the last few days of the semester, I made a last-minute decision to take a 36-hour trip back home in secrecy. It was the first time I could physically see anything I’d designed at this scale. In my hometown no less.</div></div>
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