Portfolios Archive

April 21, 2019

Marsa Ajman

Marsa Ajman set a new benchmark for the city by developing an ultra-modern waterfront entertainment multipurpose community in this traditional city.

The visual identity system wanted to capture a variety of elements and experiences in a contemporary and simple grid.

Initially targeting prospective tenants and soon after the visitors, the objective was to create awareness of the project and its high quality active and entertaining proposition.

A comprehensive brand identity system was created with clear direction for photography, graphic style, iconography and tone of voice to get the brand’s personality up and engaging its audience.

The brochure was created for business prospects and informs them of the exciting opportunity and the larger development Marsa Ajman sits within.

The website is a consumer-oriented portal for restaurants, events, and activities. Designed with an easy to use the content management system to let the team keep content updated and fresh, the site is primed for social media feeds and alerts on the latest activations.

A guideline for social media established the strategic content pillars and design direction and was exemplified by a go-to-market social media plan that would raise the projects profile quickly and get the Marsa Ajman community started.

April 15, 2019

Now Way

Fun, Fun, Fun

Great ideas can come anywhere and this one was born on the beach. Beach throws that can be pegged down mean they won’t blow away. Make it with soft, fast drying cotton, design it in a range of fun and cool graphics, make it easy to carry and it becomes a must-have seaside accessory.

Zaman created the brand mark for Now-Way that is clear and self-promoting. We created a visual system with graphics and photography direction that reflect the ‘good-times’ nature of the brand. We applied it to a series of social media posts, their stationery, and the all-important display packaging. We provided direction for the website and storyboards for the video.

All turned around nice and quickly to give this new business the great start it needs.

April 14, 2019

Sharjah World Book Capital

“The Pattern is Built from a Palette of Open Books to enhance the multiplicity of Readership”

When Sharjah was nominated as the World Book Capital by UNESCO it undertook a large task of creating a program of initiatives to celebrate this prestigious title. The nomination presented Sharjah with the unique opportunity to reposition itself as an open and inclusive city, a capital of culture that embraces readership for all ages and nationalities.

Inspired by the manifesto Open Books, Open Minds, Zaman created an identity that is imaginative to communicate its widespread appeal to different audiences, referring the learning, immersive nature of readership.

The palette of Colors ( Purple & Green ) when constructed deliberately created abstract hues ( both colors can be used in different opacities, creating more flexible graphical interpretation throughout the branding). In addition to the pattern inspired from the logo, Zaman created a practical set of icons to be used for interactive spaces, calendar, and digital.

The SWBC font is based on Ginger F37 and Din Next Arabic. We matched Ginger font with Din Arabic, which is a very clear and legible typeface that can be used for headlines and text through a family of several weights. The two fonts are engaged smoothly and evenly when implemented together, due to their similar graphical characteristics – a major factor that was taken into consideration when creating a bilingual brand.

A key focus while developing the identity was to create a system that could flex and scale based on the audience. The bold woodmark can live on its own strongly when required but quickly become inviting and lively by multiplying or when accompanied with illustrations. This is particularly useful as SWBC will be hosting and attending events and creating exhibition spaces.

February 10, 2019

Governance Creed

The Governance Creed brand identity is elegant and distinguished, just like its founders and audience.

When a team of highly experienced regional consultants recognised the essential need for better corporate governance within the region’s business sector, Governance Creed was born.

Governance Creed’s target audience is the region’s business elite – chairmen, board members and their CEOs. The company’s message to them is clear “Good Governance Makes Better Companies”.

The subject matter is fundamental to business and based on international standards and knowledge. So, the Governance Creed brand identity had to reflect that institutional substance and excellence and help provide the reassurance that it could make a difference at this level.

The brand mark is graphically strong, elegant and clear and was created with equal strength in Arabic and English to make it resonate locally. The stationery set is refined with rare paper stock for a quality touch.

The brochure and website use easily accessible graphics and animations to tell the story of an effective and transparent process. The website is an easy to manage repository for articles and intelligence to keep the story up to date.

And what do you gift to people that have pretty much everything – knowledge, in a practical and stylish form that’s made to be remembered.

June 13, 2017

Sharjah Child Friendly City

Unicef has captured the attention and energy of cities around the world with their program to consider and better accommodate children in the planning, designing and running of cities. From workshops and roll plays to participation in the planning process, children are being given a voice to make sure this critical aspect of a city’s development is being fully considered.

Following some lose guidelines from CFC, we created a colourful identity that is a naively hand drawn collation of Sharjah’s landmarks. Immediately it reflects the children at the heart of the program and expresses the city’s diversity and supports recognition.

We think our identity for Sharjah’s bid for qualification will really help capture imaginations and encourage professionals and children alike to engage.

June 13, 2017

Sharjah Trucial States

In a bid to build recognition of Sharjah’s ancient trading route and its landmarks, this identity for ‘Sharjah – Gateway to the Trucial States’ was presented as part of their submission for World Heritage status.

We hand illustrated the classic architectural features and then joined them to create an abstract graphic and a sense of journey. The logo mark both reflects heritage and a contemporized rejuvenation, a symbol of the rebirth of interest in these antique pathways. The rustic, harmonious colours are thoroughly reflective of the ancient environments that the desert tradesmen travelled.

Should Sharjah’s ambition be realized then this core identity will have plenty of creative mileage for developing a much-expanded marketing tool kit. We hope to be involved in this journey too.

June 13, 2017

Meraas’s Dubai Tour Trophy

A proud moment for the winner of the Stage 5 of the Dubai Tour and also for Marc Grahame and George Mathews the designer and production manager behind this fine trophy.

Meraas supported this leg of cycling’s World Tour and were hosts of the final stage contested on the developers iconic City Walk Boulevard. Watched by sports fans around the world the trophy for this final ceremony of the event had to match the quality of its surroundings and the brand presenting it.

Uniquely designed to represent the speed and fluidity of the sport, the trophy is crafted out of smoked crystal. Fortunately, the winner was a big strong guy who could easily loft the 4kg prize above his head.

June 13, 2017

Marsa Al Seef

Meraas – Marsa Al Seef

As a first showing of this wonderfully evocative development, this ‘pre-branding’ brochure shared the elegance and substance of the project very effectively with its prospective business partners.

The development has two aspects connected by the Creekside walk, a contemporary area primarily for hospitality and the heritage area dominated by the souk and waterside dining. To visually tell the two stories the colours are contemporary and reflective of the water but the materials are organic and low tech.

To establish the document as a B2B tool the key technical information is highlighted with bold data graphics and the masterplan of this huge site is broken up across 4 extra large fold out floor plans that systematically show all units and all details so that investors can have a clear understanding of the development’s dynamic and opportunities.

Practical, attractive and impressive, we expect this brochure will still prove a highly useful tool even when the final branding has been introduced.

June 13, 2017

Bermuda – Mina Al Arab

The luxurious villas on RAK Properties Bermuda development are quite stunning. Private sand beaches and deep blue water fringe the purpose built island just offshore from the existing development. To elevate these properties to the most desirable in RAK we created a launch campaign that focused on glamour and luxury lifestyle far more than it did on bricks and mortar (and marble kitchen tops).

Zaman’s team conceived and then pushed for this direction strategizing with the client that the whole sector needed a healthy dose of differentiation to grasp attention. We pressed that the best position to be in when change is possible is always first.

Our creative team sourced and selected the models, wardrobe, crew and photographer and set up the villa for its first public exposure. Then the direction was to create fashion cover quality images that would seize attention and disrupt the real estate scene.

The outcome was striking and started a dialogue beyond investing in property. It repositioned the whole development with a sign of its future intent and a sense of excitement. A position that Ras Al Khaimah has been hinting at for years.

June 12, 2017

Meraas Artfair

Meraas Art Fair

A NEW DIMENSION IN CONCEPTUAL ART

CITY ART AT THE ART FAIR

When Meraas decided to become a main sponsor of Art Dubai, the annual gathering of galleries for Arab and International art, the company wanted to demonstrate its ability to transcend its functional self to meet the aspirations of its audiences. As a prime development company, Meraas has quickly become the leader in creating places that truly resonate with their communities. Active, youthful, and cultured are key words that are repeatedly evoked when referring to destinations such as The Beach, Box Park, and City Walk. Zaman had to ensure that the intervention at Art Dubai was as artistic, impactful and engaging as the company’s approach to creating destinations.

Built as a tunnel to connect the fair’s two main hallways, the Meraas installation exposed visitors to a vibrant and immersive, multi-sensory conceptual art experience using as its raw material the commissioned street paintings that adorn the walls of City Walk.

Initiated by Meraas as a first in Dubai, 17 legendary street artists including Rone, Aiko, Eine, Magda Sayeg, and Blek Le Rat left their stamp all over City Walk. These creative street art installations have been a tremendous success with residents and visitors of Dubai. Zaman was commissioned to create a book to present these Dubai Walls. The colouful sleeve and cover use stencil and air brush to reflect the primary technique of graffiti. The grid is inspired by the dynamism of the City Walk logo. Each artist had a unique layout which captured their movement whilst doing the work and gave us the opportunity to cover the minutest details.In addition to the book, Zaman created an introduction about Meraas featuring the company’s imaginative approach to creating urban communities, their passion for contemporary architecture and their artistic approach to details and materials.

Meraas Artfair 1920x1300-7