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April 16, 2014
If you were a building
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  • Under : Art

If you were a building which building would you be?

We recently came across a piece of work, which grabbed our attention.

Federico Babina, an illustrator based in Barcelona, has produced a series of beautifully illustrated and plausible architectural structures, as if several well-known artists had created them. The fun part is that we can recognize the artist (depending on how much time we have spent roaming the museums and galleries of the world) through these caricatures even in a medium they never used.

The work shows how the artists, such as Picasso, Lichtenstein, Dali and Warhol, managed to create unique styles so defined over time that they are easily recognizable through their colours, tones, textures, shapes, structures, scale etc.

In turn, we project all that we know of the artist’s character and nuances on to it. Then, by asking ‘What type of building would I be’, we choose our preferences and use them to reflect how we want the world to regard us.

We like the clear comparison with the branding process.

Consistently and creatively using the elements of a brand’s visual identity system will create the recognition, understanding and engagement with the target audience and let them use the brand to reflect themselves in their own world.

That’s a powerful and valuable relationship to be part of. Take a look for yourselves. Federico’s work can be seen here.


March 30, 2014
If Your City Has a Colour
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  • Under : Design

If Your City Has a Colour What Would It Be?

At Zaman we believe that each city has its own identity which consists of its heritage, culture, traditions, music, cuisine and more. For our 2014 calendar we have translated these aspects into abstract portraits.

The 2014 Zaman Calendar encompasses 12 Arab cities (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fez, Kuwait, Cairo, Muscat, Doha, Baghdad, Jeddah, Beirut, Damascus, and, Jerusalem) where each city is represented uniquely through the use of colour and abstract formations. This calendar was a result of intense research of analysing close to 600 pictorial references and 100 unique colours extracted to create compositions for each city.

Which colours would you use to describe your city?


March 26, 2014
THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
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  • Under : Design

THE DESIGN CHALLENGE

Companies often don’t make a distinction between design and branding. They think that by having a modern look, they have achieved what it takes to win people’s hearts.

Today, as companies are racing to counter generic competition and large brands, our challenge is to focus on real values rather than design and marketing.

If there is a way to develop a brand through design alone, then many companies in the Arab world would have a chance, but no such possibility exists.

Design is a good ground breaker and therefore incredibly important. However, if the experience isn’t authentic and sustainable, then the relationship will remain shallow & fragile and ultimately unviable.

When companies realize that by being authentic, showing determination and creating their own distinctive cultures, not only will they win the hearts of their customers, shareholders, partners and principals, they will also recruit the best candidates, and those candidates will stay with them longer.


January 25, 2014
FOR THE LOVE OF TYPOGRAPHY…
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  • Under : Offbeat , Trends , Typography

FOR THE LOVE OF TYPOGRAPHY…

Below are a few typography-related articles and news from around the world that crossed our radar over the last couple of days. Enjoy!

1. Helvetica Or Garamond: Typography-Inspired Eyewear – Japanese company Type, draws inspiration from ‘Helvetica’ and ‘Garamond’ typeface and creates two lines of respective eyewear. Link here.

2. A Rustic Bespoke Typeface That Is Carved Out Of A Fallen Tree – London-based firm Carter Wong Design recently embarked upon a lovely hand-made project to create a bespoke typeface for organic clothing company Howies. The resulting font is named Castan—instead of creating the typeface digitally, the firm had the letters carved out of a tree before printing them out onto paper and uploading them onto the computer.

3. Top Web Fonts of 2013: Extensis Reports. Link here

4. 26 famous architects designed an alphabet – Archibet is an illustrated alphabet honoring 26 rock star architects, from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid. Archibet is a playful spin on the idea of architectural design as visual communication, as letters are the primary building blocks of meaning. The project beautifully conflates architecture and typography. Link here.

5. Typeface Designer Creates Book That Teaches Toddlers About Typography – ‘The Clothes Letter Wears’ is a picture book that teaches toddlers about the different typefaces through illustrations that shows each font as text playing dress-up. This book also features the “Cabrito”, a custom typeface based on the Bookman Old Style that the designer has made for the project—it has been designed to be especially legible for young eyes. No doubt a great gift idea for designer friends & colleagues with tiny tots to start them of on the right career path :)  Link here


December 4, 2013
The Start Of Something
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  • Under : Arab World , Brand Stationary , Branded Environments , Brands , Design

The Start Of Something Very Big

etisalat-01

Having worked with so many different brands in the region throughout the past 18 years we have enjoyed a lot of proud moments. Some, however, naturally stand out over others. Back in 1998 we embarked on what was at the time one of the most significant branding projects in the region.

Zaman was approached by the then ‘Emirates Telecommunications Corporation’ to join the process of evolving them into a customer facing service company with the capacity to grow internationally.  At the time very little was known locally about branding beyond its delivery of a new logo. So patience and the sharing of our knowledge were essential at every stage.

The Etisalat brand was of particular National importance as it was the only brand that was omnipresent in all Emirates as the sole provider of its service.  Everyone in the UAE had to deal with them so this project would touch everyone at home and at work.

The challenge was very much to change the perception inside the company and across the UAE that this government institution was radically changing for the good of its customers.

To achieve this Zaman created a brand and launch platform that was very personal to the audience and related closely to them as individuals.

We switched the official name to the ‘street’ reference everyone used, Etisalat. We created a new logo mark intended to represent a human form and radiating sound waves of communication breaking from within its own boundaries. The dominant green spoke of a balance, security and growth.

The brand mark was based on a strong and detailed visual identity system that was applied to all the collateral’s – stationery, forms, bills, receipts – and communications tools – brochures, flyers, adverts, posters, signage etc.  A comprehensive visual guidelines manual was provided so the brand managers could keep control of the brand’s development through the 100’s of channels and contact points they had to manifest the change.

Redirecting the mind set of the people within the organization was critical to delivering an authentic change to the customer experience. To support this we commissioned a photo shoot, which captured the unseen human face of the organization – people working with and for people. We shared it across the whole organization just prior to launch through a brand book, a presentation, and an intranet and poster campaign.  Everyone in the organization got new business cards delivered in a personalized cardholder on the day of the launch.

etisalat-02

For the public launch we created animated illustrations that communicated positive yet ‘soft’ messages to customers rather than harsh over ambitious corporate messages. The logo was launched locally with huge, first of their kind, building banners installed on each of Etisalat’s head office buildings in each Emirate and unfurled on the day. A new day.

The Etisalat project of 98 / 99 was a truly a milestone project both for Zaman ad for the UAE. It was followed by a huge wave of re-branding and new brand development across the UAE as the modern commercial age of swept through the UAE’s local businesses at full speed. Etisalat’s change was a true precursor to the incredible developments that were to happen over the next 10 years.

For Zaman, the successful launch of the project lead to Omantel and Qtel branding projects, as well as a host of projects with local companies. Some huge and some start up and from a broad spectrum of industries, all these companies recognized they had to respond to the huge change in the needs of the market place for organizations driven by their brands. They had to become brands.

etisalat-03


November 2, 2013
THE DUBAI GRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
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  • Under : Arab World , Design , Offbeat

THE DUBAI GRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL. 1

To consider compiling an encyclopedia (of any kind) in post-Wikipedia times is an exercise in emotional withdrawal. But this did not deter these creatives. Designed over a year ago by Dubai-based curatorial practice Brusselsprout, the first edition of the first of its kind Dubai Graphic and Visual Encyclopedia presents a reality that acts as a counterpoint to all the excess of attempts to decipher and understand Dubai.

With the aim of organizing scanning devices for the entire physical reality and processing information in much the same way as the early explorers did in order to reach unknown lands in what is now referred to as the United Arab Emirates, the encyclopedia will be updated periodically so as to provide an authentic (temporal) guide and a database for Dubai and its times. Source


June 23, 2013
SENSO ISSUE 13, BREWED
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  • Under : Arab World , Case Study , Design

SENSO ISSUE 13, BREWED FROM AN ARABIC COFFEE CUP

It all began with a cup of coffee – or rather the Arabic coffee cup.

A couple of days ago we published a post on the latest edition of our signature branding and design newsletter Senso – you can read the full post here. Followers of our work either here on our blog, our Facebook page or our website will know that our newsletter, much like our calendar, functions like a canvas for us to continually explore elements of design from the Arab world.

Every issue of Senso is preceded by weeks, sometimes months of ideation and research within the team as we look for a central theme to determine the creative direction. Sometimes our inspiration comes from one of the client projects featured in that issue – for example the Issue 12 cover was a play on the camera lens as inspired by the Al Ain Photographia Award campaign we did for Al Ain City Municipality – previous post here.

The artwork for this 13th issue puts the spotlight on the intricate patterns that usually adorn the cups used to serve coffee in many local café houses in this part the world.

Much like their glass tea cups counterparts, these little ceramic cups can vary in colour & the detailing in the patterns around the rim edge of each set. So we evolved this further and created an Islamic pattern style which can be seen in the architecture of souqs & mosques. The injection of geometrical shapes, namely the triangle, became a graphic device for the layout of text and images for each article.

Ofcourse, the bi-product of all this is that we have a selection of covers that never made the cut! We’ve shared a few of these via our Scribd profile. :)

Subscribe to our newsletter via our website here to receive our next Senso or send an email to info@zaman.ae.


May 15, 2013
DISCOVERING NATURE’S OLDEST GEMS
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  • Under : Design , Offbeat

DISCOVERING NATURE’S OLDEST GEMS WITH PASPALEY

Last week team Zaman was invited to a workshop to learn about the pearling industry by Australian pearling company Paspaley at their UAE flagship store in The Dubai Mall. Pearls have long since had the favour of both men & women as being highly prized accessories – from Ancient Rome, China, India & Greece to the Persian Gulf for more than 4000 years. Referred to as one of the world’s oldest gems, on many occasion they have played a starring role in romance, wars and religion, representing a rich history full of symbolism across many different cultures and regions.

Ofcourse, here in the Gulf, it is common knowledge that the UAE has a long pearling heritage, the details of which have been covered in many publications. Our workshop, which was scheduled for 45mins but ended up being 1.5hrs (we were that hooked!), was facilitated by the General Manager for Paspaley UAE, Stephen Francis. During our session Stephen was kind enough to burst a few popular misconceptions on what constitutes a “perfect” pearl and the key attributes by which pearls are graded which include: luster, shape, surface (tiny marks are actually part of the pearl’s natural texture), colour, size and weight.

Many thanks to Stephen and the rest of the Paspaley team for an insightful afternoon.


April 16, 2013
DERIVING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS
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  • Under : Arab World , Architecture , Calligraphy

DERIVING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS FROM ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY

“Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking; while architecture,is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction.” (Arab-aa.com)Together they form perfect harmony, as demonstrated in this video by Wael Mashini.


March 30, 2013
A LOOK BACK AT VISUAL
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  • Under : Arab World , Design

A LOOK BACK AT VISUAL ARABIA 2013

Just over a week ago we attended the inaugural Visual Arabia 2013 conference dubbed – “…a gathering of the creative community to celebrate design excellence, share ideas and inspiration. It is a full-day conference packed with visionary talks from top influencers in the field of design, illustration, animation and photography.”

We must commend the organizers for putting together a much needed platform for the design fraternity to come together. The programme provided an interesting mix of speakers – founder of Fikra Design who had some interesting perspectives on typography as well as some of his own personal journeys in becoming a bridge between the cultures of the UAE & USA via design; street photographer Eric Kim; Kristy Anne Ligone a very talented & young Filipina graphic designer and digital illustrator who is obsessed with zombies & based in Dubai; as well as Dutch duo Rogier Hendriks and Kasper Verweij, founders of Onesize (an Amsterdam based creative studio) who, after some technical difficulties that delayed the program by about 30mins…which had us thinking “just how many designers does it take to switch/configure a slideshow to full screen mode?” held the audience captive as they took us through some of the more comical & often uncredited levels of work that small agencies put in to deliver their best work to their clients. The duo also touched on a very important lesson or challenge for small agencies to step out of their comfort zones to take on new capabilities where possible. Be sure to check out some of their animation work via their Vimeo profile here.

As we can appreciate the amount of effort that goes into organizing an event like this we applaud the Visual Arabia team for the inaugural year. We also offer some feedback that might be considered for the next chapter (2014):

Better curation of speakers with the audience in mind. “…visionary talks from top influencers in the field of design, illustration, animation and photography.” This statement promised a lot for students potentially looking to engage with prospective employer agencies. Working professionals seeking inspiration from industry colleagues. Collaboration opportunities for both individuals & agencies in attendance. We think that the event failed its audiences somewhat and here’s why.

There were some aspects of the programme that left us and others (judging by exchanged pleasantries with other member of the audience) baffled and [some scuttling out of their seats to get a caffeine shot] – Brown Monkeys, a very talented Dubai-based art collective, self-admittedly had not prepared for their slot and decided to wing it. This was very evident in the first 10mins as they disjointedly passed the mic from one member to the next almost as if giving each member a chance to say I touched the mic as opposed to verbally contributing to a cohesive presentation. Our key take away from this troupe was to…“have fun”. No doubt each member of the group is very talented (see their website here) and we got to know that all the members do have regular day jobs & Brown Monkeys is something they do post work & over the weekends & all fueled by their passion. If we match this against the general audience types that we mentioned earlier, its a bit difficult to tie in the purpose of this presentation. Actually this also introduces another point for consideration – have a category similar to a “15mins of fame” that purely features the portfolio of the artist/artists; the amazingly talented Kristy Anne Ligone (although her work spoke for her self, we think a little public speaking coaching beforehand would have been handy) could also be a great inclusion in such a category.

Also ofcourse for any event such as this sponsors rely on getting a slot on stage as part of their ROI; while the Shutterstock talk was somewhat interesting – apparently video content is quite a big money-maker for the company, the talk by hard drive brand Western Digital bordered on being a shameless plug in the guise of a design contest & bit [awkwardly] longer than necessary (again, had some audience members scuttling for another much needed caffeine shot) presentation.

Some audience tools to encourage people interact. Anyone who’s had the chance to attend a TED event for example, will know that every attendee is given a name badge with a field where one can enter 3 things that anyone can talk to them about. It serves as a great icebreaker tool for walking up to a random stranger.

#visualarabia was announced as the official event hashtag at the start of the event, it would have been interesting to see live integration of social media updates both by the organize & attendees as the day wore on e.g. featuring of live moderated tweets or an Instagram feed that perhaps could have been manipulated / programmed into an illustrated projection of some kind – again celebrating design.

All in all we look forward to Visual Arabia 2014!


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Happy New Year everyone! We wish this year brings Happy New Year everyone! We wish this year brings for you lots of joy, happiness, good health and indeed wealth. ❤️
The brochure imagery juxtaposed the old and the ne The brochure imagery juxtaposed the old and the new in line with the destination.
قدم كتيب الصور الماضي العريق والحاضر الحديث جنباً إلى جنب بصورة تتناسب مع طبيعة هذه الوجهة الفريدة.

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Life at the Water's Edge was the tagline we create Life at the Water's Edge was the tagline we created to start the Al Seef story. 
مثلت الحياة على حافة الماء الشعار الذي قمنا بتصميمه لبدء قصة السيف.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design
We crafted a complete brand story that wove the de We crafted a complete brand story that wove the destination's past and the future together to tell an evocative tale.  Using lots of atmospheric images and effects mixed with clear information graphics and detailed maps got the brand and business balance just right. 
قمنا بتصميم قصة علامة تجارية كاملة نسجت ماضي الوجهة ومستقبلها معًا، لتقديم قصة مثيرة.
حقق استخدام الصور والتأثيرات الرائعة الممزوجة برسومات المعلومات الواضحة والخرائط المفصلة توازناً رائعاً بين العلامة التجارية والأعمال.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design
Al Seef is the most charming destination. An exact Al Seef is the most charming destination. An exacting recreation of an original souk it takes us back to the days when pearls where Dubai's currency and life was very, very simple. 
ممشى السيف.. الوجهة الأكثر سحراً وجمالاً. متعة حقيقية لسوق عريق يأخذنا إلى الأيام التي كان فيها اللؤلؤ هو العملة المتداولة في دبي، عندما كانت الحياة قمة في البساطة.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design
To engage partners in the days before the current To engage partners in the days before the current brand mark was agreed, Zaman design the leasing sales pack. 
لإعطاء الشركاء نبذة عن الأيام التي سبقت الموافقة على العلامة التجارية الحالية، قامت زمن بتصميم حزمة مبيعات التأجير.

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A sliver of life along the water's edge. Al Seef t A sliver of life along the water's edge. Al Seef takes us back to the days when the Creek was the bustling lifeline of Dubai. 
قطعة صغيرة من الحياة على طول حافة الماء. ينقلنا ممشى السيف إلى الأيام التي كان فيها الخور شريان الحياة الزاخر في دبي.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design #alseed #dubai #mydubai #olddubai #arabiccalligraphy #photography
A walk through Dubai Design Week 2019 is a dynamic A walk through Dubai Design Week 2019 is a dynamic installation that explores the domains of interactive surfaces with a sculptural quality.
تمنحك جولة في أسبوع دبي للتصميم 2019 منصة ديناميكية لاكتشاف نطاقات الأسطح التفاعلية المنحوتة بجودة فريدة.

Photo by Creative Director  @dejanadeyana 
#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design #designweek2019 #d3
Dubai Design Week 2019 is an ideal destination for Dubai Design Week 2019 is an ideal destination for emerging design professionals and everyone curious about the local design.
يمثل أسبوع دبي للتصميم 2019 وجهة مثالية لمحترفي التصميم الناشئين وجميع المهتمين بالتصميم المحلي.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design #designweek2019
At Dubai Design Week 2019 there was much to inspir At Dubai Design Week 2019 there was much to inspire no more so that the light that responds to happiness.Pearl Wave by @preciosalighting is made from more than 700 handmade spheres. But that's not the real magic. This playful chandelier reacts to the sounds generated by its environment by creating different light effects.
في أسبوع دبي للتصميم 2019، لم يكن هنالك شيء أكثرُ إلهاماً من الأضواء النابضة بالسعادة.
تتكون Pearl Wave من Preciosa Lighting من أكثر من 700 كرة مصنوعة يدوياً. إلا أن السحر الحقيقي ليس هنا. تتفاعل هذه الثريا المرحة مع الأصوات الناتجة عن بيئتها عبر إصدار تأثيرات ضوئية متعددة.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design #designweek #d3 #dubai #mydubai #dubaidesignweek
The UAE flag tells a story.  قصة العلم ا The UAE flag tells a story. 
قصة العلم الإماراتي.
Its four colours - green, white, black, and red - together stand for Arabian unity.
تمثل ألوان العلم الإماراتي مجتمعةً - الأخضر، الأبيض، الأسود، والأحمر - الوحدة العربية.
Green refers to goodness and agriculture, abundant throughout the country.
يشير اللون الأخضر إلى الخير والزراعة، وهي متوفر بكثرة في جميع أنحاء البلاد.
White refers to peace.
يشير اللون الأبيض إلى السلام.
Black refers to courage and power.
يشير اللون الأسود إلى الشجاعة والقوة.
Red refers to power and sovereignty.
يشير اللون الأحمر إلى القوة والسيادة.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design
Congratulations to the UAE, its residents, and cit Congratulations to the UAE, its residents, and citizens, on this 48th National Day. 
أسمى آيات التهاني لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، مواطنيها ومقيميها، بمناسبة اليوم الوطني الثامن والأربعين.

#Zaman #Zamanagency #ZamanBranding #AgencyLife #Dubai #UAE #DubaiAgency #Brandingagency #Creative #Brand #Design #uae #uaenationalday #uaelife
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