Follow Us

Copyright 2014 Brand Exponents All Rights Reserved

July 23, 2012
Ramadan mubarak from team zaman!

As celebrants of all elements of the diverse culture and traditions of the Arab world, this year the design for our Ramadan greetings card sent out to our clients and industry partners is inspired by the gahfiyah, also referred to as the Islamic hat or Muslim prayer cap in English.

“The design for our greeting card is a collage of different Islamic hats to showcase another aspect of the different ‘flavours’ of the Islamic world and this is visible in the intricacies of the patterns and the varying beautiful prints we found. The choice of 30 hats in the collage is a representation of the 30 days of Ramadan. To the trained eye the differences in the caps – colours, threading, shape, typography, patterns & symbols – can actually indicate the origin or nationality of the wearer.” Nadia Abdeen, Zaman Graphic Designer.

Despite its religious associations, the hat is actually a practical item of clothing in the desert climates to which Islam is native; although the daytime Arabian temperatures can get extremely high, the extreme lows of the night temperatures necessitate wearing a head covering to bed reduces heat loss by a substantial amount. Traditionally worn by Muslim men across the world, the hat goes by many names such as gahfiyah (Gulf), topi (Pakistan), takiyah (Sri Lanka), kufi (US and Britain), tubeteika (Russia), pakol (Afghanistan) and thakiha (Indonesia). Likewise in terms of style the caps differ by country and region in both the pattern and the material from which they are made.

In warmer climates such as Islamic sub-Saharan Africa the caps are made of a lighter cotton material, in the Gulf the caps are commonly made from crochet cotton, are more tightly fitted and worn underneath the ghutra (veil) while in relatively cooler climates such as Turkey the cap, which is more conical in shape, is distinctively thicker and made from beautifully embroidered wool and cotton fleece.

The Gahfiyah or Muslim cap offers yet another fascinating insight into design in the Arab world.

 

May 1, 2012
Zaman’s new website is live!

Zaman’s new website is live!

Our new website is now live and, we must say, we’re pretty proud of it!

Zaman Branding has served as brand guardian to many celebrated companies across the UAE and Qatar over the past 16yrs, through which we’ve seen the branding toolbox evolve. Today we are happy to see brands – small & large, govt & private – move beyond having a website for the sake of ticking off a checklist to really adopting a more strategic thought process and the same judiciousness applied to other communication platforms.

For Zaman’s revamped website our objective is to keep the design simple and intuitive; providing useful information for the end user – our clients and prospects. All this is further enhanced with clean creative visuals that deliver a pleasant digital experience.

Over the next couple of days we’ll also be integrating our blog, through which visitors can still stay updated on what were working on and things that have inspired us.

Click here to go to the website now!

Regards,

Team Zaman

April 18, 2012
A list of must watch

A list of must watch design films

Today’s post is inspired an interesting list of ‘must watch’ documentaries collated by the editorial team at Architectural Digest.com. If you’re into architecture, urban planning or just plain love design then this is probably a good list to bookmark.

Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) – “a frank portrayal of the pair’s professional and personal relationship, at times riddled with tension, and their tremendous contribution not only to furniture design but also film, photography, art, branding, and graphics.” ~AD.com

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) – a look at the mastermind behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, two of the world’s most recognizable buildings.

Unfinished Spaces (2011) – A revealing portrayal of architecture in post-revolution Cuba. Read more about the film here & 2012 screenings.

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (2010) – “an unsentimental look at the Pritzker Prize winner’s career, narrated by Deyan Sudjic, director of London’s Design Museum.”

Objectified (2009) – A must-see for anyone interested in the often invisible hand of design in our daily lives.” Check out the film’s website here >> Objectifiedfilm.com

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History (2011) – a documentary film about the ways in which the American city changed in the 20th Century; through the lens of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing development and the St. Louis residents who called it home. Read more about the film here

My Architect: A Son’s Journey (2003) – the illegitimate son of legendary architect Louis I. Kahn embarks on a 5yr exploratory journey to learn about his father and his inspirations.

Regular or Super: Views on Mies van der Rohe (2005) – “…a terrific primer on his career, from his work in Germany (including a stint as director of the Bauhaus) to his stately masterpiece, the Seagram Building, to his final great work, Berlin’s NeueNationalgalerie.” ~ AD.com

Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman (2008) – a documentary film by Eric Bicker on the career of celebrated architectural photographer Julius Shulman who died aged 95, a year after the film premiered.

Check out Architectural Digest for the entire list & detailed film bios. What other documentaries would you add to the list?

—

April 9, 2012
Match-making

Match-making typography

On our radar today is this typeface matching making game by designer Aura Seltzer that helps you learn how to pair typefaces. The game, called Type Connection, basically involves users having to play cupid by helping typefaces looking for love.

During the ‘matchmaking’ process details about the typeface—such as typographic terminologies and type histories – are explored, which is quite cool as it helps users understand and learn more about that particular type.

If you’ve got 5mins to spare or are looking to impress your colleagues at the next TypeTrivia (ok, we’ve never actually attended one) then this is a must try! Head over to TypeConnection site to play the game.

—

March 30, 2012
Our week in links & images

Our week in links & images

Yet another week has sped past & so it seems another month – where did March go?

This week has been a busy one in the Zaman studio – work on our new revamped website continues (watch this space), and it’s all hands on deck for a really interesting project the design team’s working on for Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2012 (more to be revealed at a later date)…and our MD John has been racking up the ‘frequent commute miles for meetings’ between Dubai & Abu Dhabi:)

We’ve also got a coffee table book project that has given us an opportunity & pleasure to take a trip down Dubai’s memory lane as far back as the early 1900s – this Emirate has definitely come a long way since the pearl trading days!

And ofcourse we’ll all still talking about highlights from the recently ended 2012 festivities of Dubai Art Week (congrats to our client La Galerie Nationale for a successful debut at the inaugural Dubai Design Days fair).

Below is a wrap-up of the week in the form of links to websites & images that have inspired us!

Visual Therapy – an amalgamation of projects, which come together to create an aesthetic platform for innovative work and ideas in all creative fields.

Design Days Dubai blog

http://www.logodesignlove.com

http://nickhudsonphotography.com

Saša Antić – Interior stylist, fashion & props.

The Cool Hunter – an extensive repository of creative finds from across the world.

The UAE Yearbook – a fully searchable online library/resource highlighting political, economic & social developments in the United Arab Emirates during the first decade of the millennium.

Have a good weekend!

March 16, 2012
Designing an identity

Designing an identity for a 20th century art furniture gallery

Brand design services

A few weeks ago in a post on the upcoming Design Days Dubai (DDD) fair we’d mentioned that we were in the process of finalizing an interesting project for an exhibiting gallery at the fair. We’re happy to announce our successful partnership with La Galerie Nationale – a new entrant onto Dubai’s Al Serkal Avenue.

About the gallery: With over 20yrs of experience La Galerie Nationale specializes in original design art pieces created in the 20th century by celebrated designers such as Mathieu Mategot, Jean Royere, Raymond Loewy, Willy Rizzo, Joe Colombo & more.

What makes the gallery particularly unique & guaranteed to be a favourite address among the region’s art collectors is that La Galerie Nationale’s (LGN) exclusive collection is homage to the concept of original, vintage furniture as art – where each piece embodies the vision of the designer & the spirit of life during this period.

In choosing to setup a representative gallery of La Galerie Nationale in the Middle East, our client was also keen to use this opportunity to use our brand design services to create a more refreshed & stronger visual identity – cleaner than the previous logo.

We began with a series of briefing workshops in our studio with the gallery founder to familiarize the team with 20th century art, the story of the gallery & the founder’s aspirations for LGN in the region.

Below is a short interview with our Creative Director Dejana on how the team used the insight for this project:

Dejana, what appealed the most to you in the gallery’s story?

  • “Listening to the gallery founder Guillaume tell the stories of some of the unique pieces in his collection, dotted with anecdotes on finding a specific piece or an interaction with a designer from that period…his passion & obvious love for design objects from the period coupled with his expertise.”

What was the direction for the visual identity?

  • “For the logo, we wanted it to be a complete departure from the old one, opting instead for a monochrome approach. Going by the images shared by LGN, some of the pieces are very colourful or have unusual shapes so the final logo is simple & elegant providing a subtle backdrop for the vibrant portfolio. We opted for customizing New Courier typeface, the use of which was inspired by the 20th century when typewriters were used; we thought was a nice touch. The diagonal line in the logo is a graphical devise which is both part of the identity and also a smart play on architecture as LGN also represents the architects of that era.”

What is the commonly preferred marketing collateral for the Middle East brands?

  • “In the ME the same requirements for basic stationary required in the West are applicable here. So in the limited amount of time we had to “launch” the LGN brand in line with the gallery opening & the upcoming DDD in agreement with the client we worked on design artworks for business cards, letterheads & envelopes as well as COA (certificates) – although we’re not working on the LGN website we did prepare a visual blueprint on how the finalized identity system can be applied to the website & also invites for future gallery events.”

Inspiration for the gallery’s event invites?

  • “Well, we looked at a lot of references in the form of email invites that Grace or myself frequently get from both local & international galleries – minimalism is definitely a key theme, both in terms of imagery style & the level of descriptive text. The purpose of the first invite we designed was to announce LGN’s participation in DDD. We created a template, applicable to future invites, which employs the graphical device which is already quite strong & impactful and then just included key info on dates & location.”

Thanks Dejana!

March 4, 2012
Zaman’s Senso Issue 12

Zaman’s Senso Issue 12 is now out!

Zaman’s latest edition of its signature newsletter Senso is now out & the print editions are on their way to our clients and subscribers.

In this 12th issue of Senso, we’ve provided snapshots of some of the varied projects we worked on in 2011 – our work with Al Ain City Municipality which included the conceptualization, design and online communications management of the inaugural Al Ain Photographia Award photography competition, developing and bringing to life a unique interiors design concept for Al Rostamani’s Group’s latest property development project – Maze Tower – set to open in 2012 and our partnering with Art Dubai for the creation of the identity of the new fringe art fair SIKKA.

In Senso 12 we also showcase some of the ad campaigns we did for property developer Sorouh for the 40th UAE national day & QFIB to celebrate a milestone award. As always, we also have practice-specific piece, which in this issue is ‘Event Branding’ – how we created an engaging brand experience for the FAPCO Fujairah 2 project.

The artwork for the cover of this issue is inspired by our clients. The vibrant pattern of different coloured circles & vertical rectangular strips serve as mini portholes offering glimpses of some of the projects we’ve been working on. On closer look, one can identify fragments of a client’s logo, a website or ad designed by Zaman for a client – adding a bit of a fun element where one can spend quite some time trying to solve the puzzle!

Below are a few shots of inside pages of Senso 12. For the entire issue you can view & download Senso 12 here or send an email to info@zaman.ae to receive our next issue in print.

—

February 7, 2012
Zaman’s Tuesday links

Zaman’s Tuesday links

Step into Zaman’s world, here’s a collation of a few links, shared by the team, to websites that we’ve tapped into for a little inspiration this week.

Enjoy!

http://www.aestheticamagazine.com – Art & culture magazine.

TheFancy.com – A newest social network on the block. Think visual cataloging service meets a platform that let’s users create collection they like across the web (images).

http://www.luxuryculture.com – Online luxury & lifestyle magazine.

http://www.design-dautore.com – Italian site focused on Architecture, Design, Life Style, Nature, Art & Photography.

http://design.org – “From inspiration, interviews, education and tutorials, Design.org seeks to help designers and those inspired by design to create a better world and promote their efforts on a global stage.” ~ Design.org

http://www.coolhunting.com – Creative portal backed by a global team of editors and contributors sifting through innovations in design, technology, art and culture across the world.

http://www.dezeen.com/ – Popular and influential architecture and design blogs on the internet.

http://paperlux.com – German creative agency with a proclaimed fetish for paper (see their ‘About Us’ page).

 

December 22, 2011
Zaman’s signature

Zaman’s signature calendar

It’s that time of the year again – we’ve starting couriering our signature Zaman calendar for 2012 to our clients & business partners.

Originally we came up with the idea of a Zaman calendar as something that would reflect Zaman’s creativity but also serve as a self-marketing tool that actually provides some kind of functional value to our clients and partners ensuring we stay top of mind, or “on the desk – next to your computer” if we’re going to be literal.

Zaman’s signature calendar stand is designed 100% in house. It is a simple and elegant design made out of clear plexiglass material to enable one to see both the calendar side and as well as the artwork.

Every year we look for a specific theme based on a subject that has inspired us. Three years ago the artwork for the calendar was a fusion of Arabic and Latin typography, East meets West. The following year we looked at Arabic pattern work. For our 2011 calendar we wanted to celebrate the refinement of crafts in the Middle East and their potential evolution.

Staying true to all things authentically Arab, a common theme in all our designs is the use of beautiful contemporary imagery of Arabic artisanship and craftsmanship in a way that celebrates and honours the finest crafts of the Middle East.

Delivered to all of our clients our calendar has become a popular fixture often resulting in a few queries from client’s wanting to know why they haven’t received theirs yet!

We’d like to think that Zaman’s signature calendar has become a vehicle to spread Arabic culture and heritage. Each page month has a unique artwork which means that the calendar in essence then becomes a piece of collectible art that can even be framed and used as a wall hanging or simply to adorn one’s desk.

Our 2012 calendar is inspired by the colourful exterior decorations of cargo trucks from Pakistan (and India) commonly referred to as ‘Jingle trucks’. These customized trucks are often a reflection of the personal taste of the driver as well as representations of a specific origin & sometimes even incorporate elements from the routes they regularly drive. It’s quite common to see poetry and well formed scenes as part of the artwork. Look out for a post from team member Nadia Abdeen, who was responsible for the fieldwork research.

Our calendar provides us with another canvas to display our team’s talent & to give you another peek into the world of things that inspire us in the Arab world.

Enjoy the pictures!

December 12, 2011
Branded buildings

Branded buildings and living spaces

Project: Property branding

Buildings can have their own personality. Through branding, buildings can complement a brand’s character and express its message by standing out from the crowd. Branded environments can extend the experience of a company’s brand or even a community by using distinguished characteristics such as the use of color, names, symbols, finished materials, environmental graphics and signage.

We found an interesting contrast between some countries where there is a strong creative expression of color and branded environments in living communities or office’s, to some of Dubai’s areas that don’t really communicate much about their own character and aesthetic lack of color.

The tall beige towers in the JBR’s beachfront or the vast beige Cedre Villas community in Silicone Oasis only to mention a few, is where you can see a constant use of the color beige… beige and oh have we forgotten, more beige!

Using our imagination as a property branding agency, we ask ourselves:

Is the lack of color In Dubai is influenced by the desert? And what were to happen if some of these areas would receive an injection of color?

We felt inspired and took it our creative hands to see how one area could look like.

JBR Towers in the Marina – a somewhat dull view of a large group of towers that overlook the Dubai beachfront all in beige.

If the Cedre Villas community in Silicon Oasis, Dubai were to have some color perhaps this could be what it would look like. But still the question remains, would this be Dubai’s Silicon’s Oasis reflection of its true character?

With a little paint and some bold typography, a school designed to change the life of its students has undergone a transformation.

Yungay, Valparaiso Chile – the project is indented to blend into the urban landscape characterized by a combination of small colorful houses.

By Grace Yacoub

—

Copyright © Zaman Marketing 2019. All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy