1. Summarize the problem you set out to solve. What was the challenge posed to you? Did it get you excited and why?

This project presented the challenge of creating a contemporary bilingual Arabic and English identity for the Beirut Exhibition Center in Beirut, Lebanon, one of the first cultural institutions dedicated to contemporary art in the region. When considering the identity, it was imperative that both languages sit equally together and be perceived as one holistic unit rather than two disparate entities that compete against each other. A secondary challenge, or rather consideration, was the architecture itself since the primary function of the identity was to embody the signage for the building and complement its strong and bold expression. L.E.FT Architects point to two aspects of the building that informed its structure and facade design: its location in the new landfill area of downtown Beirut and the ever-changing urban development of the environment. With this in mind, they conceived of a corrugated mirror aluminum facade that would reflect and distort the environment around it as it changed over time.

In my work, I found these constraints to be positive challenges rather than hindrances. The approach I adopted to visually pair two seemingly contrasting abstract forms of expression, especially English and Arabic, was closely influenced by the architecture. The same way the facade was distorting its surrounding by reflecting it, I set out to distort both the Arabic and English letterforms equally to a point where they could mirror and reflect each other.

2. What point of view did you bring to the challenge? Was there anything additional that you wanted to achieve with this project or bring to this project that was not part of the original brief?

This project presented the challenge of creating a contemporary bilingual Arabic and English identity for the Beirut Exhibition Center in Beirut, Lebanon, one of the first cultural institutions dedicated to contemporary art in the region. When considering the identity, it was imperative that both languages sit equally together and be perceived as one holistic unit rather than two disparate entities that compete against each other. A secondary challenge, or rather consideration, was the architecture itself since the primary function of the identity was to embody the signage for the building and complement its strong and bold expression. L.E.FT Architects point to two aspects of the building that informed its structure and facade design: its location in the new landfill area of downtown Beirut and the ever-changing urban development of the environment. With this in mind, they conceived of a corrugated mirror aluminum facade that would reflect and distort the environment around it as it changed over time.

The work for the Beirut Exhibition Center manifested itself through constant conversations with the architects. Their brief for the signage expressed the need for a bilingual identity that would also reflect and complement the thought process behind the structure. Just as the building reflected the urban environment around us, how could the typographic expression reflect the building?

My proposal was simple: to bring together the disparate visual forms of English and Arabic in a cohesive typographic approach, I distorted the rules of both in a fashion similar to how the corrugated reflective mirror building facade distorted the reflections of its surrounding environment. By transforming the original letterforms I was embodying the visual statement of the architecture. More importantly I made the conscious decision of not compromising the letterforms of one language to meet the visual language of the other at the expense of the whole. I was rather altering both equally to reach a whole based on the sum of its parts and its own unique visual language.

3. When designing this project, whose interests did you consider? (Discuss various stakeholders, audiences, retailing, manufacturing, assembly, distribution, etc., for example.)

The visual manifestation of this project developed primarily through conversation. A dialogue with the architects designing the facade, my primary clients, walked me through the role and function of the building in both value and form. The concerns of the cultural center were also kept in mind, as the staff wanted to cater to the cosmopolitan cultural scene in Beirut, often constituted of bilingual or trilingual speakers. My sketches and designs were informed by discussions with the architects on signage placement and production possibilities for the signage, my understanding of the audience, and my Latin and Arabic typographic sensibilities. For example, by remaining in constant dialogue with the architects of the project, we were able to identify and implement the style and frequency of the hatching pattern that constitutes the surface treatment of the main sign.

4. Describe the rigor that informed your design. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) If this was a strictly research or strategy project, please provide more detail here.

As designers we work as hard on developing our process as we do our actual work or final product, if not more. My personal work process is based on conversation. A back and forth dialogue with the parties involved in the project is my springboard to dive into a creative brief. In this particular case, engaging with the architects not only presented me with the brief but also walked me through the thought process behind the architecture and its primary external expression: the facade. Beyond the dialogue, the visual research builds my enthusiasm towards the project as it uncovers the possibilities, the precedents, and the traditions and rules I am contributing to or diverging from.
Drawing letters in which the Arabic and Latin would carry equal weight, as well as reflect the bold movement the facade was putting forth, guided my sketching process. The dialogue persisted as we went through iterations that best suited the production process: bold letters as opposed to thin strokes; simple geometric surface treatments as opposed to complex and fine patterns; placement for the sign that would reflect the corrugated statement of the facade without competing with it, hence the choice to situate it on the cement casted entrance wall rather than the entrance of the building itself. A more evident primary concern was the manner and formal approach to distorting the typography, diverging from the idea of a baseline for the Latin, twisting and building on an existing modular expression for the Arabic, while still bearing in mind key concerns for legibility.
It was only through this diligent exercise that the decision of opting for a formally distorted typographic treatment, rather than a representational symbol, made sense as a visually abstract vehicle to communicate the message.

5. What is the social value of your design? (Gladdening, educational, economic, paradigm-shifting, sustainable, labor-mindful, environmental, cultural, etc.) How does it earn its keep in the world?

It is evident that the gist and value of the project lie in the cultural and artistic fields. As a whole the Beirut Exhibition Center, an institution that houses and promotes contemporary art from Beirut and the region, is a simple yet bold visual statement for a cityscape in constant growth and flux.

More pertinent to the signage work, the subject of this submission, is the role and value of the typographic system. Though not uncommon, pairing the linguistic systems of the Arabic and English is always a challenge. In that regard I am enthusiastic about my contribution through the Beirut Exhibition Center to the experiments, thoughts, trials and errors of this ever growing conversation.

6. If you could have done one thing differently with the project, what would you have changed?

I greatly appreciate the issue this project allowed me to address as well as its manifestation in the urban scape. As a Lebanese designer, it is with great passion that I approach the challenge of marrying two seemingly disparate systems of communication: the Latin and Arabic typographic vocabularies. There is nothing that I would change particularly, but would rather add to the scope of my involvement and outreach in the project. Including, perhaps, the design of the website, print collateral, and the applications that extend the project beyond the building structure would reach a broader audience outside the immediate visitors and would create an even more extensive and cohesive identity system and visual expression.