Kashida Design Art Products

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My experience with Kashida shaped my experience and skills in the design field. On one hand it embarked me on an in-depth study and experimentation of the domain of typography and calligraphy, on another hand it taught me skills of 3D product design.

Creating 3D functional Arabic typography is very different from sketching a 2D composition. Here, form had to follow function.

Studying the anatomy of each letter, benefiting from its characteristics, fitting it within a modern frame while making it a functional item was the key objective - while facing a constant challenge of maintaining the composition's legibility.

Our sketching process was basically all by hand, in terms of 2D or 3D, leaving the digital part till the end for retracing and slightly fixing the final result. Thus, this was constructive in terms of developing hand-sketching skills, paying more attention to small details and creating a kind of engagement with the product itself and its process of creation

Most of the Art Pieces aimed to revive the old calligraphic styles, while blending culture and heritage with modernity. Modernising those styles and renovating their shapes within a simple and functional structure, was the process behind each product’s success.

1) «Tawfic & Najah» coasters - sketches and 3D prototypes.

As a style, the “diwani” calligraphic style thought to work best because of its excessive playful curves and its decorative punctuation that helps tightening the letters together and creating an organic feel. The first task was to minimize the negative space by thickening the letters, yet preserving their original contrast and proportions. The thicker and more tied up the letters are, the more the product can maintain its balance and function.

2) «Ahlan w Sahlan» entrance table, based on the floral Kufic calligraphic style.

The letters played an essential role in forming the support and base. Final product refined, finalised and produced by Kashida Design.

3) «Masha’Allah box» - Another successful product - sketches and 3D prototypes.

We had the world written with Diwani Arabic calligraphy and according to this basic sketch, we started stylising it and playing with its thickness and the positioning of the letters till we reached a satisfying result. The hard and challenging part was to maintain the special characteristics of such a delicate and beautiful style, and to preserve its proportions and its light organic feel yet making it feel steady and slightly bulky.

The excessive usage of punctuation misguided the audience from recognising the main word, which made us minimalise their excessive usage and re-balance the negative space.

The circular shaped of the box was created with the elongation and bending of the letter “alef” implemented 3 times.

4) «Mubarak hatha el bayt» - sketches and 3D prototypes.

This piece passed through many phases were the word itself had to be cut in half for the sentence to be elongated, which would have scarified its legibility.

Moreover, a detailed attention had to be given to the excessive curves in the diwani style in order to have a harmonious result between these bends and their negative space as well. Negative space has always been an important aspect to look at in any design, and specially in this case where fixing it should always balance the proportions and contrast of the calligraphic diwani style.