Contemporary Practice GDE710 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2
Who are you?
My name is Omar Mal. I was born in Brazil and am half Lebanese and Half Portuguese by birth. However, I consider myself a Global Citizen as I was raised in several countries including Brazil, United States, Mozambique, Lebanon and the Kingdom of Bahrain. This has exposed me to various cultures and languages. I am proud to say that I can speak four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and English. Growing up, I always had a sharp eye for details and was always inspired by all the different vibes and energy that living in these countries brought. These multicultural and multilingual aspects have made me whom I am today as a designer.
What is it that you do?
I am currently a Senior Graphic Designer in one of the top automobile companies globally and in the country. I am solely in charge of all Creative requirements starting from conceptualization until execution and provide my expert opinion on major creative decisions and launch events. I currently handle six major brands in the automobile industry. A pivotal moment in my career was when I joined TBWA Bahrain and entered the automobile industry as cars are my passion.
Where are you?
I am currently based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is a tiny island at the heart of the Middle East region. With a population of 1.6 million (49% locals and 51% Expatriates), this country is currently in its boom stage. The design industry is growing at a fast pace with more of the youth being exposed and taking interest in this field. Many international advertising agencies have established their presence in the country. Currently, the expatriate community of Lebanese are leading this industry and have shaped it for a very long time. However, as per my experience in Bahrain, I find that there are several designers that are not working in the industry due to their talent. Many became designers as part of their own business, job, or mainly because they failed in everything else. Therefore, the quality of design ranges from extremely good to extremely bad. The competition in Bahrain is fierce. Hence, this has always challenged me to provide my best.
Why Design?
Personally, design to me means reflection of thoughts and communication. Design has the power to cross countries and boundaries. It’s a way to transfer my feelings and thoughts into visual striking imagery to the public. That’s why I chose to work in the advertising industry. Design is very subjective. However, the designer behind it needs to lead the audience to what he wants to convey from the visual. It’s a very challenging aspect, but it triggers my thoughts to multiple ideas all at once. It is extremely satisfying to me when people translate exactly what I mean. Over the years, I feel that I have passed the challenge given.
Case Studies Reflections
It was interesting to see that most of these practitioners in the field of design are interested and work with Typography. It kind of reminded me of what we have here, as Calligraphy is heavily used in the Middle East. I was interested to research the difference and found that there are slight differences. The art of calligraphy is only done by Arabic letter artist writers whom have studied the same. It’s a very difficult art and needs constant practice. Nowadays, it’s mainly used for Islamic art and in advertising its common in the month of Ramadan.
In Julian House and Adrian Talbot (Intro Design) case study, I disagreed with their statement that not everyone can excel at design unless they are born with the talent. I do not believe in that. In my region that is not the case, as many people entered the design industry due to interest or for the sake of their business. Many people in this region do not have the talent or the taste. Therefore, the field of design in my region has a fair share of being weak and average in overall quality.
In Simon Manchipp (Someone) case study, I have related to many topics discussed regarding agencies. Also, I was once an entrepreneur and for a while had my own agency in partnership with my best friend. However, after five years, we had to shut due to the market saturation and my best friend moving abroad to Australia. As an entrepreneur, I had two hats on, the hat of the Founder & Partner and the Creative Director. It was difficult to make decisions as everything affected each other. It was tough, challenging and an amazing experience all at once. Also, I agreed with the point that with the rise of digital, one must up his game in the field. Hence, currently, before starting my master’s I began to learn animation. I love it! I am currently thinking of specializing in that for the upcoming future.
Reflection on reference materials
What grabbed my attention the most is the “Design Everywhere” blog which showcased work from several designers. I found the designs very modern and mostly focused on typography and abstract imagery which was striking. I also noticed that there were Arabic topography used on several items which I was able to relate to.
I also liked the Visuelle graphic designer blog. It had very interesting illustrations, fonts, and colors.
Another material I liked was “Abstract – The Art of Design Season 1 Episode 6- Paula Scher – Graphic Design”. It showed how Paula “the goddess of graphic design” as they named her, was able to turn simple fonts into powerful designs.
My favorite of them all was “Intel Visual Life – Michael Wolff”, as it was the most one that grabbed my attention. I felt Michael Wolff has a serious case of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). The way he organizes his closet and cupboard of mugs relate to my personally, as I usually do that. I also liked the part he talked about packaging and the power of it to make people chose it based on how it looks. Imagination is triggered from curiosity which is when you want to know the reason why something happened.
Omar Mal
January 27, 2020
Omar Mal 