Posts Tagged ‘design’

Arabesque: Graphic Design from the Arab World and Persia

• ISBN13: 9783899552683
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
Despite their rich tradition of calligraphy, the Arab World and Persia are not known
for their contemporary graphic design, illustration and typography. Especially
now, it s worth taking a look at the region s creativity. Young designers are just
beginning to chart their own compelling course between local visual convention
and a modern, international style.
Arabesque investigates the creative potential of the Arab World and Iran. This
book features examples of recent innovative and groundbreaking design work
that is inspired by the richness of the region s visual culture.
Given the important role of calligraphy in the Middle East, Arabesque focuses
on typography. The book presents a wide range of Arabic fonts and typefaces
inspired by traditional calligraphy; these are accompanied by a rich selection of
applications. Further examples of design and graffiti serve as powerful demonstrations
of how text can be used illustratively. This work is particularly relevant
to those now creating street art and poster design.
Arabesque also features graphic design, logos and illustration by young designers
and activists from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which
is complemented by selected projects by Western designers, who are strongly
influenced by Arab culture. Regardless of the location and ancestry of their
creators, all of the examples included in Arabesque combine modern design with
the traditional, letter-based canon of Arab forms in striking ways.
Supplemental texts describe the environments in which the featured designers
and artists work. Arabesque also includes a CD-ROM that features a typeface
created by the book s editors, Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma.

Arabesque: Graphic Design from the Arab World and Persia

Abu Dhabi – Ancient and Modern by Design

Dhabi Means Deer

The second largest city, and capitol of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi sits upon an island that is T-shaped, jutting out into the Persian Gulf from the west coast side.  The city of Abu Dhabi covers a huge area, some twenty six thousand square miles, and has a population estimated to be about 860,000 as of the year 2007.

The term Dhabi means deer in Arabic and some speculate that is a nickname for an original “man who chased deer” or even the “father of deer”.  Some of Bedouin origins claim that Umm Dhabi means “mother of the deer”.   Long ago Abu Dhabi had the name of milh, which means salt in Arabic.  This was most likely due to the saltiness of the water.  There is still an island on the coast of Abu Dhabi called milh.  In any case, the region is extremely ancient and contains lots of history.

 

Home of the Emirati Royal Family

As capitol of the seven emirates, Abu Dhabi holds the federal government’s most important offices and is home to the entire Emirati Royal Family.  The area has become a huge cosmopolitan populous and is growing rapidly.  The income average is quite high, causing the metropolis to become more and more westernized, surpassing most other Arab towns and cities in that respect.

 

Abu Dhabi signifies wealth and power

The city of Abu Dhabi is the industrial and political centre of the country.  Abu Dhabi represents fifteen percent of the GDP for the United Arab Emirates, and is home base to some financial institutions of extreme importance to the region.  The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, along with being the corporate headquarters to many multinational companies and corporations are based in Abu Dhabi.

As one of the largest oil producers in the world, Abu Dhabi strives to diversify the economy by way of investing in tourism and financial services.

 

Steeped in history

The emirate known now as Abu Dhabi was first settled around the third millennium BC, being mostly inhabited by nomadic herders and fishermen.  The modern Abu Dhabi can follow its roots back to tribal confederations that were of note back into the eighteenth century.  The Bani Yas tribe took control, including over Dubai until the nineteenth century when Dubai and Abu Dhabi parted company and went their own ways.  Abu Dhabi became known for camel herding and growing dates and other vegetables around several inland oasis such as Al-Ain and Liwa.  Pearl diving was a lucrative means of income, along with off coast fishing.

 

From pearls to petroleum

 

As petroleum became an important commodity in the late 1930’s drilling became another industry although when oil was located in 1958, it did not appear to be all that important.

In 1968, the UK announced it would withdraw from the Persian Gulf by 1971.  This led to independence for the Emirates and oil took on much more significance as an income source in the region.  Soon the traditional mud and thatch huts were replaced with modern buildings housing banks and boutiques and finally high rise buildings.  Abu Dhabi moved from being one of the most ancient parts of the world to one of the most stylish and modern.

 

Wallpaper City Guide: Dubai

Product Description
Wallpaper* City Guides not only suggest where to stay, eat, and drink, but what the tourist passionate about design might want to see, whether he or she has a week or just 24 hours in the city. The guides feature up-and-coming areas, landmark buildings in an `Architour’, design centers, and a selection of the best shops to buy items unique to the particular city.

Wallpaper* City Guides present travelers with a fast-track ticket to the chosen location. The edited guides offer the best, the most exciting, and the most beautiful of the featured city.

In addition to looking beautiful, the guides are expertly designed with function as a priority. They have tabbed sections so the tourist can easily find what he or she is looking for. Also included are color-coded city maps, rate and currency cards, and an easy navigational tool. They are the ultimate combination of form and function.

Compiled by the well-traveled editorial team of Wallpaper* and by an extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider’s guide to each featured city. The contributors to these guides have put their heads together to come up with fascinating, efficient guides that keeps the hip, urban traveler with his or her finger on the pulse.

The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper* magazine celebrates its tenth anniversary. For the past decade, Wallpaper* has been the first to uncover and enticingly present the best in new design and urban travel spots across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007.

Wallpaper City Guide: Dubai