At 40MUSTAQEL, 1 we use our knowledge of print design, branding, and digital design in both problem solving and creative endeavors. With diverse backgrounds, as a team we share a mutual interest in finding different ways to narrate brand stories with heart, coming from an innate interest in local arts and culture, sociopolitical consciousness and that one particular Spotify playlist the world is not ready for.
NADA HESHAM
2
Founder & Creative Director
Nada is a graphic designer based in Cairo. Graduating from the German University in Cairo with a BSc in Applied Sciences & Arts, Nada started her career with an interest in exploring Arab visual languages through diverse creative endeavors that include Khotout West El Balad - which earned her a D&AD Pencil - moving on to become a founding member of the regional 100 Best Arabic Posters. Nada’s commitment to examining the heterogeneity of the Arab visual languages influenced the fluidity of her process to adapt to varying design challenges. At the heart of her craft lies an inherent interest in telling regional stories with a decolonized tongue and their adjacent visual narratives.
HUSSEIN SALEM
2
art director
Hussein is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Cairo. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design, he spent two years honing his craft by working with commercial clients and cultural enterprises, exploring cultural and political heritage through typography and theoretical discourse, as well as establishing himself as an emerging artist through exhibiting and selling print artworks. Influenced by classical art and a pop cultural sensibility, his work is loosely framed by a focus on storytelling and an interest in referential subtext. As of 2020, Hussein sought a more nuanced approach to visual craftsmanship through marrying low-concept design thought with commercial accessibility.
MINA GEORGE
2
art director
Mina is a Cairo based Graphic Designer and Art Director. Upon receiving his BA in Spatial and Urban Design from the German University in Cairo in 2017, he ventured into various design disciplines exploring notions of cultural identity, gentrification of pop culture and politics of space and design. His work spans designing posters, publications and visual identities with typographic exploration remaining at the core of his practice - closely focusing on experimental Arabic type design. In 2020, he participated in the Asil project initiated by Tarek Atrissi with Al-Qalam through the support of Creative Industries Fund NL, aiming at developing Arabic typefaces from Egypt.
Selected Clients
Film My Design
Doria Feminist Fund
AUC
Nahdet El Mahrousa
RiseUp Co.
Telda
Kerning Cultures
El Mahrousa Publishing
Doodle Factory
Ithmaar Solutions
