Resources

On the Poetry of Design

These books speak of understanding design and the poetry of describing and feeling ‘things’.

On Decolonization

Further reading into understanding the different cultures of the world that are unfortunately dominated by Western perspective of art & design.

Other Reads

Some of my current favourite (fiction) books that are dear to my heart, for their stories or strong message - that inspired me indirectly into my life and design work

We all stand on the shoulders of giants, learning from each other. Below, links can be found from my favourite creatives, social and educational pages - this collective is for my current or future references that I hope helps spreading knowledge.

On Visual & Poetic Nutrition
(Instagram feeds)

Product/Industrial Design
🌐Design Milk | Inspiring new design, interior and products
🌐Design Ellipse | Product design inspirations
🇬🇧Lemanoosh | Product design concepts and inspirations
🇮🇹Almond Design Magazine | Showcasing artists and product designers
🇬🇧Automotive Styling | Automotive Design blog
🇱🇧Studio Nada Debs | Handmade contemporary Middle-Eastern Industrial Design
🇦🇪Al Joud Lootah | Industrial Designer
🇧🇪RAAK Design Studio | Industrial Design studio
🇩🇪Kevin Klöcker | Industrial Designer
🌐Denis Guidone | Industrial Design studio
🇯🇴Ahmed Jarrar & Najlaa Design | Industrial & 3D designer
🇵🇸Local Industries | Design and manufacturing network
🇴🇲altqadum | Spatial design office
🇧🇭Shepard Studio | Design Agency
🇸🇦Badiya.studio | Contemporary cultural design agency

Architecture
🇹🇷Mosquesty | Poetry of Masjids & Islamic architectural elements (& cats)
🇪🇬Blue Cairo | Documenting Mamluk heritage and Masjids
🇨🇦365Daysofgeometry | Documenting Islamic patterns around the world
🇴🇲Laith Khalifa | Architecture & urban sketching around Muscat
🇴🇲MemarMuscat | Documenting modern architecture heritage around Muscat
🇦🇪Goodbye Old Jumairah | Archiving traditional and demolished houses in old Jumeirah, Dubai
🇫🇷🇵🇸Tisuu Urbain | Urban photography based in Paris
🇮🇹Architetti Roma | Contemporary urban architecture in Rome

Photography
🇴🇲Osama Ali | Visual feed of Arabness and Poetry
🇫🇷Bartabac | Mediterranean/Mood
🇺🇸Andrew Kim (@mnmllymnml) | Minimal photography & designer at Apple
🇺🇸Dino Kuznik | Luminal places photography
🇫🇷F. Dendiével | Mood photography
🇮🇨Jose Ruiz Gonzalez | Minimal
🇫🇮Marko Laitinen | Minimal
🌐Mind the Minimalism | Minimal
🇺🇸Christopher Hall | Parked cars and SF aesthetics
🇯🇴Abdulla Jaafari | Automotive photographer and content creator
🇺🇸Hagerty | Documentaries illuminating the joy of driving
🇦🇪Saeed Speed | Automotive photography
🇨🇭Cars with Luke | Automotive video and photographer creative
🇨🇦Anis Hamdane | Car Corners
🇹🇷Olgaç Bozalp | Multidisciplinary photographer
🇧🇭Ishaq Madan | Visual story teller
🇴🇲Aiman al Ghazali | Landscape and Moon photographer around Oman
🇯🇴Anita Bursheh | City and landscape photographer based in Jordan
🇪🇬Karim Magdy | Street life in Egypt
🇴🇲M3wli | Film director and producer
🇦🇪🇵🇰ALJVD | Banker turned photographer, based in Dubai
🛰️Maxar Technologies | Satellite views of earth
🇺🇸Leica Losers (Ryan Razon) | 35mm/Vintage Look
🇮🇷Zhee showroom | Persian Carpet art and showcase

Calligraphy
Classical
🇹🇷Mehmed Özçay | Classical Calligraphy
🇰🇼Jassim alNasrallah | Calligrapher in a constant navigation of the Islamic arts philosophy within a contemporary context (podcast)
🇸🇾Mouneer Al-Shaarani | Calligrapher and book designer studied under the great Syrian calligrapher, Badawi Al Dirany
🇹🇷Seyit Ahmet Depeler | Classical Arabic Calligraphy
Experimental (Digital)
🇺🇸Mohamed Samir | Type designer working in Apple
🇯🇴Ali Al Masri | Contemporary and classical calligraphy
🇵🇸 Khalid AlSaidni |
🇦🇪 Ibrahim Zaki | Senior type and poster designer
🇮🇶Wissam Shawkat | Contemporary Arabic calligraphy
🇳🇱ILLM | Contemporary Arabic calligraphy
🇰🇼Mohammad Sharaf | Graphic designer and calligrapher
🇧🇭Qassim Haider | Type & Kufi Calligrapher
Graffiti
🇹🇳eLSeed | Contemporary Arabic calligrapher, sculptor and artist
🇮🇷Mehdi Sohrabi | Persian classical calligraphy
Other
🇪🇬The Arabic Design Archive | Archive of book covers and Arabic type through the modern age
🇸🇦Noha Raheem | Arabic calligraphy in Chinese style
🇵🇰Aiman Nadeem | Calligraphy and card designer
🇬🇪Black Dog Shop | Georgian Type shop
🇺🇸CR-eate | Design Studio that specialises in Text art

Poetry & Writing
🇧🇭Poetry & Gahwa | Arabic & English Poetry by Hashem Y.
🇴🇲Shouq Abdulaziz | Inspiring film maker, artist and language learner
🇯🇴Ghazal Hasan | Visual writer
🇯🇴Jude al Safadi | Visual writer & Photography
🇯🇴Yasmine Abaza | Visual writer
🇦🇪Amal al Sahlawi |Poetry and words
🇴🇲☀️Malang | Balochi poetry
🇮🇹Davide Avolio | Italian modern poetry
🇵🇰Jasir Shahbaz | Writer
🇶🇦Shaikha Al Subaey | Writer and Islamic reminders
🇮🇷🇵🇰🇮🇳🇧🇩Brown_Verses | Verses from South Asia
🇮🇷🇦🇫Persian Poetry | Persian poetry translated
🇧🇭Ghadeer Alkhenaizi | Blogger and architect
🇸🇦Hessa Saidan | Arabic Blogger
🖋️Arabic poetry collection | Collection of poetry translated into English
🗣️Feelosphy | Quotes and Proverbs

Artists
🇨🇳Ai Weiwei | Contemporary Artist
🇾🇪🇰🇪 I.am.shaima | Visual storyteller based in the GCC. Her work is inspired by social and cultural issues
🇨🇭Franz Zumstein | WW2-Airplane comic artist
🇫🇷Benedetto Bufalino | Art and cars
🇵🇹Suissas | Visual/Photo Artist
🇹🇷Sina Ateş | Illustrator
🇹🇷Murat Palta | Pop art in Islamic scripture style
🇮🇷Keyvan Fehri | Persian Sculptor
🇧🇭Zainab alSabba | Art using physical arabic words
🇩🇪SMOE NOVA | Graffiti Artist
🇮🇷ICY AND SHOT | Artists
🇩🇪Danny Hawk | Watercolour Artist
🇪🇬Mostafa Zohdy | Illustrations
🇺🇸 Faisal Warsani | Honolulu based artist painting seas
🇪🇸Alicia Aradilla | Watercolour travel sketcher
🇰🇼Jasim Marig | ‘Ha’a’ Philosophy
🇮🇷Jason Seife | Contemporary Persian carpet painter
🇰🇼Owaikeo | Illustrations of the Gulf culture
🇰🇼Zouz the Bird | Artist, writer, map and filmmaker
🇺🇸Danielarsham | Artist & Architect in 3D and Pokemon
🇺🇸Silsila | Illustrations showcasing beauty of Islam

Omani Art & Culture scene 🇴🇲
Makan Studios
Creative Mornings | Muscat
Zawraq Collective
Oman Affordable Art Show

Gulf/GCC Art & Culture scene 🇴🇲🇧🇭🇰🇼🇸🇦🇶🇦🇦🇪
Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Sekka Mag
Khaleejesque

Misc. Inspirations
SiteInspire | Web design inspirations
Lamanna Bakery | Pizza website. Web design inspiration
Kinfolk | Lifestyle and design culture Magazine

On Design & Aesthetics
(Web/Youtube Links)

Islamic/Cultural Architecture, Art & Calligraphy
🇶🇦🇬🇧Catnaps (John Lockerbie) | Study of ethnic architecture in the Gulf and Qatar [resource heavy]
🇰🇼Maha Alessa | Visual documentation of the architecture and local concepts in Kuwait City
🇮🇹SquareKufic | Study of Qur’anic inscriptions and Islamic art and architecture
🇱🇧🇬🇧Joumana Medlej | Kufi calligraphy artist and educator
🇬🇧Eric Brough | Study of geometry and architecture in the Muslim world
🇧🇳Stars in Symmetry | Study, appreciation and creation of Islamic Art and Architecture
🕋Old Mecca & Architecture | Thread collecting images of vernacular Mecca city
🇹🇷Arkeofili | Snippets of buildings and history from the past
🇦🇪Dubai as it used to be | Historical photos of old Dubai and it’s changes
🇺🇸Decorative Ceiling Tiles | History of Islamic Tilework & sources
🇸🇦 Balconies Archive | Documenting the balcony as an aesthetic necessity

Typography, Branding & Design
🇺🇸Eye on Design | Covers the latest news and politics on design
🇳🇱🇪🇸🇱🇧Atrissi Design | Design studio known for its typographic and cross cultural design approach producing projects that left a significant influence on the contemporary graphic design landscape in the Middle East
🇱🇧Nadine Chahine - ArabicType | Award wining Arabic-type designer’s personal website on Arabic typography and fonts
🇳🇱🇱🇧Khatt Foundation & Khatt Books | Non-profit cultural foundation for the advancement of Arabic typography and resource
🇯🇴Eyen.design | Design collective
🇹🇳🇴🇲Aissam Hamoud | Designer and writer on topics relating to design and branding
🇩🇪🇯🇴Zaid Sbeitan | Experiment and collector of Arabic letters and typography
🇱🇧🇪🇸Azza Alameddine | Graphic and bilingual English-Arabic typographer
🇬🇧Pentagram | Multidisciplinary design agency
🇷🇸Korak Studio | Independent multidisciplinary design and art direction practice
🇸🇪🇺🇸Bembli | Automotive Design analysis
Design Field Trip | Automotive Design analysis
🇩🇰Jonathan Faust | Design Director
🇮🇷Studio Kargah | Graphic design company based in Tehran
🇮🇷Tehran Studio & MeshkiPublications | Book cover design
🇵🇸🇺🇸Palestine Poster Project Archive | Archive of poster designs of the Palestinian and Zionist movements
🇳🇱It is not just a logo | Branding design of the City of Amesterdam
🇺🇸 Mucca | Case study on type and branding
🇺🇸Inside Apple Park | First look at Apple product design process

Photography/Documentary
🇿🇦🇬🇧Sean Tucker | Photographer, filmmaker and writer speaking on the philosophy behind our photos
🇨🇭🇴🇲Pinaki | Photographer/Journalist documenting life in and around villages and locals in Omani (and elsewhere)
🇴🇲🇬🇧Lesser Spotted Oman (Clive Gracey) | Documentation of architectural and cultural elements from an artistic perspective
🇺🇸🇱🇧Jessica Kobeissi | Portrait photography & photography freelance know-how
🇺🇸Vuhlandes | Unapologetic photography giving us an alternative perspective of his philosophy and the Detroit culture
🇺🇸PAL2TECH | Fujifilm & photography technical specialist

City Planning
🇳🇱🇨🇦Not Just Bikes | Stories of great urban planning and urban experiences from the Netherlands
🇺🇸City Beautiful | Channel dedicated to educating about cities and city planning

Running a Design Business
🇺🇸Chris Do | Designer, strategist and entrepeneur helping creatives run their design business
🇺🇸The Jamie Brindle | Practical freelancing tips for creatives
🇺🇸🇪🇬Mo Ismail | Video marketing tips and how to gain audience

Mental Clarity
🇳🇿Campbell Walker (@Struthless) | Mental clarity and self-love from the view of an Artist
🇺🇸American Baron | On life and mental clarity

Philosophy & Psychology
🇫🇷Alice Cappelle | Philosophical understanding of Humanity and their actions
🇦🇺QOVES Studio | Defining human beauty through anthropology and cognitive psychology

Sciences & History
🇺🇸Veritasium | Everyday science
🇦🇪Sultan al Qassemi | Arab art & culture columnist and researcher, and is the Founder of Barjeel Art Foundation.
🇸🇦Moath Alofi | Culture and heritage, mostly around Medina
🇦🇪Tamashee | History and culture from Northern Oman/UAE (Gulf footwear brand)
🗺️Midafternoon Map | Historical cartography and maps of the Middle East & Turkey
🗺️Middleastonight | Historical maps in Arabic

Creativity
🇺🇸Design Theory | Theories of Design and the psychology with our interaction of everyday objects (mostly industrial)
🇺🇸Bembli | Automotive Design Analysis
🇺🇸Everything is a Remix | Ideas are thoughts built from a past experience, hence progress and innovation is built on past memories and derative from past works.

Design Sources

Running a Creative Business
Pricing your design work | how to price yourself in the market
The Lost Designer | How designers need to rethink that no, the client does not understand your mind
Branding Style Guides | Branding guidelines documents archive for global companies

Colour Palettes
Coolors | Colour palette scheme maker
Who Can Use | Tool that brings attention and understanding to how colour contrast can affect different people with visual impairments
Meshgradient | Create beautiful mesh gradients
Varni Ki Karni | Pattern Making

Pixel Editing/Photoshop
PiXimperfect | Extensive Photoshop tutorials

Fonts & Type
Google Fonts | Open source collection of worlds’ languages fonts
Eyen.Design | Free experimental Arabic letter lab design
Font Brief | Font picker for branding
Fontesk | Free and beautiful layout of open source fonts
Typotheque | Global Fonts
Raqq | Making of early manuscript Kufic

Mockups/Photos/Printables
Unsplash | High quality royalty-free photos
Artvee | Downloadable public domain artworks
Takashi-san | Free to use Japanese cliparts
Flaticon | Free Vectors
AlienValley | Beautiful minimal mockups
Is.Graphics | Device mockups
Thingiverse | 3D-print ready library
Archieve 3D & Free3d.io | Library of 3D objects
ScreenSizes | Measurements for device screen sizes
Skal.es | Work-Life Balance online Calculator (free)
Annual Printable Planner

On Culture & Travel
(Web/YouTube Links)

Culture & Faith
🕌Sacred Footsteps | Alternative historical and ethical travel & culture from a Muslim's perspective
🌏Ajam Media Collective | Online space devoted to analyzing society and culture across the lands from Turkey to South Asia sharing Ajam or Persianate culture outside the colonial "Middle East" news
🇸🇦Saad Qahtani | Arabic video of informative and critical analysis against the Western-dominated narratives
🇮🇷Zirrar | Writer and travel photographer whose work reflect a vision of cultural and identity revivalism of Islamic Art and Architecture against Orientalism
🇮🇷🇺🇸Alex Shams | Iranian-American writer and a PhD student of Anthropology, interest in feminism, urbanism and Islamism in Iran and the Arab World
🇮🇷🇺🇸Hoda Katebi | Writer, community organizer, & creative educator
🇮🇷Rumi was a Muslim | Against the erasure of Islam in the mistranslation of Rumi by the West
🇵🇰Hashiya Online | Alternative history of the South Asian peninsula in both YouTube and Instagram format
☀️Baloch History | Feed on the history of Balochi people
✊🏿Brown History | South Asian history retold by the Vanquished
🕌Traversing Tradition | Muslims, Culture and the World

Ethical Travel
✈️Decolonize Travel | Fighting against the exploitive nature of travel to learn ethical travel and history
🇺🇸Yulia Denisyuk (@insearchofperfect) | Ethical travel photographer. Also educates women travellers on photography and getting published
🇧🇪Alex Reynolds (@lostwithpurpose) | Ethical solo Female Travel Off The Beaten Track
🇦🇪Noora Al Niyadi | Photographer and traveler based in Al Ain
🇮🇷Ali's Travelbook (@Iranian_Nomad) | Iranian traveler speaking on the history and aspects
🇬🇧Alive like the Wind | Photographer and writer on mental health
✊🏿No White Saviours (Instagram) | Feed for de-colonising our minds and world

Languages
☀️🇸🇪Grammar of Modern Standard Balochi | Workbook from Uppsala University on Balochi grammar
🇨🇦Langfocus | Brief and amazing introduction to the origin and current languages of the world
🇺🇸🇮🇹polýMATHY | Luke Ranieri’s videos of study in beauty of words and languages and their origin
🇮🇹🇨🇦It's Elissa, not Alyssa | Italian pronunciation
🇮🇹 Italian Conjugations | Italian verb conjugation
🗣️Luca Lampariello | Language learning blog
🗣️ How Languages warps the way you perceive time and space

Book Tube
📕Literary Hub | Books and all things Literary
🇴🇲🇨🇦Hey.Readers (Maiya) | Book Reviews & Recommendations
🇸🇦Sami Albatati | Arabic book reviewer
🇳🇱The Book Leo | Dutch-based English book reviewer

Food
🇾🇪Mokhtar Alkhanshali | Expert, barrister and writer on Yemeni coffee
🇴🇲🇬🇧Dine with Dina | Omani/East African-food presenter and chef
🍛Eat Like A Sultan | Gastronomical Medieval Arab cooking & its influence on Western dishes
🥔Dessert Truffle | Rare natural delicacy from the Middle East created by lightning
☕Turkish Coffee | My personal favourite method of Turkish coffee

Music
🌐My Analog Journal | Exploring rare grooves around the world on vinyl, in a visual pleasing setting
🇹🇷Taksim Trio | Three of the best and most famous Turkish instrumentalists playing harmoniously

Articles & Others
Articles that I return to for good information and/or character building

Islam & Culture
🕌Islam and the Cultural Imperative
👾We Have To Talk (Again) About How War Games Depict The Middle East
🛐Tolerance versus Toleration in Muslim Civility
🇮🇹The Medici touch: exhibition shows how Florence fell for Islamic art
🇮🇹Islamic hints in San Marco
🇮🇹Islamic Palermo - Aramco World
🐈Medieval Islam & Cat Poem
🇯🇵Is it Possible to Create a Japanese Islamicate Culture?
🌿Evolution of abstract vegetal ornaments in Islamic architecture (Research paper)
🎨Art as a Vehicle for Sacred Knowledge

Culture
🇦🇪Emirati culture exists - just look closer | Differences of how culture is perceived - by Ammar Shams
⚽Capt. Majid and the Arabic Language
🇰🇼 Bye Bye London: Theater & Imperialism in the Gulf
🛐What happened to the ideal of multi-religious Arab modernity
🇮🇷🇦🇫What we lost in Persianate modernity
🇵🇰 Bringing Urdu into the digital age
🇵🇰 The lost art of Eid greeting cards
🇮🇹Making Italians - Nation Branding. GALLE
✊🏿Being Black in the Gulf | Against our tainted Euro-centric ideals
✊🏿Jacquelyn Iyamah | Designing for inclusion
📷The Baggage that Lives with you Forever | The contradiction between Western method of ‘poverty porn’ and photography
🇯🇴Why Boba Fett's Train Scene Felt So Familiar
🇮🇹La Moka | Story of the ingenious Italian home coffee maker
🇬🇧Why and how design can leverage place-of-origin more
⚔️Meaning of crossed swords in symbols

Self Improvement & Social Understanding
🗣️Edward Said AUB Commencement Speech
🗣️How to spot an Idiot | JB Pritzker gave the speech
📜Why I became a historical novelist
👑Ibn Khaldoon on Luxury and the Destruction of Civilisation
👤Are we the same person we used to be?
👤Why we become attached to our belongings
🤐The Insidious Disguises of Jealousy | Defining our built-in jealousy
🚩Red Flags | Understanding hidden red flags of a new person you meet
💰2Cents | Advice on personal finance and wealth

Writing
🇴🇲Ammar Naaimi | How to publish a book in Oman & other tips
🖊️The Rhyming titles of Muslim authors
🖊️ Writer’s Checklist | A Self-editing checklist from an editor-in-chief
🖋️Bradt Guides | Travel writing publisher & guides
🖋️Reddit Post | Writing a good cover letter

Palestine
🇵🇸Eye on Palestine & Jewish Voice for Peace | Raising awareness against occupation
🇵🇸Decolonize Palestine | Debunking myths on Palestine
🇵🇸Electronic Intifada | Independent online news publication and educational resource focusing on Palestine, its people, politics, culture.
🗺️Ottoman Jerusalem | Interactive map of Jerusalem between 1517-1917

Other
🚗Oman to Europe Road trip | Pre-2016 road trip documentation
🚗If You Love Fonts And Graphic Design, Go To A Classic Car Show
🇯🇴Ali Maher | Interview with the late artist and architect from Jordan by Project Manifesto

Charity
🕌Abdullateef Khaled/Appeals2022 | International Human Care and Relief Organisation focused around the Muslim Ummah
🇴🇲Al Rahma Association | Help less fortunate families in the Omani society