Designer Ahmed Al-Rashid

For the past 15 years, Kuwaiti designer Ahmed Al-Rashid has been building his graphic design business empire by packaging himself as a brand and taking steady steps to develop his identity. "I create simple designs using bold colors - this is my approach. However, I'm not bound to a particular art technique," said Rashid. He is best known for three styles - graphic design, geometrical shapes and spattered and organic illustrations. "I draw on almost everything and not only on a computer screen or a piece of paper - walls, clothes, accessories, machines and cars; anything you can imagine," he added.

Visual communication is a changing art. Those who work in this field need to keep up with the change in order to stay relevant. This art can briefly be defined as the ability to turn ideas into effective and persuasive images or designs without the need for words. Thus, it is considered a universal language, but it is also restricted by symbolic meanings that vary from one nation to another. Therefore, popularity is linked to accommodating the meaning of the symbols.

For example, the "I ? NY" logo by Milton Glaser, designed in 1977, contains a powerful statement that relies on the symbolic context of shape and color. Its simplicity swept the world and made it wildly popular. Visual communicators like graphic designers tend to simplify complex approaches. Consistency creates unique features if the designer is able to separate mood swings and his style and perspective in design.

Claim to Fame

"Although I started professionally 13 years ago, my first appearance on social media was when I started to post my hand-illustrated Starbucks paper cups. The project bloomed and led to a business collaboration between me and Starbucks in the Middle East, followed by Nespresso after I posted a picture of my design work on one of their products," Rashid said. He also shot to worldwide fame in fashion after showcasing his art on clothes and accessories of high street brands.

"My transition from one surface to another has puzzled my competitors. What is Ahmed doing? What I do is take risks and deliberate alterations. There are many talented graphic designers, but they are not willing to take the risk and draw their illustrations straight on an expensive item. I do," Rashid said confidently.

Perseverance Pays

Rashid realizes that his beginnings are the real secret behind his excellence, along with practice and continuous learning. He was keen to learn from renowned graphic designers and advertising agencies in Britain and the Netherlands as a trainee. "I had to pay for some of them to let me in," Rashid revealed. "Besides the great understanding of the design business from those experiences, more importantly, I compiled a client base from all over the world. Hence, being popular on social media is minor compared to talent and perseverance as a development tool for self packaging and to reach a point where the industry recognizes a designer as a brand," Rashid stressed.

Given these points, Rashid believes that consistency in graphic design is an important element to widen the competition between him and other designers and agencies, in addition to maintaining his work between madness and rationality. An example is when he recently painted on the body of a supermodel. He followed his style in design, and ignored those who did not welcome this daring step. At the same time, he chose not to draw on the whole body in respect to his society.

"I twisted the challenge to create dazzling work even though I painted on a small part of her body rather than challenging society," Rashid said. "You will know that I no longer live here if you see me painting on an entire body in a more culturally open society. I am now working on finding the right way to get to the world," he concluded.

By Athoob A Al-Shuaibi