Yara Khoury Nammour interviews Lara Balaa, Lebanese editorial designer and PhD Candidate at Rutgers School of Communication and Information. They discuss Balaa's journey into becoming a graphic designer, and her fascination with connecting graphic design to storytelling, strategy and communication.
Balaa shares her experience of teaching design history, questioning how knowledge is consumed and produced, and how this has led to her interest in research and writing on design from the region. They unpack Lara's approach to editorial design and her emphasis on creating an easy and enjoyable reading experience, especially in bilingual publications.
Balaa recounts her experience researching and writing her book "Emile Menhem: Invigorating Arab Journalism," part of the Khatt Books Arabic Design Library series. She describes the collective mentality of the 70s generation of Arab designers whose design work motivation was social engagement.
Balaa reveals some of her inspirations and important design commissions that have left an impact on the way she practices design today. She also discusses setting up Maajoun design studio in partnership with Khajag Apelian – where they attempted to mix commissioned design work like their seminal book design project for Beirut-based Hachette-Antoine publishers – with initiating design projects such as exhibitions and workshops.
FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhA
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.