The Alumni Relations wing at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), a Qatar Foundation partner, recently organised a workshop and presentation on design journalism, activism and storytelling at its campus.
It was led by Pakistan-based Hazem Asif, an alumnus who holds a BFA in Graphic Design and MFA in Design from VCUarts Qatar and focused on “Art for Activism: A Poster Design Lab”.
In his presentation, Asif shared his journey and experience of researching and designing for various international organisations such as Google, Harper Collins, Bloomsbury, Zee5, Walker Books, The Lancet HIV and Al Jazeera Media Network.
During the workshop, participants crafted activism-inspired posters focusing on a topic of their choosing. At the end of the workshop, each participant/group shared a brief presentation on their poster and the inspiration driving it. Participants also discussed the potential real-world impact and reach of these posters.
The internationally recognised illustrator, designer and social design activist explained more about the convergence of design and journalism, and his approach to it.
“Briefs and features in newspapers – be they print or digital – can often be dull or feel distant to the reader. You’ll notice this as you scroll through digital news platforms; news features, with their read-through links and prompts, seem to dissolve into one another. This set me thinking – ‘What if I took a 500-word news feature and turned it into a design?’ And that’s where it started."
On December 24, 2021, a doodle created by Asif welcomed viewers to the landing page of Google. He designed the artwork for Google to mark the 71st birthday of Moin Akhtar, one of Pakistan’s most loved actors, comedians and entertainers.
Hazem Asif during the workshop.
