5 thoughts on design
Arabic design is not just switching the reading direction. Visual hierarchy, trust, and what feels natural to a reader are all cultural.
Arabic design is not just switching the reading direction. Visual hierarchy, trust, and what feels natural to a reader are all cultural.
Every agency I joined, I had to ask for a prayer room. The first time I walked into a building where the room was already there, I noticed it in a way I had not expected.
Every agency I joined, I had to ask for a prayer room. The first time I walked into a building where the room was already there, I noticed it in a way I had not expected.
Agency work gave me everything I wanted as a designer. Real problems, real energy, but never quite enough time for myself.
Agency work gave me everything I wanted as a designer. Real problems, real energy, but never quite enough time for myself.
Telling a story and getting people to stay engaged is not separate from the work. I think about my listener every time I present something.
Telling a story and getting people to stay engaged is not separate from the work. I think about my listener every time I present something.
My colleague needed to know if a piggy bank icon would offend Muslim users. I put a question to my Egyptian contacts on Instagram and had an answer in ten minutes.
My colleague needed to know if a piggy bank icon would offend Muslim users. I put a question to my Egyptian contacts on Instagram and had an answer in ten minutes.
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From Egypt to the Netherlands
Hatem was only eleven when he came to the Netherlands from Egypt. Discovering CMD at Hogeschool Rotterdam happened by chance. While initially being interested in European Studies, he discovered CMD at the open day. It was there, that he saw a student presenting a game he had built from scratch. "That he had made something by himself, that was simply amazing to me. I was sold, this is it!" He enrolled CMD, graduated, and built his career through a series of demanding environments, eventually reaching DEPT, one of the largest digital agencies in the Netherlands.
Hatem was only eleven when he came to the Netherlands from Egypt. Discovering CMD at Hogeschool Rotterdam happened by chance. While initially being interested in European Studies, he discovered CMD at the open day. It was there, that he saw a student presenting a game he had built from scratch. "That he had made something by himself, that was simply amazing to me. I was sold, this is it!" He enrolled CMD, graduated, and built his career through a series of demanding environments, eventually reaching DEPT, one of the largest digital agencies in the Netherlands.
Introducing design to others
At his time at DEPT, Hatem collaborated with JINC, an organisation that brings children from under-resourced neighbourhoods into creative studios for short “blitz” internships. These children from age 8 and up, would step into a creative office for a morning and immediately react to the environment, often with surprise or disbelief at what a design agency looked like from the inside. Hatem learned how to present his work in a way that actually connected. "The more I presented, the more I could tell what really clicked and I really liked exploring how to communicate better". Together they would brainstorm ideas for real-world problems, sketching, prototyping, and even filming snap-chat concepts on the spot. "At some point I saw that these children we realising that this path its within their reach. They can do design as well!"
At his time at DEPT, Hatem collaborated with JINC, an organisation that brings children from under-resourced neighbourhoods into creative studios for short “blitz” internships. These children from age 8 and up, would step into a creative office for a morning and immediately react to the environment, often with surprise or disbelief at what a design agency looked like from the inside. Hatem learned how to present his work in a way that actually connected. "The more I presented, the more I could tell what really clicked and I really liked exploring how to communicate better". Together they would brainstorm ideas for real-world problems, sketching, prototyping, and even filming snap-chat concepts on the spot. "At some point I saw that these children we realising that this path its within their reach. They can do design as well!"
Knowledge from within
At some point in his agency career, Hatem went deep on something no one around him was equipped to do: Arabic design. He researched how a right-to-left reading direction changes not just layout but visual hierarchy, trust, and flow, and presented his findings to colleagues. He contributed Arabic versions to client pitches and worked on Arabic-language websites for real clients, including an electric motorsport series with a Saudi audience. He was, as far as he could tell, the only person in his environment who could both read Arabic and design in it. Not translate into it. Design in it. When a colleague needed to know whether a piggy bank icon would offend Muslim users, Hatem posted a question to his Egyptian contacts on Instagram and got many responses and thus a clear answer in ten minutes. Without him in that room, it would have been a research brief. "That is what it actually means to have someone like me on your team."
At some point in his agency career, Hatem went deep on something no one around him was equipped to do: Arabic design. He researched how a right-to-left reading direction changes not just layout but visual hierarchy, trust, and flow, and presented his findings to colleagues. He contributed Arabic versions to client pitches and worked on Arabic-language websites for real clients, including an electric motorsport series with a Saudi audience. He was, as far as he could tell, the only person in his environment who could both read Arabic and design in it. Not translate into it. Design in it. When a colleague needed to know whether a piggy bank icon would offend Muslim users, Hatem posted a question to his Egyptian contacts on Instagram and got many responses and thus a clear answer in ten minutes. Without him in that room, it would have been a research brief. "That is what it actually means to have someone like me on your team."
Is there a prayer room?
Being usually the only practicing Muslim in his workplace meant navigating things no one around him had thought through yet. Every new agency came with the same conversation: asking for a place to pray. The responses were always supportive. At one place they covered a meeting room glass wall with adhesive paper while they worked out a solution, then built a proper curtain and ordered a prayer mat online. "This did not come from hostility but more from not knowing". Plainly: they had simply not encountered the need before. What stayed with him was the contrast. The first time starting at new design agency and a prayer room was already there, built into the building, he felt it.
Being usually the only practicing Muslim in his workplace meant navigating things no one around him had thought through yet. Every new agency came with the same conversation: asking for a place to pray. The responses were always supportive. At one place they covered a meeting room glass wall with adhesive paper while they worked out a solution, then built a proper curtain and ordered a prayer mat online. "This did not come from hostility but more from not knowing". Plainly: they had simply not encountered the need before. What stayed with him was the contrast. The first time starting at new design agency and a prayer room was already there, built into the building, he felt it.
Work life balance
Agency work gave him exactly what he wanted. It also, eventually, asked for more than he could keep giving. He moved to freelancing to work at a pace that was his own. From his internship at NOS, UX Design at DEPT and UX lead at Label A; his journey through design has now made him a strong, individual player in the field.
Agency work gave him exactly what he wanted. It also, eventually, asked for more than he could keep giving. He moved to freelancing to work at a pace that was his own. From his internship at NOS, UX Design at DEPT and UX lead at Label A; his journey through design has now made him a strong, individual player in the field.
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DESIGNERS IN FULL COLOR all rights reserved 2026
DESIGNERS IN FULL COLOR all rights reserved 2026
DESIGNERS IN FULL COLOR all rights reserved 2026