Self-adhesive vinyl wall stickers have revolutionized contemporary European interior design. The Khatt Foundation in partnership with the Dubai based trend setting company, Mosaiques, have recently challenged the best visual artists from the Arab world to re-invent wall design with the Middle East in mind.

A jury of renowned Middle East design specialists such as Nadine Kanso, Nada Debbs and Rami Farook, selected the winning entries of the design competition in which more than 150 up and coming designers from across the region have taken part. This Khatt Design Collection of wall stickers is an impressive mix of traditional Arabic calligraphy and poetry, Islamic and Arabic vernacular symbols, humorous and thought provoking visual puns, all presented in a distinct contemporary form that shows the aesthetic diversity of visual language and graphic design from the Middle East.

The collection will be launched in its premier exhibition (curated by Huda AbiFares and Mosaiques, and sponsored by the only photography magazine in the Middle East, Soura) at the avant garde Dubai based ...

The exhibition will showcase a series of Arabic type designs that outline the involvement of Dutch punchcutters and type designers in the historical development of Arabic printing types, as well as their influence on the new generation of young Arab (type)designers in Europe and the Middle East.

The French society has a strong relationship with the Arab culture. Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunesia and Algeria were once French protectorates. The Arabic speaking population in France is still large. France also has a very strong tradition in graphic novel and animation. One of the best educations for digital animation, the SEA Institute, is located in Paris. The French animation style is quite distinct from the American tradition, it is more focussed on visual representation, more poetic, less focussed on narration, fun and humor. Although the French are clearly influenced by the high level of American digital animation production.

It all resulted in a beautiful movie called Azur and Asmar, telling the story of two young men, sharing one Arab mother/nanny but having different fathers: one is Arab the other French. The movie itself is visually totally Arabic, it plays in the Arab world and the story has all the typical ingredients of the Arabic mystical storytelling.