Everything that I post here is my work, but there are thousands of little (or big) moments where I come across something here that is not mine and is beautiful or funny or interesting or inspiring. I used to blog about some of those, but I’m not a very reliable blogger and they’re so many that doing them justice would make one a full-time writer. So I created this bucket to share with you what I like around here and elsewhere. Maybe with a comment or two. 

[The added bonus here (why do we say this, isn’t any bonus “added”?) is that my taste is awesome. In everything. So you’ll get to see the stuff that I think is awesome and then you’ll like them and then you’re gonna have awesome taste too. Or at least that’s the plan]

Since I’m not doing much writing and I’m just throwing stuff in, I see this sort of like a curated bucket. And bucket in Arabic is “gardal.” And this my gardal. 

gardal.tumblr.com

Click here to follow. 

sarahmossallam asked: the volkeswagen beetles post <3

:-) thanks!!

there’s something about this car, isn’t there? bravo 3aleihom ya3ni. 

(also, ya nadashty is brilliant)

hrib asked: Hello. Have look my illustrations and graphics. Maybe you will like some of them. Beside this I am having difficulty to find other blogs or sites where I can publish-promote my kind-type of architectural drawings. I am looking for more architectural orientated Blogs and not just general illustration blogs. I am aiming to more architectural visitors. Do you have any suggestion? That would help me a lot. Thank you for help

Hey! 

I absolutely love your illustrations man. You have great style and I think you should hold on to it, especially the black and white work. 

Most of the blogs/curators/submission tumblrs etc. out there that I know are more about art and design and not specifically architectural illustration. The few architecture blogs that I know are pretty famous on Tumblr so I’m sure you already follow them. Sorry I’m not of much help in recommending sites to you. 

For what it’s worth though, 

EVERYBODY!!!! please check out hrib’s work. I guarantee you’ll love it. and if you do, follow the good fellow for more. 

gogolotus asked: I enjoy your scribbly looking scribbles! can't wait to see more :D

:-) i love hearing that from a fellow scribbly scribbler!

you have great lines and colors. i really enjoyed going through your illustrations. so can’t wait to see more over here as well.

192 

Novelist

191

The Surgeon

monastarves asked: I really like your tumblr! I love any type of art, so keep posting!

Thanks for letting me know :-) and I will do just that!   

dustincytacki asked: I like your most recent post about design!

Thanks! 

I really like the work on your blog. Is it all yours?

Three suggestions to a starting designer

Well..Let’s give this a shot. It’s always useful to think about these things in structured terms. I should warn you though, this could be long (I tend to be verbose at times).

So, if I would have to distill what I think you should do, as, or to become, a graphic designer (and to enjoy the process) from the tiny bit of insight that I might’ve accumulated so far; I would say that you need to always do three things:

1-Keep your eyes open. You need to always be looking at things. Everything. That’s the beauty of design, it’s literally everywhere. Save the things you like somewhere (Tumblr is a good place, Evernote, Bookmarks, scrapbook etc.) but more importantly make it part of every single day to look at good design and take a moment to think about it. Look at every type of design (not just “graphic”). The only way you’re able to, say, speak a language is by hearing it. Often. And your goal is to “speak” design fluently and to eventually say what nobody else has said before. 

2-Design! Don’t treat design as a big deal. Take every opportunity you get to sketch, design, layout, color, or retouch something. Make up brands and design stuff for them. Design posters for your friends’ bands or your school’s basketball team. Explore things all the time by doing. It’s very easy to feel like we’re learning enough just by browsing for inspiration or watching talks. We’re not.

3-Be insatiably curious. About design of course but, more importantly, about other fields as well. Design is not art. It’s mostly done for a known purpose and that purpose usually is in the service of an industry or field other than design. Read articles and listen to talks about technology, entertainment, construction, museums, development, product design. Everything. And lookup great graphic designers and listen to what they have to say. You can’t be a musician without a list of favorite bands. Same thing with design. 

190-Almost. But not quite.

189- I don’t belong here

188-“Hmmm…I see what you just did there”

a.k.a “مرعي”

187-“That’s exactly what I told him”

186-Red is the New Black

185-Der Löwe in der Fremde

or (اسد المهجر\Lion of the outland)

Another illustration I just did for Nina Fargahi’s great blog on migration in the Swiss newspaper NZZ. The illustration was commissioned to go with these penetrating lines by the Syrian/German author Rafiq Schami on migration or the outland (originally in German, and translation here by Nina, since my German would only go as far as…well not very far let’s say):

“The outland is a magician, and no one should think that magicians are only supposed to entertain children. The outland’s magical hand is able to degrade a lion into a circus act and a stone into jewel”

Check out Nina’s post here. (and if you know German you’ll love the lines even more). 

(this is a great example of the kind of strokes of luck that often make or break the work of a designer/illustrator—in terms of getting a concept into a final work, not in terms of how good or bad one would think the outcome is. So, i had the idea of using the map of Switzerland as the lions mane, and of course couldn’t remember at the time what the shape of the country was.  but was extremely happy to see that, unlike Italy, the map works perfectly. and that made my week)