Tarif for Stuff

Everything that I post here is my work, but there are thousands...

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:23:09 +0300

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.

the volkeswagen beetles post <3

Sat, 19 May 2012 04:23:17 +0300

:-) thanks!!

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

(also, ya nadashty is brilliant)

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

Sat, 19 May 2012 04:21:39 +0300

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.

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

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:14:00 +0300

:-) 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

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:31:26 +0300

192

Novelist

191 The Surgeon

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:25:04 +0300

191

The Surgeon

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

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:45:45 +0300

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

I like your most recent post about design!

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:41:05 +0300

Thanks!

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

Three suggestions to a starting designer

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:38:00 +0300

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.

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:51:16 +0300

190-Almost. But not quite.

189- I don’t belong here

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:44:42 +0300

189- I don’t belong here

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

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:14:06 +0300

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

a.k.a “مرعي”

187-“That’s exactly what I told him”

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:56:00 +0300

187-“That’s exactly what I told him”

186-Red is the New Black

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:45:00 +0300

186-Red is the New Black

185-Der Löwe in der Fremde or (اسد المهجر\Lion of the...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:58:47 +0300

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)

I would like to know if u r the designer of zooba eats in zamalek also I want your phone number

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:25:37 +0300

Dear anonymous:
You’ll find my email address in the “About” section of this website. Please send me your number and I will call you as soon as possible. (or you can send me a non-anonymous message so that I can respond to you privately).

184- Followers Party Last night, I got my 3,000th Tumblr...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:50:51 +0200

184- Followers Party

Last night, I got my 3,000th Tumblr follower. I remember (literally) jumping up and down for my first follower. Normally people say that things like these are humbling, but that always means it makes them proud. I’m not a big fan of contradictions, so I’m not humbled by you all following me, on the contrary, it’s quite the confidence boost.

So, I won’t make it all dramatic and stuff, but this little outlet for my illustrations, and having people out there looking at it and liking it, was one of the main reasons I got the, well, balls to leave my job in investment banking (read: money) more than a year ago and become a designer (read: human). That alone is enough for me to host this *party*.

———————————————————————————————————-

NOTES:

-Those are exactly three thousand guests (you guys) up there (+me). But I guess you can bring friends along.

-That’s me in the red hat. I’ll be the only one allowed to wear a red hat because most of you won’t recognize me otherwise.

-The cluster at the bottom there is the line for the restroom. Sorry, but we have only one at our place. So I figured there’d be about a 42-person long line at all times.

-The table with the food and drinks is full of goodies. You can bring brownies too.

———————————————————————————————————-

In all seriousness now, thank you. And I hope my silly illustrations are not too silly for you to enjoy.

Talk to me now, tell me about yourself, ask me a question, or ask me to draw anything and I promise to give it a try. Click here for any of that.

Here is my dusty blog that I plan on posting on again very very soon.

And the Bucket here is a little side gig where I just reblog all of the stuff I like on Tumblr.

I better go and start preparing the barrels of dip and put the beer in the fridge before you start showing up at my door.

Tarif.

183-Beetle The real one was yellow. Also, I’m not a big...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:49:00 +0200

183-Beetle

The real one was yellow.

Also, I’m not a big car fan-or let’s say not really into cars, but I have to say: Volkswagen and Porsche owned the 1970s (along with Led Zeppelin).

OH! and it was parked inside Salah El Din’s Citadel. By itself in the middle of the courtyard.

Yes, I saw it. Hmm. Well, I think we can definitely let this one...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:48:49 +0200

Yes, I saw it.

Hmm. Well, I think we can definitely let this one go. It was just used in small dosage and the announcement wasn’t even out. Also, I like it, so it’s not in violation of NOPE rules.

:-)

Speaking of which, there’s an upcoming rule on GIFs. It doesn’t really apply to you though.

182-Announcement #281 National Organization for the Preservation...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:42:00 +0200

182-Announcement #281

National Organization for the Preservation of my Eyes