False: Women must wear traditional garments. Men don’t have to.

One thing I realized that we didn’t focus on in our project was the fact that men and women wear similar garments. The men wear the long white ropes and head coverings. The reason I bring this up is because I was made aware of another misperception people have here in the US about the Middle East. It was over dinner and I was discussing with friends what I had learned about Islamic culture while visiting Dubai. My friend says to me that her issue and reason why she has a problem with the women wearing the traditional garments is because the men do not have to do the same. When I realized that this was her impression, I quickly stated that this wasn’t the case. I said that both genders wear similar garments, they just happen to be different colors and it really all depends upon the place and the person. I think this issue is at the core of the idea that all muslim women in the Middle East are oppressed by the men. It seems so obvious now that people might think that the men didn’t have to do the same. Now that I am aware of it, I will be able to make a strong argument against this false impression.

Stickers

T-shirts

    

Front & Back of Strong T-Shirt. Ideally the t-shirts would be black with white type.

The youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMtxbhopkts

I AM

Two Posters

 

We wanted our poster to mimic the the dual conversation we have in our video. By having these posters visual join together we are able to tell this story of two cultures joining as one. Before dividing the poster, it composition was conflicting with the type, each battling for attention. The two posters resolves this friction.

Poster Design

I AM Campaign Logo

The logo brings together the english and arabic forms of “I AM”.

T-Shirt Design

 

Our final solution for the t-shirt incorporates our logo into the front and the back. Our 3 variations, strong, proud, and free, are a few of the messages expressed in our video. We felt that they represented our two cultures personal feelings. Shared by all, these words show how we are similar. We chose the black t-shirts with the white type because it references the beautiful black abayas worn by Emirates. The box outline in our logo represents a “fill in the blank” spot where one can insert their own personal feelings. It becomes a place for customization and invention. I am [Strong] [Awesome] [Angry] [Whatever].