Kinda GhannoumKinda Ghannoum

Kinda Ghannoum, a Syrian-Polish graphic designer, spearheads a nonprofit documentary project alongside friends Sally and Hala, aiming to revive and celebrate Syria's overlooked graphic design legacy through initiatives like the Syrian Design Archive, Syrian Media Archive, and more.

I’m a Syrian-Polish graphic designer, grew up in Damascus surrounded by a very artistic family and talented father and uncle who both taught at the Faculty of Art, Damascus University. I was consistently influenced by Arabic art, architecture, calligraphy, as well as Old Damascus. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Damascus University and graduated during the war. While there, I participated in Startup Weekend as a graphic designer. My team and I won first prize at this event and it was here that my passion for graphic design sparked! I began to study on my own and decided to shift my career to focus on graphic design and branding, with Arabic type, patterns and geometrical ornaments becoming a massive source of inspiration. I moved and currently live in Brussels, Belgium, where I finished a Master’s in Visual Art, Design, and Image at the college of Sint Lucas Antwerpen. To me, Syria is still home.

My journey has led me to create award-winning works for various international books, worked with several NGOs in Syria, the Obama Foundation, and several companies and start-ups around the world.

Because of my research, I was curious to learn about graphic design and the designers who helped shape Syria’s cultural image from prints, media, stamps, and posters to typologies, signage, and art. This information proved difficult to find, and what could be accessed was very limited in Syria. The war did not help either. Upon realizing this, along with my two friends Sally and Hala, we founded a nonprofit documentary project which celebrates Syria’s little-known graphic design history.

Syrian Design Archive, Syrian Media Archive, Syrian Type Archive, Syrian Print Archive, Syrian Stamps Archive – each share the richness found in these various art forms in Syria.