susan-elin solimani
A personalised brief, exploring typographic form, function, and identity through storytelling.
A magazine spread with marginal annotations below, highlighting grid logic, cultural context, and typography choices.
And an animation to enhance the design outcome’s digital adaptability.
GRID SYSTEMS:
12-column modular grid with 5mm gutters, inspired by Müller-Brockmann’s Swiss typography.
Farsi text adheres to RTL flow (
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Baseline grid: 6pt increments.
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
‘Dastet dard nakoneh’ (دستت درد نکنه): Literally ‘May your hand not hurt,’ this phrase reflects Zoroastrian reverence for labour.
ILLUSTRATION:
Sourced own illustrations to emphasise the poetic phrases and their meaning.
TYPOGRAPHY:
Contrasting typefaces, ‘Ropa Sans Arabic’ (Farsi) for readability in RTL contexts, paired with ‘Neue Haas Grotesk’ (English) for neutrality and minimalism.
The typeface ‘Qasida’ for calligraphy, reserved for poetic terms like ‘نور چشمی’ (light of my eyes)to evoke Persian romanticism.
PROTEST SUBTEXT:
The Farsi text’s rhythmic repetition mirrors the geometric patterns of a Persian rug—where centuries of tradition encode stories in warp and weft. Like these rugs, ‘Atal Matal Totoleh’ was once a domestic artifact
(a child’s lullaby) that became a canvas for rebellion.
During the 2022 protests, its singsong cadence was weaponised into satire, much like how carpet weavers historically hid subversive symbols in floral motifs.
The typography here—with its song center-aligned like a motif—echoes this tension between folk tradition and political dissent.
Looping words, reinforcing structural continuity across media. Farsi ligatures remain connected even in transition—testing digital RTL compatibility.