Illustrator and graphic designer, Sarah Alfarhan, not only has experience under her belt, but is also a person with intriguing interests and amazing projects. She was originally based in the States, and then in Dubai, but is now back to her hometown of Kuwait, and working as a graphic designer with Sharaf Studio. Her passion for illustration, design, and printmaking led Sarah to dwell on topics and specific inspirations that strongly feature in her personal projects.
Sarah has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from The University of the Arts from Philadelphia, PA, and a Master’s degree in Communication Design from Pratt Institute, NYC, NY. At 30-years-old, Sarah’s background and experience is apparent with every project. Her work comes in the form of print and design, and both are heavily influenced by illustration. Sarah tries to combine the elements of both graphic design and illustration in her work as much as she could, stating, “I am a print designer, and in my personal practice I make books and ‘zines. I want people to hold my work in their hands, I want them to interact with it, and books present the ideal format to fuse both, graphic design and illustration.”
One of Sarah’s projects, titled chairs, is a risograph printed book that compiled all the chair drawings she drew on a daily basis. “I wanted to experiment with digital brushes on the iPad, and how they reproduced in riso printing. I played a bit with the overlapping colors, and mixing up the filled in colors with line drawings,” she says. Sarah designed, printed, folded, collated, and bound the book herself, a process spanning in three different cities; Dubai, Amsterdam, and Maastricht.
As this issue’s theme revolves around various sustainability themes, Sarah, interestingly, worked on a publication for the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations. The edition she worked on focuses on exploring multidimensional facets of sustainability. She was the lead designer on the project amongst a team of designers, and this project arrives as her biggest print run of around 17,000 copies. A topic worth reading about, while still also admiring the design features within its pages.
Another project titled “You and I”, is a collaboration with Saudi designer Zainab Al-Mashat, where they both explored the notions of being Arabs in New York. This project adds on a topic that extremely interests Sarah, which is languages. “I love languages, I think [if I didn’t study design] I would’ve studied Linguistics or Cognitive Science. It’s really fascinating for me [to see] how the brain works, and how you switch perspectives and world views based on the language that you are using. Language is culture for me, and it is something I enjoy exploring in my work,” says Sarah.
Sarah continues to creatively thrive in her projects, and merge worlds that are sometimes difficult to merge. Her fascination with print, design, illustration and languages all intersect beautifully into a final project that is eventually held between your hands for your appreciation. In this day and age, we live in a post-online world where we have gone far beyond phrases like “Print is dead”. We continue to go back to the roots of it all, and interact with physical projects such as Sarah’s where we once again fall in love with that tactile feeling of holding something so beautifully well done, and appreciating all the hard work that has gone into producing it.
TRUTH OR DARE QUESTIONNAIRE
How would your mother describe you in one word?
Stubborn.
How would you describe your mother in one word?
Strong.
What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?
How would you describe your mother in one word? – can I just write an essay? she’s brilliant in so many ways! Also: Are all Kuwaitis short in stature like you?
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
Changed the rest of my travel itinerary one time, just because I enjoyed the city I was in and wanted to spend more time exploring it.
What is your theme song?
Gwan – Rostam.
What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?
In Arabic – عنابي. In Egyptian Arabic – بي مسخسخبم. In English – Iridescent.
Where would you like to live?
Brooklyn, NY. Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Beirut, Lebanon.
What is your dream retirement location?
Lisbon – Portugal.
What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?
…
Which animal best describes your perfect partner, be it in business, or in life?
A goat.
Do you miss anything from your childhood and if so, what is it?
My lunchbox – favorite snacks + some stickers!
If you could change your name, to what would you change it?
Sarah Shaker – Shaker is my 2nd great grandfather.
How would you describe your handshake, in one word?
Shy.
What is the toughest part of your character?
Determination.
Who is your favorite historical figure?
Cecilia Beaux.
What in the world do you least desire?
War.
What do you think is lacking in the world, which [if there were more of it] would make the world a better place?
City Bakery hot chocolate availability beyond W. 18th street. And functional and efficient public transportation.
Why do you think most people who do, like you?
I say it like it is, no-frills.
Finish this sentence: “Happiness is…”
in making.
For more information, follow @sarahalfa on Instagram, or check out her website www.sarahalfarhan.com.
