Education

Investing in the future Boutros™ hosts London Creative Conference - April 2014

, by Peter McCree

As part of its ongoing commitment to design education, Boutros™ hosted the London Creative Conference from 21 to 23 April 2014. The conference was specifically tailored to the needs of graphic design students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK), the second time that the University has participated in a Boutros™ educational event.

As well as the core theme of Arabic type design, the conference featured international branding, newspaper design and informational and directional signage. Over the course of three days, these wide-ranging topics were covered by various keynote speakers including the graphic designer Mark Noad, The Times’ news designer David Wadmore and type designer Dave Farey. The conference concluded at the Central London offices of Gensler, the global design and architecture firm, where the participants had the privilege to get an insider view of the design processes involved in large-scale projects such The Avenues in Kuwait and other retail and hospitality projects throughout the Middle East.

Participating students gained much insight and knowledge from all those who contributed to the conference. As well as planning and hosting the conference with his team of experts, Mourad Boutros gave his own presentation that centred on the use of Arabic type in the international communications world of today. His talk served to enlighten the students about the importance of Arabic calligraphy and the central role that it plays in modern bilingual communications in all types of media.

For Boutros™, the London Creative Conference represents just one example of its regular programme of investing in the future and spreading knowledge, awareness and appreciation of Arabic type.

American University of Kuwait Professor Marcella Kulchitsky added:
“Our students gained much from this conference. They have a new appreciation of type design and the development of brands. The lecturers presented quality information for them to absorb. The knowledge gained can be integrated into our structured study programmes and there are many ways in which our faculty can build upon this valuable learning experience”.