Welcome to my website! My name is Reem, and I am a university student from London, UK. Here, you can discover many aspects about me, predominantly, the things I enjoy. Besides writing, I also enjoy illustrating, painting, photography, editing, reading, watching movies, and building positive relationships with others.
At A-levels, I studied Graphic Design, I.T and English Lang/Lit. In the Portfolio section, I have included a variety of projects related towards my studies as well as projects done freely at home during my spare time (this website is one of them!). This will give further insight on my skills and abilities. I hope that you like what you see and enjoy!
As the night sky cleared away to a still, cobalt blue; the enchanting full moon revealed itself in our then, moonlit backyard. Despite the absence of a digital camera, the photograph nonetheless depicted the details and flawlessness of the view as I recall it: a view that was unquestionably, one that was not to be missed and forgotten.
24/11/2018
Became a tourist in my own city for the day!
14/12/2018 15:31:04
As the sun was ready to fall below the horizon, I was able to capture it in its last, beautiful moment as it casted over us for a few more minutes before leaving us alone in the dark. But just like how the night leaves and the morning comes, the sun will always return to promise us a new day.
25/08/2017 05:41:09
A passionate, fire-like, golden-red sunrise burning into the morning.
05/04/2018 10:18:54
Winter and autumn finally subsided as it withered away the shrivelled leaves; leaving our once populous trees abandoned, vacant and lifeless. As anticipated, spring eventually sauntered its way into our desolated backyard and bloomed it to an afresh start. The soft, white magnolia flowers steadily came into view, presenting us with the feeling that spring really has begun!
10/08/2018 14:01:15
The anticipated downpour of rain that we yearned to arrive and restore the life and strength back in the plants finally descended its way down heavily on a Friday afternoon. Though it benefited nature, it surely did not benefit all of us in the same way. But that's okay. Quite like the problems, situations and endings that we inevitably have to face one day in our lives, it's just a passing downpour.
31/07/2018 21:03:00
I love this picture. The wash of colours, the gradients and the various tints of blue and pink brushed onto the sky compliment one another beautifully. The minimal hues of red behind the silhouetted trees deepens and graces the sky's complexion, allowing your primary focus to be set on the night sky of my backyard.
01/08/2018 13:15:18
A clear, summer's day photograph of a clear, summer's day highway.
06/02/2018 17:29:49
This was the view from my window of a busy, weekday afternoon filled with hurrying cars and crowded buses. The minimalistic golden sunset indulged by the silhouetted buildings and trees amongst the hovering, navy-grey clouds in the wide, open, winter sky which was coloured with shades of blue sapphire really does cause the picture to look way more peaceful than it actually was when I captured it...
12/09/18 19:34:55
A bright but freezing day at Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The warmth of the sun really radiates off of these pictures, but in reality the sun didn't help the freezing temperature at all, but it did give me these pretty pictures!
08/04/2017 20:58:31
A predominantly pink and purple infused night sky, filled with shades of; mauve, eggplant, stone, iris, rose, watermelon, salmon, rouge, and WAY too many more. You get the point.
12/09/18 19:34:55
Five days after a celebratory day (my birthday!); a gradient, radiant, beautiful sunset surfaced into the sky facing my bedrooms window. It was certainly enchanting and very aesthetic, compelling me to upload this picture unedited and raw. Though I did wonder whether to edit out the car emerging from the side of the image on the first picture, I let it be instead, concluding that the car complimented the sky immensely and gave the bottom section of the image some attention. I guess my confidence lies within taking images of the sky, right? Half of this section is filled with sky photography!
For our final I.T assignment, we had to create a website for a locally based catering company who cater for special occasions such as birthday parties, weddings, graduation ceremonies etc. It should process all orders and display an order confirmation with sub-totals, net-totals, VAT and the overall order total. Just like my website, this Cater4Me website was programmed and designed solely by myself using HTML.
Cater4Me Process
Before creating the website, I needed to plan the design and process beforehand. In order to do this, I created a flowchart to show how the website should function, and created a rough template as well as a detailed template so I have a basis to work from. I also designed the logo on Photoshop.
Crosswalk sign design
Jamie Reid inspired pastiche
Terrorist stereotype design
Stereotyping project
For this stereotyping project, I came up with various design ideas. The first design shows a muslim women replacing the street crossing signs, where I also implemented my design onto a real road crossing to show how the outcome would be in real life. The second project shows a pastiche inspired by Jamie Reid. Finally, the last project shows a poster which was added onto a real billboard and bus stop using Photoshop. These design ideas attempt to spread awareness of racial stereotyping/profiling in various ways.
Stereotyping protest
For our first project in the second year of Graphic Design, we were required to choose a theme that was personal to us and to develop a final design out of the selected theme. This is a photograph taken of my final design with a theme of 'stereotypes' chosen as a focus. I designed poster-like banners which portray a stereotype/judgement in which we are persistently exposed to. I am personally antagonistic toward stereotypes and do not believe in them, but rather that every individual holds different characteristics, individuality and beliefs that should not be degraded, judged or associated with a particular stereotype.
From left to right: A man with a turban, mustache and a beard with "BIN LADEN" written on it; a pair of jogging bottoms with the label "THUG" attached to it; a mascara which has "GIRLS ONLY" written on it; a newspaper article stating "MIGRANTS ARE BENEFIT SCROUNGERS"; a woman wearing a veil with a lit bomb - next to the bomb is written "ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS"; a TV announcing that "REFUGEES BRING CRIME".
Exotic leafelt
For my final outcome of the second project in my second year of Graphic Design, I have chosen the theme 'Exotic' where I have created a z-fold leaflet which consists of three topics inside – culture, culture shock and exotic. The outer part of the leaflet has the title pages where it states the name of the topic along with an image to go along with it. The leaflet is made to inform the target audience, which is mostly teenagers and young adults, on the topics inside the leaflet and educate them; allowing them to gain more knowledge and perceive the knowledge as a learning experience.
One-line drawing design
I created a one-line drawing of flowers using a red pen. After doing so, I scanned it onto the computer and put it on Photoshop. I then started to add unconventional colours for flowers, keeping in mind my 'Exotic' theme; using various brushes, pencils and the paint bucket tool. For the first 4 designs shown, I decided to play around with the background colour and chose colours which I felt suited the best with the colours. For the next 4 designs; I focused more on the colours of the outline of the design as well as the background colours which mix well with the outline. Lastly, I played around with some image effects on Photoshop shown on the last two designs.
Exotic typography 1
For the 'exotic' theme I have chosen, I created some typography designs using colours that subjectively connoted 'exotic' in my perspective. The font was designed myself through Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator and the trees/bushes and image (sunset) used inside the font created are primary images. I have chosen 6 of these typography designs to upload to show differentiation and experimentation through adding more layers of the trees/bushes and positioning them in different areas, as well as playing around with the opacity.
Exotic typography 2
Still using the font I have designed, I placed one of my designs inside the font (shown under the 'One-line drawing' tab), and played around with the outlines of the font. I used two different designs for this typography and selected the outlines which I thought looked best with the overall typography to be uploaded!
Exotic typography 3
This is the third tab on my typography designs. The first image I used is a secondary image, however, the rest are primary images taken by me. I further experimented on the last two designs by placing the typography onto the original image used inside the font, and I really like how it looks!
Whistle4Syria
In my first year of graphic design, I chose Syria as a theme for my sketchbook to focus on. After pondering on what type of project I could make, I decided to make a project called 'Whistle4Syria' through much research and inspiration. Whistle4Syria was a campaign I decided to create which was stimulated through watching the news on Syria. Many civilians are usually stuck under the rubble and it is hard for them to receive help since people will not know they are stuck. Therefore, creating a whistle for the civilians to have with them at all times can aid them if they do get trapped by blowing on the whistle as soon as they are stuck since whistles can be heard even if someone lacks strength blowing it, and they can get saved instantly. Another way I found this idea was watching the movie 'Prisoners'. Near the end of the movie, Hugh Jackman was stuck underneath a rubble and started to blow on a whistle that he found near him, which was heard from the outside by Jack Gyllenhaal. Without the whistle, Hugh Jackman would have probably not have been able to get out.
After considering many potential brand names such as 'Save Syrian Civilians (SSC)' '4Sryia', 'F4R SYRIA', The Whistle Campaign (TWC), '2Syria'; I decided to choose Whistle4Syria. I felt that this brand name was very simple and effective since the campaign is easily understood through the brand name. I started to draw up some initial designs for the logo, where I finally chose the logo design shown above. I then went on Photoshop to finalise the logo design and create a digital version.
Whistle4Syria - lanyard design
After designing the logo, I started to design the lanyard for the whistle. I started with designing the lanyard first as it was the simplest piece to create as a lanyard should not be too complicated in my opinion. Shown above are some designs I created for the lanyard.
Whistle4Syria - lanyard final design
After much consideration, I chose this simplistic design as my final design.
Whistle4Syria - whistle designs
After creating the lanyard, I started to work on the whistle design. I already had an idea on how I wanted the whistle to look, so I designed this whistle on Photoshop and chose it as my final whistle design.
Whistle4Syria - design implemented on real whistles
Using whistle templates from Google, I implemented the Syria logo on them just like my design for the whistle. I roughly drew in the Syria logo and tried to make it look as realistic as possible so I could get an idea of how it would look in real life. I also wanted to see how the design would look on different types of whistles such as silver, black and red which is shown above. After all, I chose the black design as I felt that this looked the most simple and suited the Syrian logo. Furthermore, a black whistle is used both in my whistle design as well as in my logo, so I felt it is better to continue the theme throughout my campaign since any other coloured whistle does not look that great with the syrian flag as well as on the logo created.
Whistle4Syria - whistle packaging
Creating the packaging was probably the hardest process in my opinion, since the packaging would be the first thing that the audience would see and must attract their attention. It was really hard to come up with ideas since a packaging has so many sides to it so it took very long to think about what to implement on each side of the packaging, as well as the colours and what to write, so I needed a lot of inspiration from other packaging designs. I created many design ideas, and through choosing a packaging design I liked, I went onto Photoshop to start designing the packaging digitally. There were many trial and errors where the size of the packaging was not how I wished for it to be, as well as me not really having much of an understanding on packagings so whenever I printed it out, a lot of the writing would be upside down or not the right way round. The original design I had in mind did not look as great as I hoped digitally, so I made many changes to the colours used as well as the designs and writing as the whistle packaging is quite small so having too much writing or designs looked too clustered. After much effort, I finally received a great outcome for my package design, which is shown above.
Whistle4Syria - shelf-ready packaging
I thought it was a very good idea to also make a shelf-ready packaging which can allow the whistle to stand out more. I needed to make the shelf-ready packaging suit the packaging of the whistle so they would look good together rather than clashing. I also didn't want the shelf-ready packaging to look much different from the whistle packaging itself, so I implemented some elements I put onto the whistle packaging onto the shelf packaging as well, such as the half-open zip design, the flag of Syria and the stamped "£1 can help save a life" typography. I only added designs on the areas that the audience would be able to see, so I avoided designing the bottom of the shelf packaging. I placed the logo so it would be on the front of the shelf packaging. I also designed the shelf packaging in hopes that people would easily what the campaign is about, and who it is for.
Whistle4Syria - manual
Included inside the whistle packaging along with the whistle, will be a manual explaining what the campaign is for and other ways to help. The manual explains why the campaign was created by using facts and figures about the on-going war in Syria, as well as talking about the aim of the campaign/whistle. You can purchase the whistle for yourself, where the £1 paid will be sent to Syria, or/and you can donate £1 for a whistle to be donated to Syria to help the civilians stuck inside rubbles or stuck in other circumstances where they are unable to use their voices or find help in any other way. The contact page allows the user who purchased the whistle to contact the campaign for any enquiries or to donate money freely for food and aid.
Pastiches inspired by Fares Cachoux
These pastiches are inspired by the artist Fares Cachoux. By analysing his work, I was able to replicate something similar to his whilst using my own images that I took, as well as my own ideas. Through designing these pastiches, I got an idea of how Fares Cachoux creates his designs which made me learn a lot from him and feel very inspired.
Pastiche inspired by Johnny Selman
I created this piece which is more or less a replica of a piece that Johhny Selman designed. The only real difference is that I used an image I took myself of a classmate which allowed me to experiment with Photoshop's filters, the threshold effect and many other areas. I am very proud of how the design came out.
Exotification
For this project, I used the theme of 'exotification'. The design is exotic within itself and gives a definition of what 'exotification' means. It therefore shows that people who are defined as 'exotic' are not seen as humans, but instead like a plant/animal as that is what the term means. I used this definition to create this design, where flowers are coming out of the shirt instead of a human head, portraying how although these people are seen as beautiful, they are also treated as other than human and something only to be stared at and glorified.
Sketching on a Friday afternoon. Simply the best way to end the week if you ask me!
Midnight
This is a drawing that I have always longed to draw. Unfortunately, this isn't an original piece, however, it fits the exact idea and theme for the type of drawings I hope to come up with and produce in the future. I am still not at the stage where I am able to take on board my own creativity and initiative, but using this drawing as inspiration, I hope to create something as expressive as this.
Graphic Illustration
This illustration was part of my graphic design work for my 'Stereotype' theme. I drew this while keeping in mind a stereotypical 'Terrorist' woman. For the drawing, I had to draw in pen since pencils do not come out clear when the image is scanned to the computer, so it was a new experience for me and was quite difficult since you could not re-do any areas. After scanning the image to the computer, I used Photoshop along with Illustrator to ink my work and make it look quite realistic yet have a comic sort of look to it.
Progress
This is my first time following a tutorial to try and draw a realistic eye and nose. Though I do draw some realistic drawings, I usually steer away from drawing human features and faces, but I decided to challenge myself and felt quite happy at the outcome! Hopefully in the future there will be a time I'm able to draw lifelike human illustrations freely without help. I'll keep practicing and working on it!
During sixth form, I was chosen to attend an award ceremony where I won the Student of the Year award and received a trophy as a result!
Results day
I was featured on my sixth form's website under "A successful year of academic achievements". I have also been featured on one of their tweets and quote tweeted by the Waltham Forest Council!
I was awarded a leaving scholarship for 2018/19 from the Drapers' Company!
College leaflet
I was a part of my sixth form's 2018 highlights due to being awarded student of the year as well as receiving a scholarship!
Stand-up banners
During open days and welcome fairs, I am included on my sixth form's stand-up banners, posters and booklets on students who progressed to a Russell Group university and received great results!
For our coursework in English Language and Literature, we had to write a story based on a theme which we were able to choose from a given list. Though I do not recall the exact theme wording, I certainly remember it was a theme where I had to include two lovers and the topic of marriage. Using the theme, I developed my own plot and carried it out throughout the story. We had a word count limit which I could not surpass, making the story short yet undeviating and head-on with a conflict, climax and a final resolution.
The story summarised: A young women in her 20s named Isabella tries to reach out to her boyfriend, Mike, also in his 20s; who is, without warning, ignoring her calls. He finally picks up after a lengthy time filled with anxiousness and worry, just to tell his girlfriend that his mother wants the two to get married. Isabella, perplexed on what the big deal is, sees no problem in Mike's mothers declaration since the two lovers communicate daily and tells her boyfriend that there will not be a big difference if the two get married anyway. Mike becomes irate at Isabella's impetuous words and seizes a chance to let out his sincere thoughts - in reality, he does not want to get married to Isabella. Isabella finally sees through Mike and grasps the truth that she has neglected 2 and a half years delivering love to someone who sees no future with her. Anguished, she ends the call, finally comprehending how he has regarded her for more than 2 years.
A book of hope
For our second coursework in English, we were told to write a book/movie review of our choice consisting of 250 words. I wrote a review on the book 'The Fault in Our Stars', summarising the book as well as talking about the morals and messages hidden inside such an inspiring and thought-provoking novel that we can recall and reflect on in our everyday, immediate life.
This is a creative piece that I have written myself to allow people reading it to sort of have an epiphany or to feel a significance/motivation within themselves that they have not yet realised. I am someone who is very determined, earnest and empathetic when it comes down to topics such as depression, a slump, anxiety etc - so I sincerely hope that I have helped someone who is reading this and hope to consistently do so in the future.
This is my first piece of writing so undoubtedly, it is not the best but I hope to get better with every piece I write!
The moment
This piece is definetely not my own perspective on what love is, but a piece which inspired me through watching how love is portrayed through films and other written pieces. I would say this is a poetic piece and is very different to the pieces I usually write, however, I wanted to challenge myself to write this piece after feeling inspired so I hope it isn't too cheesy or awkward to read!
Poem
This is a poem I wrote based on the theme of discovery. I decided to focus on self-discovery and the topic of discovering oneself and unwrapping all the layers that you never thought you had. It might not be my best piece of poem, but I tried my best to use metaphors, personification and imagery to get the message across.
Gateway KSA is a fully funded student delegation program by KFCRIS (King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies) which invites “a small and diverse cohort of exceptional students from elite universities to undertake a personal learning journey”. We explored and travelled the Kingdom beginning in Riyadh to Alula, then Jeddah to learn about the Kingdom and discuss research. Through it being an educational trip, we were able to participate in thought provoking lectures, focus groups, discussions and debates hosted by the likes of Dr. Abdullah Al-Saud which gave us a great opportunity to deepen our understanding of certain topics within the Kingdom. We visited and toured museums and archaeological sites such as Mada'in Saleh, Diriyah Village and The National Museum where we were able to learn about the history behind these sites; as well as companies and universities such as STC, KAUST, NCB, KAPSARC and SABIC where we were able to see what they were innovating, what their plans are for the future and how Vision 2030 will be of help to them; economically and politically. We also got the pleasure to meet Turki bin Faisal Al Saud where we had a discussion on various topics asked by us and met local families within the Kingdom to teach us more about the social life in Saudi Arabia.
This trip was such a huge learning curve for me and definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had. It’s such a treasurable memory that I don’t want to forget and honestly, my photography barely encapsulates the beauty of the Kingdom. However, I hope that I am able to share some of my knowledge and experiences through this so that you’ll be able to get a taste of the program and KSA, and I hope that my passion and love for this trip and the Kingdom is conveyed thoroughly as well. I can’t wait to go back (please take me back!)
Born a King
We got the pleasure to meet H.R.H Prince Turki bin Faisal Al-Saud, where we went to have dinner at his house. Before the dinner, we were able to ask him questions regarding any topic in which he answered very truthfully and comprehensively. We also had the opportunity to watch the new movie “Born a King” at VOX in Jeddah before it got released. The movie is about his father when he was a young teenager, Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, who was sent to London by his then ill father, Prince Abdul Aziz, on a mission to secure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The movie was very intense yet very extraordinary as it shows you the history behind the Kingdom today, and a young teenager being able to make that happen is very powerful and moving. I could feel the pride from the Saudi’s surrounding me in the cinema, and I too, felt proud of Saudi Arabia and Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, who made KSA the reformed Kingdom it is today. The movie is definitely a must watch for anyone who has not watched it yet, and gives a great fundamental understanding of Saudi Arabia’s history.
Wahhabism
We got the pleasure of participating in a lecture which was hosted by H.H Dr. Abdullah bin Khalid Al-Saud, who also studied at Kings College, holding a ph.D in War Studies and an MA in International Peace and Security! He is now the Director of Research at KFCRIS.
Through his lecture, we spoke on the topic on Wahhabism which started in the 18th century in Saudi Arabia as a religious movement, starting in the 1st Saudi State. We also spoke on the topic of ISIS in KSA, where we learnt that KSA has always been the focus of terrorist groups since they are the the symbol of Makkah/Madinah. However, ISIS claim to be the only authority who “know Islam” and can “properly represent it” - which is why they are trying to destabilise the Kingdom, delegitimising Saudi’s rulers and their religious scholars. We discussed the themes of ISIS’s narrative; their goal to expel the Mushrikeen from the Arabian Peninsula, claims that KSA is turning Arabian Peninsula into a base and “violating loyalty”, claims that Muslim Shia’s are also Mushrikeen, and that Muslim rulers are not Muslim anymore. We also looked into how ISIS recruit people, questioning whether you have travelled before to see whether you have made any connections during your stay at previous countries and asking how religious you are. Overall, ISIS tailor their narrative depending on the audience they are targeting or talking about, tapping into the psychological background of the people that they are targeting. Their goals are to spread sectarianism and chaos in the environments in which they thrive, and driving a wedge between Saudi Shia’s and the government, hoping to push them into militant networks.
Maskmak Fort
For our first official day in Saudi, we went to Masmak Fort. The first thing I remember about this, is how humid and hot it was; it literally felt like an oven outside! But luckily after going inside the Maskmak Fort, it was much cooler. For context, Masmak Fort was stormed by Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal al-Saud on January 14th 1902 whilst the army inside the Maskmak slept. This created a turning point in the history of the Arabian Peninsula, where King Abdulaziz captured the fort and took control of Riyadh which was his ancestral home after living in exile in Kuwait. After conquering the city, he united different Kingdoms and provinces.
Built around 1865, Maskmak Fort was made from clay and mud-brick and was built by the Prince of Riyadh at that time; Prince Abdulrahman ibn Sulaiman ibn Dabaan. It was used by King Abdulaziz from 1902-1938 until a new palace was constructed. Masmak Fort is virtually an official symbol of the pivotal rise of the Saudi nation, and stands today as a testament to the late King Abdulaziz’s braves that led to the reunification of Saudi Arabia.
Inside Masmak Fort is a collection of historical artefacts where the Saudi government have made many renovations in the 1980s so that they could restore and maintain significant Saudi artefacts that are a part of Saudi history. These are some old artefacts such as tea kettles and teapots that Saudi's used back in the 1800s.
You can still see the spearhead which King Abdulaziz hurled at the main entrance of this wooden gate!
The development of the Saudi flags was so interesting to see! The development was very miniscule from the second to the final flag but it definetely made great impact, I can't really see Saudi Arabia having any other flag aside from the one today. It's also nice to see how they have always held on to the green colour and the Islamic phrase "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh) is his messenger".
Carved into this are all the names of King Abdulaziz's army, in which their struggles and bravery created the modern Saudi state today. Taking control of Maskmak Fort meant taking control of Riyadh, which was the first step towards the official control of the Kingdom of KSA.
The Globe
The Globe is situated inside the Al Faisaliah Tower. Looking out from the Globe was such a breathtaking experience. Seeing how huge the capital of Saudi Arabia is with my own eyes, seeing how much it has developed in such a short period of time, looking down at how small the people walking and cars speeding below us - it was all so mesmerising. I remember how windy it was up there, I could barely walk against it! I can't begin to imagine how beautiful the views of the city would look at night or during sunset, but I guess this is more of a reason to come back to Riyadh, right? I recommend anyone who is going Riyadh to go to the top of the Globe and look at this ethereal panoramic view of the city. These photographs do not do it justice, at all!
