AUS students and faculty experience Basel: The powerhouse of design and culture

A group of visual communication (VisComm) students from American University of Sharjah (AUS) recently returned from a transformative study trip to Basel, Switzerland, where they attended the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) Open conference and experienced firsthand the city’s thriving design ecosystem and heritage.  

“Basel is not only a city rich in graphic design history and practice but also serves as an inspiring backdrop for this great opportunity to engage with both the conference and the city's vibrant design culture,” said Naz Naddaf, Assistant Professor in Art and Design and study trip organizer. 

The tour provided students with opportunities that extend beyond the classroom, offering insights into cultures, lifestyles, histories and perspectives that differ from their own and their everyday experiences.

“For visual communication students in particular, where design pedagogy is focused on ways of thinking and seeing, and therefore making and practicing, this exposure broadens their worldview and enhances critical thinking with hopes of them becoming more versatile and informed designers,” she said.

For VisCom student Abeer Fatima Zaidi, the trip was an “immersive experience in a space where creativity, education and innovation converged across disciplines.”

Over five inspiring days, students engaged in a rich blend of historic and cutting-edge design experiences, exploring Basel’s artistic landscape and discovering the deep connections between design theory and practice.

Their journey included a private guided tour of the Kunstmuseum Basel, led by renowned art critic and historian Dr. Invar-Torre Hollaus, followed by attending the AGI Open conference.

Students attended inspiring talks by influential figures like artist-designer April Greiman and trailblazing Studio Dumbar, engaging in discussions centered on contemporary design practices.

“Being in a hall full of creatives with similar passions was so electric. Every presentation offered new and innovative approaches to the design field, allowing me to understand the scope of the field and how much we can push the materials and software,” said Zaidi.

In the course of the trip, students attended a special event at the Basel Poster Archive featuring letterpress legends Alan Kitching and Dafi Kuhne, who showcased their craft through a live demonstration. They also enjoyed an evening tour of the Material Workshops of the Basel School of Design (HGK) by Tena Keleman, the head of the bookbinding and screen-printing labs.

Their exploration of Basel continued with visits to the city’s architectural landmarks, secondhand bookstores and the Basel Paper Mill and Museum, where they learned about the history of papermaking and book printing.

“As a papermaking and bookbinding student, the Basel Paper Mill and Museum walked me through the process of papermaking using industrial equipment and alternative materials. Although the process is different from our analog methods, the outcome is pretty much the same, which is exciting,” explained Zaidi.

She also said that the late-night tour of the Poster Archive provided her with a special opportunity to witness a live letterpress printing demonstration by Alan Kitching. “I enjoyed his process and his passion for preserving older printing techniques,” she said.

Zaidi’s experiences mirrored those of her fellow students on the trip, as she felt an overwhelming sense of inspiration. The conference introduced her to a wide variety of career paths she had never considered before, opening her eyes to new opportunities.

“I realized the field of graphic design is wide, integrating and combining multiple disciplines and techniques creating endless possibilities. Despite us all operating within the same field, the innovative approaches and projects presented showcased the different backgrounds they all came from or that they wanted to explore. This made me realize that graphic design is not only a skill but rather a language that is used to shape cultural contexts and individual experiences,” said Zaidi.

Further enriching their experience, the students attended lectures on education and technology, presented by AUS faculty Hala Al-Ani, Assistant Professor in Art and Design, and Riem Ibrahim, Associate Professor in Visual Communication, as well as other renowned designers such as Zach Lieberman, Vera Van Der Syp, Ted Davis and Mitch Paone.

“Listening to our AUS faculty talk about all they have done for our community by introducing Arabic Typography as a course at AUS and including bilingual type in our projects made me more grateful for the education I am receiving here at the College of Architecture, Art and Design

(CAAD),” she said.

While the trip was educational for the students, it was nostalgic for the participating faculty. Having completed their graduate studies at the Basel School of Design, Naddaf, Al-Ani, Ibrahim and Elham Namvar, Visiting Assistant Professor in Art and Design, shared a profound connection to the city. It was particularly a heartfelt moment for Al-Ani and Ibrahim who were in town as speakers at the AGI Open Conference.

“Since its founding over 70 years ago, AGI and its members have been instrumental in the field of graphic design at a global scale. To be invited to participate in this year's event was both a great honor and a deeply enriching experience,” said Al-Ani.

During their presentation, Al-Ani and Ibrahim spoke about their contributions to the CAAD’s visual communication curriculum.

“We spoke about a course we developed in Arabic type design, our efforts to expand a course in graphic design history beyond a Western-centric curriculum, and the introduction of a multilingual editorial design practice course. We showed examples of student work across these in different fields of study, in addition to examples from our own work seeking to expand and enhance graphic design practice in the region,” she explained.

Al-Ani and Ibrahim’s presentation was well-received during the conference. “From the moment we finished our talk, peers in the graphic design industry came up to us with excitement in their eyes, offering validating feedback and new ideas for collaboration. We had presented, for example, an idea to craft a course in type design for three-dimensional spaces. The feedback for this particular idea was so enthusiastic that the course now seems not just achievable but necessary,” she said.

Al-Ani further noted that opportunities like the AGI conference are vital for AUS students and faculty to connect with global developments in design, noting that “they were inquisitive, asking questions about design process and methods, and explorative, seeking to learn from makers across a broad spectrum of practice and approach.”

“Opportunities like this are vital for AUS faculty and students to stay plugged into the exciting developments and innovations in their field. This experience was, as they say in Basel, fantastisch,” she said.