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Shakeel Mohamed

MFA in Graphic Design - 3 Yr Path — Graduate Graphic Design

Salgirah International Festival Branding

When 2021–2023 (annual). Client: The Ismaili Community (volunteer). (volunteer). Tools: Illustrator, AfterEffects, InDesign. Goal: Design a unified festival brand identity for the global Ismaili Muslim community in 21 countries. Salgirah is a religious festival observed by Ismaili Muslims every December. December 13, 2021, marked his 85th birthday, or Salgirah. After a successful initial identity, I have adapted the identity each year since, with a significant modification in 2022.
Learning Outcomes:
This is by far the largest project I’ve worked on in terms of scale and one I will remember forever. The team only had two brief Zoom meetings over the six weeks of the project. I was impressed with our ability to collaborate across time zones through a Whatsapp group. Since this is a faith-based organization, all team members involved shared a common belief system about the festival. This was the first professional project my mom could understand, and she absolutely loved it.
#Salgirah85 was one of three projects I presented live (remotely) to Louise Sandhaus and festival attendees at the 2022 AIGA Portfolio Festival. The full video is available here, including brief feedback and a conversation with Louise at the end: https://youtu.be/HtRtGYQx480?t=376
Here, His Highness the Aga Khan is pictured in front of the Canadian and Ismaili flags at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, Canada.
The brief given to me by the Ismaili global communications team was to embrace the theme of shukr (gratitude in Arabic) while conveying 85 through (Islamic) geometry. This brand identity would be used worldwide by the Ismaili community to promote a sense of unity.
Five Ring Motif. The motif is my take on Islamic geometric design. The colors come from the Ismaili community’s flag, seen in the photograph of His Highness the Aga Khan (above).
Initially, you see three rings of 17 diamonds. In the negative space between them, two additional rings are created for a total of five total rings of 17 (17x5 = 85). One diamond representing each year of His Highness’ life.
The three rings are inspired by the three nuktas (dots) above the first letter in the Arabic word, shukr, meaning gratitude. The rings in negative space are a reminder of the esoteric aspects of the Ismaili faith.
Additional logo variations. The system works in full color on white backgrounds, or in white on red or green backgrounds.
Brand pattern. Designed by deconstructing the motif to an individual diamond and tiling them infinitely. These forms create an interesting 2.5D illusion.
The geometry of 86 didn’t resolve so nicely as 85. The following year I got a call after the global team realized they couldn’t simply “add another diamond” for that year’s identity.
Ultimately we realized the geometry of 86+ would be problematic, and chose to pivot and build the identity around 49 (as the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary spiritual leader in this role). We settled on a new 7 ring motif (4 visible, 3 in negative space).
Secondary lockups for years 86-89. I wanted these elements to live separately from the primary 7 ring motif as these next 4 years were “non-milestone” years. I look forward to revisiting this identity for a refresh for the Aga Khan’s 90th Salgirah!
After delivering all brand assets, social media teams in the Ismaili community launched global, national, and regional digital marketing campaigns. These assets (social media content, videos, website) were created by many talented people around the world in multiple languages. I have included them here to show the context and impact of the brand identity.
Photo backdrop in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Designed by the local team.
Retirement home celebrations in Calgary, Canada. Designed by the local team.
Wow. I didn’t even know they had access to large scale printing in the mountainous region of Hunza, Pakistan. Designed by the local team.
I never expected a logo I designed to be on a cake! (Or sherbet bottle, a milk-based drink made for special occasions). Houston, Texas, USA. Designed by the local team.
Dubai World Trade Centre. The Ismaili community in Dubai, UAE held their first in-person celebration since the COVID-19 pandemic at the Dubai WTC. Unfortunately I was not able to attend for multiple reasons, but received some photos from the local team. Here are a few highlights. All assets designed by the local team.
Branding displayed on stage during musical performances. Designed by the local team.
Signage for Golden Members (elders in the community, 65+), and wristbands to enter the venue. Designed by the local team.
The local team in Seattle told me about their ambitious design plans for the celebration, and that I had to be there to see my design come to life at the venue. Returning to Seattle the weekend before finals in my first term... we had a lovely hometown celebration with cultural dance performances, dinner, and a live band.
Despite my intense workload for the last few days of the semester, I made a last-minute decision to take a 36-hour trip back home in secrecy. It was the first time I could physically see anything I’d designed at this scale. In my hometown no less.
The stage in Seattle, with the live band’s equipment. Beautifully assembled by the local team.
The local team surprised me with this floating sculpture of the 7 ring motif, suspended over the dance floor!
Group photo with the photo/video team.
Kitchen volunteers with branded aprons.
Family portraits in Seattle for the 87th Salgirah (December 2023).