Farah Behbehani

I graduated with an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London in July 2007. During the course of my degree my work was mainly focused in editorial design, where I have tried to integrate my passion for Arabic calligraphy with my studies in Western graphic design. My work is connected by a thread/ general theme: an exploration and celebration of Middle Eastern culture and identity.

I am currently working on publishing my thesis work, a book I designed based on Farid Ud-Din Attar’s The Conference of the Birds. Illustrated in Jali Diwani calligraphy, this project revisits classic Sufi literature and creates a decoding system designed to make Arabic calligraphy more accessible for non-Arabic readers. I am also working on several other projects including a book and exhibition on ‘Umra, the “lesser pilgrimage” to Mecca.