Salwa Nahouli claims Middle East/Africa Regional Award
Salwa Nahouli and Shahad Nasib, students of The Visual Communication Department at The American university in Dubai (AUD), proudly represented their University as they were elected winners for the IAA-Dentsu Global Student Poster Competition. Salwa claimed the competition’s Middle East/Africa category regional award for her poster Penguin2, whereas Shahad was granted the 3rd Place World Winner for her poster, dubbed Brain, and presented among 145 other entries received from 13 countries.
The IAA-Dentsu Global Student Poster Competition was organized by the International Advertising Association (IAA), sponsored by Dentsu, in support of the United Nations action for climate change, and open to all University students across the globe. The challenge was to communicate that awareness and immediate action by individuals in terms of environmental sustainability will help our planet survive. The message, through a poster, needed to both encourage and motivate the target audience to make positive changes in their current lifestyle and consumption patterns by way of using less energy and recycling waste among many other environmental sustainability important factors. Nasib’s entry was showcased earlier at the 2009 ACT Responsible Expo in Cannes, which unleashed work of social and environmental campaigns.
About the theme of her poster, Nasib explains:
“The poster that I designed focuses on the aesthetic beauty found in nature. It aims to reach the viewer through beautiful imagery, which aims to express that with the continuing climate change the beauty of our planet will one day no longer exist. The images of the geography of our planet are aimed to bring awareness that we need to use resources at a slower pace, one at which the planet will be able to renew itself. The color of the footprint aims to personify the planet by showing the viewer the pain our current lifestyles are causing to the planet. Overall the poster aims to hold a raw aesthetic to present grim reality shown by the color of the background and the uneven placement of the images. The text is placed in Courier to add to the raw feel of the poster, as well as further emphasizing the text, since there is greater space between letters and words.”
As for Nahouli, her poster sheds light on environmental awareness and animal welfare.
Both students worked on environmental sustainability projects in their Graphic Design II class, tutored by Elizabeth Monoian, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at AUD, who, in turn, comments:
“The IAA poster competition on climate change offered an opportunity for students to feel that what they do as artists and designers does not exist in a vacuum, but in fact resonates globally. The discussion of environmental sustainability is more than just in the air here in Dubai. These students created award-winning posters at the same time that saw the UAE win the bid for International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and also saw the Dubai Municipality announce a new initiative called 'Sustainability' in conjunction with the Dubai 2020 plan. There is a real yearning and a sense of responsibility amongst creative individuals in this region to participate in an international dialogue around the most pressing issues that humanity is currently faced with. I see it every day in the classroom and in the local artist community. Our AUD students can be proud that they are not only a part of this international conversation, but have shown through this competition that they are the young voices leading the dialogue. It is this group of young, talented, and inspired individuals who are the next leaders and I am proud to be in the classroom working with such engaged minds.”
Prof. Monoian concludes:
“It is our responsibility as educators to see to it that not only do our students have the aesthetic and disciplined skills to work as creative leaders, but to also have a conceptual understanding of social relevance, so that their works do indeed function as a mirror onto the world reflecting a standard of excellence that can be strived for.”
The Chairman of the Jury was Marcio Moreira, Vice Chairman, Chief Talent Officer and Global HR Director of McCann World group. The jury was comprised of dignitaries representing the regional and global advertising industry. Entries from Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/Africa and North America advanced to the final judging panel which granted Salwa and Shahad their well-deserved placements within the competition.
