Fikra Announces Designers-In-Residence

 Fikra has announced the selection of the first Designers-in-Residence at Fikra Campus that opened in December 2017. Adnan Arif and Kevin Zweerink have already begun conducting their design research and delving into an experimental process of making which they will be exploring for the next three months concluding with an exhibition at the Fikra Campus.

Adnan Arif is a multi-disciplinary designer with a keen interest in semiotics and design futures. He is a graduate of Manchester School of Art where he specialized in Product Design. He has spent over a decade working in retail and branding, as well conceptualizing and designing wristwatches, furniture, and digital lifestyle accessories. This experience has shaped his personal view of material culture and has influenced his practice beyond the commercial realm. His current work investigates our relationships with objects through the exploration of new tactile archetypes, and the cultural contexts that surround them.

Kevin Zweerink is a multi-disciplinary designer and technologist. He has instructed in the Graphic Design department at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was hosted as a guest critic at the School of Visual Arts, New York, and participated in GDA Summer Sessions in Tokyo. His experience in tech organizations at The New York Times, Facebook, and several small studios led him to form an independent practice dedicated to exploring alternative visions for the role of technology in daily life and culture. He works on digital projects with clients who run against the grain of Silicon Valley capitalism and explores the uses of developing technologies as a means of critique, education, and expression.