Isma'ili Camps: Canada

Graphic Design

Calgary, Canada
2020-2021

I was approached by the Canadian Summer Programs team to redesign the logos for their youth camps.

Camp Odyssey

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth camps were moved online for 2021. I was approached early in development and had free reign to create a brand and brand story for this online camp. I started by brainstorming ideas around journey and growth. I submitted the name “Camp Odyssey” because odyssey is pronounced the same in the different languages of the Candian Jamat, and it was approved. I then developed a Logo which incorporated Persian calligraphy.

My logo and graphics were shown on IsmailiTV and regional Al-Akhbar newsletters, as well as t-shirts for the camp, and all promotional materials.

Regular Ismaili Summer Programs

Before the pivot to online, I was asked to create new brands and new logos for the three camps the Canadian Jamat hosts each summer: Discovery, Mosaic, and Horizons Al-Ummah. Given just the names of the programs (Horizons Al-Ummah was changing to just Al-Ummah) and the previous logos, I created three new designs. I united the designs with a recurring 8-pointed star motif and primary color scheme, but made sure they were visually distinct and appealing to the different age groups.

Discovery

For the youngest age group, I chose the softest design. The flower design (filling the negative 8-pointed star) represents the earliest stages of growth with multicolored petals reaching out in all directions. The larger shapes support and contain the petals, symbolizing the role of counselors and parents who support and guide the growth of young children. The curve of the outer petals is taken from the D of Discovery.

Mosaic

The middle age group has the most obvious rendition of the star-motif. When I’ve worked with students this age, they often crave straightforward answers to often complex questions, so this is also the most simple of the designs. This is also the age where participants start to define themselves by their associations and their peers. The separated squares represent the cliques that form in this age-group. The inner corners between squares is then used as the M in Mosaic.

Al-Ummah Canada

For the oldest age-group, I adopted a dense, detailed design. When I attended al-Ummah at the age of 17, the logo was simply Arabic calligraphy for the word “al-Ummah”, and I wanted to maintain that, to a certain extent. This logo features the word al-Ummah in Kufic script (the Arabic script favored by the Fatimids). The alifs and lams in the middle of the design symbolize the folds of a fully-developed brain, while the haas and meems make up six of the eight points in the shared star-motif. This logo also introduces the color grey, which symbolizes the maturity that comes with age.