Projects
Medan
Come In From Anywhere
Medan is an entertainment production company founded by Mohammed Al-Thani and Hassan Al-Thawadi, based in Doha, Qatar. GrandArmy partnered with Medan to create the brand’s messaging, comprehensive visual identity system, and animated bumper.
The brand messaging reflects Medan’s mission to tell unexpected or overlooked stories, challenge stereotypes, and empower Middle Eastern voices.
Derived from the Arabic ميدان, a “medan” is an open space in or near a town, used for expression, celebration, and at times, revolution. The Medan is a place to come together and a place for us to express ourselves. It’s where we capture every feeling that connects us and that makes us human.
Medan is a megaphone out to the rest of the world. It is a center for creatives to tell distinct, unconventional stories without constraint.
Medan pays homage to Qatar and the Middle East, but their work is for an international audience. The wordmark communicates that Medan is rooted in culture but resonates globally. Entertainment crosses borders.
The letterforms draw inspiration from Arabic characters and Islamic tiling patterns, but take on more geometric, ubiquitous forms.
The geometric shapes used in the wordmark lend themselves to Medan’s own unique tiled pattern. This would be utilized in special-case scenarios as a textural element.
An expressive logo was created for instances where our logo has already been used, or the name has been repeated elsewhere in a layout.
Drawing further inspiration from extended characters in Arabic lettering, the baseline becomes broken and the letters stack against one another.
Within Medan’s typographic system, there are different rules for alignment to accommodate the English and Arabic languages.
For the most part, headlines and details will be centered which stays the same for both languages. But when left-align is employed in English for long-form paragraphs, our system flexes to use right alignment for Arabic translations.
The decorative library features frames that range from simple to 3D rendered. These frames call upon Middle Eastern architecture but are rendered through a futuristic lens, where they may be found in the background of a sci-fi movie or the invitation to an elevated party.
Elements from the logotype can be pulled for decorations. These humanist, stripped-back elements reinforce that Medan is rooted in tradition, but appeals to consumers around the world.
A unique set of tiled patterns breathes life into Medan’s connection to the Middle Eastern voices and stories they strive to bolster. These may be used amongst typography and color as another extension of the idea that Medan is ubiquitous but proud of their origins.
Description
Medan is an entertainment production company founded by Mohammed Al-Thani and Hassan Al-Thawadi, based in Doha, Qatar.
GrandArmy partnered with Medan to create the brand’s messaging, comprehensive visual identity system, and logo animation.
The brand messaging reflects Medan’s mission to tell unexpected and overlooked stories, challenge stereotypes, and empower Middle Eastern voices across the globe.
Credits
Creative Direction: GrandArmy
Sound Design: Felt Not Heard
Web Development: Gone Fishing Studio
Categories
Identity, Animation, Web Design, Merch, Print Collateral
Description
Medan is an entertainment production company founded by Mohammed Al-Thani and Hassan Al-Thawadi, based in Doha, Qatar.
GrandArmy partnered with Medan to create the brand’s messaging, comprehensive visual identity system, and logo animation.
The brand messaging reflects Medan’s mission to tell unexpected and overlooked stories, challenge stereotypes, and empower Middle Eastern voices across the globe.
Credits
Creative Direction: GrandArmy
Sound Design: Felt Not Heard
Web Development: Gone Fishing Studio
Categories
Identity, Animation, Web Design, Merch, Print Collateral