I am an interdisciplinary designer residing in Toronto, Canada.

I am interested in applying design thinking principles to address real-world problems through digital solutions. I am experienced in graphic design, UX design and research, and design thinking. Through my mixed academic and professional backgrounds, I worked on topics related to cultural heritage, social innovation, conservation ecology, and global climate change.

I am always looking to expand into other topics and collaborate on new challenges that push the boundaries of design’s role in shaping the future.

Annabel Karim Kassar
BRANDING, PUBLICATION, UX
BANANAMONKEYLONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
2021

Annabel Karim Kassar is an architect known for her rich, layered approach to design—blending heritage with modernity, and ornamentation with minimalism. The project initially began as a website redesign to create a comprehensive digital repository for Annabel Karim Kassar’s vast body of work. During the process, it became clear that her visual identity needed to be refined to create a more cohesive experience across digital and print materials.

Outcome: A refreshed brand identity, a print booklet, and a new website—all working together to reflect Kassar’s architectural philosophy.

My Role

I was responsible for designing the entire website, from concept to execution. I collaborated on the strategy but focused primarily on crafting the user experience, visual design, and seamless navigation, ensuring the site reflected Annabel Karim Kassar’s architectural philosophy while enhancing usability.

Branding

The branding phase establishes a dynamic visual system, drawing inspiration from Kassar’s architectural compositions, objects, colors, and patterns. The plan was to create a variable identity system that ensures adaptability across different applications, mirroring the fluidity and intricacy of her designs.

Logo

The logo seamlessly extends from "AKK" to "Annabel Karim Kassar," shifting between full and hollow letterforms to create a dynamic, adaptable identity. This flexibility allows it to transition effortlessly between bold, striking expressions and more understated, refined compositions—mirroring the interplay of heritage and modernity that defines Kassar’s architectural work.

The logo utilizes BB Mineral, a typeface chosen for its architectural, structured letterforms. This typeface aligns with Kassar’s design philosophy, providing a strong, geometric presence that complements her work’s boldness and precision.

Color Scheme

Complementing this, a minimalist black-and-white scheme serves as a neutral foundation, enhancing contrast and allowing her vibrant, richly layered designs to take center stage. This restrained palette ensures a timeless, sophisticated identity while providing a striking backdrop for her expressive architectural compositions.

Booklet

A printed booklet that showcases a curated selection of Kassar’s work in a manner that reflects her architectural philosophy. The booklet needed to work as a portfolio and an artistic representation of her practice.

Typography

LL Catalogue: Used for body text, this contemporary update of a 19th-century serif font offers strong legibility and distinct character, reflecting Kassar’s blend of heritage and modernity.
LL Circular Mono: Chosen for descriptions, this modern, monospaced typeface adds precision and structure, reinforcing the minimalist, architectural style of the booklet.
BB Mineral: Reserved for titles, its bold, geometric form aligns with the architectural strength of Kassar’s work.

The three work together to create a balanced visual hierarchy, with the bold titles contrasting the clean, readable body text.

Website

The primary goal of the website redesign was to create an intuitive and structured digital repository that showcases Annabel Karim Kassar’s extensive body of work. With over 50 projects archived, the platform needed to provide a seamless and immersive experience that reflects the layered, textural nature of her architectural practice.

Given the rich and diverse nature of Kassar’s work, the website was designed as an archive. The challenge was to organize and present the content in a way that allowed users to explore the different types of projects fluidly.

Challenges Identified

Lack of Organization: Projects were not systematically categorized, making exploration difficult.
Navigation Issues: Users struggled to move between projects and related content.
Limited Scalability: The previous design didn’t allow for future content expansion.
Visual Constraints: Small images and tight spaces didn’t do justice to AKK’s work.

UX & UI Design

Structured Navigation: A core focus was creating a clear, intuitive navigation system that allows users to easily explore Kassar’s projects, press, awards, and other categories, such as furniture and lighting.
Indexing: With a vast archive of projects, the content was indexed based on categories such as Project Title, Practice (Architecture, Interior, Furniture, Lighting, etc.), and Date (by year).
Filtering and Tagging: A tagging system was implemented to associate each project with relevant keywords (e.g. concept, competition, built). Related projects are displayed through tags and titles to enhance discovery.
Expandable Project Views: Each project page features high-resolution images, descriptions, and related content.

Sitemap

Indexing & Tagging System
Projects and products categorized by:

Discipline: Architecture, Interiors, Installations, Furniture, Lighting
Type: Commercial, Cultural, Entertainment, Renovation, Residential, etc.
Date Completed/Expected Completion
Status: Built, In Progress, Concept

Interlinking

Projects, products, and related social media posts, press articles, and awards are interlinked

Project Single-Page Map

Project Single-Page

Landing Page

The homepage functions as a curated exhibit, showcasing a rotating selection of featured projects along with their associated elements:

Project Clusters – Each project is grouped with its related furniture, lighting, and installation designs, providing a holistic view of AKK’s multidisciplinary approach.
Press & Awards Integration – Selected projects highlight their media recognition and accolades, reinforcing AKK’s global impact.
Instagram Feed – A live integration of AKK’s Instagram posts adds an ever-evolving, real-time layer of content, keeping the homepage dynamic.
Collaborative Curation – The landing page is regularly updated in collaboration with the AKK team, ensuring the selection aligns with ongoing exhibitions, projects, or seasonal highlights.

Visual Design

A black-and-white color scheme was selected as a neutral foundation, allowing Kassar's colorful and richly layered work to stand out.
The website maintains consistency with the brand’s typographic system, using BB Mineral for titles and LL Circular Mono for body text, ensuring readability.
Rather than constricting the content into small spaces or tight proportions, long scrolls were implemented to offer users more time to engage with the content. This approach reflects an exhibit-style layout, emphasizing the fluid, immersive nature of Kassar’s designs.
A 12-column structured grid layout to improve readability and flow.
Large-scale imagery to emphasize architectural details.

Navigation & Responsiveness

Mobile View