Nader Gharib Identity essay

Nader Gharib

Identity Essay

GD 300

11/07/2013

The project that I am doing is called Stereotype in Arabs and Muslims. It's a digital design of characters that I designed my self using adobe illustrator and photoshop. I completed the project on Sunday November 3,2013.

what I wanted to do was to create a series of designs that revolve around the idea of stereotypes that I grew up as a kid. It was going to be about five to 6 designs that specifically focused on Muslim and Arab related stereotype. I felt compelled to do this because a lot of times stereotype become true or starts to believe its true when people start to hear more and more times. I wanted to express these stereotype not in a serious matter because stereotype are made to be taken not seriously, but I still wanted to get the point through that these stereotype have nothing to do with Muslims or Arabs. The series is in integrative meaning that I had one side that showed the stereotype and the other side showing the real truth. All the different design piece come together that make the whole series cohesive.

I really wanted to create the designs myself even though I know I'm extremely bad in drawing I wanted to express these stereotype out visually that I saw it in my head. All the Arab facial structures were important for me to get it dead on. I wanted to have different facial structures for each design to explain the different stereotype.

The designs that I did is a lot different then what any of my classmates had done. Most of the students focused on their identity of themselves and I wanted to show not just about my self, but as a whole of Muslims and Arabs in general. I wanted to show the different aspects that stereotype can cause bad interpretation on me as a Muslim and an Arab and know that If I helped anyone that they might have had the wrong impressions.

The purpose of designing these stereotype designs is to show that yes stereotype are made to be funny and are not to be taken seriously. At the same time I wanted people to understand that it is a stereotype, so find the real truth of that stereotype.