Dubai is a city that is both envied and disparaged. Many of its residents find it devoid of culture. Quint is an art and culture magazine, and the creative conscience of the city. So their challenge was to open people’s minds to the things they don’t see, by bringing the streets to the people through their 2013 calendar.
Creative Execution
Most people associate Dubai with a mass of cliches. Simply telling them that Dubai has culture is not enough. We needed to show them and give them something tangible that they could see, touch and feel.
Quint has strived to promote art and culture in the city, and the calendar is a very simple, yet beautiful way to connect the 187 nationalities who live in Dubai to the streets and stories of the city, encouraging them to open their eyes and minds to the things around them.
Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.
We asked ourselves if design could change Dubai's perception of Dubai, and decided to use design as a means of connecting people to the city.
We went out onto the streets and made unique charcoal rubbings of places, objects and artifacts that could tell interesting stories. Those actual size rubbings were used in large format calendars bound in the form of a book, and became physical proof of Dubai’s culture.
Each calendar is unique, and every rubbing can be removed, enabling people to hang a piece of the city in their homes.
Results
Quint gave the calendar book to their partners, art galleries, creative spaces, cafes and public libraries in the city, where it became a display piece, opened conversations, and got people thinking about Dubai in a new way. Many residents who have come across the calendar have written to Quint requesting their own copy.
People also wrote in to Quint, to suggest other objects and quirky things they associate with Dubai's culture, and now Quint has enough crowd-sourced suggestions to create calendars till 2016.