Monumentalizing Rituals of the Palestinian Diaspora
By Reema Abu Hassan
Abstract: 
Displaced Palestinians have historically sought to preserve their Palestinian memories and identities in order to remain connected to their lost homeland. Despite the importance of memory for them, and their history of suffering and exile, there have not been any significant monuments designed to preserve their collective memory. This thesis considers the adaptation of a traditional monument by redesigning it to the specificity of the Palestinian diaspora. In doing so it proposes the monumentalizing of four Palestinian rituals to add significance, meaning and permanence to them. The four rituals are making maamoul, applying orange and mashmoom perfume oil to hair, pouring Palestinian olive oil and dispersing sage tea leaves within a family. The key attributes captured, conveyed and explored within these rituals are the role of the matriarch and the sensory olfactory system that elicits memories and narratives of Palestine.
Sensory Substitution, Key to Inclusive Learning
By Zeinah Zahir
Abstract: 
Visually impaired students, in primary education, encounter unique challenges while learning creative skills, exploring artistic expression and developing problem-solving skills, because so much instructional content is delivered visually. Sensory substitution—an approach that replaces visual information with feedback from other intact senses like touch, sound, taste or smell—provides an opportunity to address those challenges. Through the use of sensory substitution, this thesis proposes concrete ways to capitalize on the enhanced abilities of visually impaired primary school students. The research outcome of this thesis is a system of templates that puts these enhanced abilities to work for visually impaired students, to support them while they learn creative skills and practice problem-solving in a classroom setting. Each template contains a lesson that can be learned by using the process of paper quilling. The templates work equally well for sighted and visually impaired students, since all will be able to understand the lesson by using the sense of touch, as they learn by making.
Cultural Production in Qatar: Design, Dialog and the New Authentic
By Asma Derouiche
Abstract: 
Qatar, as a rapidly modernizing Arab country with a highly heterogeneous emergent community, is working to achieve a balance between accelerated development and cultural identity. Qatar’s cross-cultural environment and diverse attributes offer unprecedented opportunity to produce forward-looking, “100% Qatari Products,” that express a New Authentic. This thesis explores social dynamics governing cultural production in Qatar, and it challenges unproductive manifestations of social hierarchy—particularly related to norms surrounding the default working relationship between designers and artisans. The research highlights and celebrates the inherent diversity of the Qatari artifact, creating a platform and methods wherein designers and artisans collaborate equally and meaningfully. This thesis re-envisions authenticity as a celebration of magnified possibilities of creativity and innovation that emanate from a cross-cultural environment.
By Abir Zakzok
Abstract: 
Arabic is the best and the most complicated language of all time!” Even though this statement seems like an exaggeration, it is what I grew up hearing; from my Arab parents as a child, my Arab teachers as a student, and my Arab customers as a salesperson. The Arabic language has a significant role in Arabs’ identity, yet most Arabs only scratch the surface and do not fully grasp the embedded meaning of the language. I have long been fascinated by the relationship between language and community as well as how it translates to design - specifically, the relationship between Arabs and Arabic. When it comes to designing with Arabic, most of the spotlight is directed towards Calligraphy; in a lot of cases the Arabic language is not considered a priority but is applied to a design as a secondary element. The inherited pride that Arabs have towards their language is immense, yet the design language does not match it in complexity. The strong connection that most Arabs have towards Arabic results in disagreements amongst each other regarding the linguistics of the language. This thesis aims to uncover these behaviors and connections with the language by taking a critical design approach using interaction design to reveal hidden and apparent features of Arabic. This research encourages questioning current design methods and proposes alternative approaches by taking Arabic beyond its stereotypical aesthetical value and over onto its linguistic and behavioral significance.
By Johana Nasreen
Abstract: 
Social hierarchy across class divisions in Qatar is evident in clothing apparel. Materiality, objects and form act as powerful signifiers relative to an individual’s social belonging. Our perception and identification of these elements is driven by our own pre-existing assumptions and position within Qatar’s social stratification. We interpret social status and identity through symbolic representation. Construction site materials are demonstrative of individuals working on the sites and their social status, just as the Birkin bag becomes emblematic of the women’s position within the social hierarchy. This thesis project utilizes hybridization of material and form as a primary mode for translating the coexistence and interdependence of contrasting social subgroups in Qatar. Through the design of footwear, this project interrogates the relationship between materiality and social status to create a fusion to emphasize dynamics of social divide.