Words by Hala Al Afsaa & Kinda Ghannoum
Featured image from the Syrian Design Archive
This piece is a supplement within the “Frenquencies” issue
“Snap a picture, add it to the database, post!” These three simple steps transformed into a full-time practice with the launch of the Syrian Design Archive project in 2020.
Every image we collect is meticulously scanned and curated through our extensive research, connections, and submissions from our audience’s personal archives. While we strive to categorize our content by designer, year, and document type, we frequently encounter gaps in the details. But, this hasn’t deterred us from sharing our findings. In fact, we’ve discovered that community engagement (particularly comments) plays a critical role in filling these archival voids. Experts and collectors often step in, providing valuable leads that assist us in our investigation to uncover hidden gems of graphic design in Syria.
Our mission is clear: to archive graphic design in Syria.
Our vision: to create an open-source platform that credits Syrian designers and documents the richness of Syrian graphic design and Arabic typography.
Yet, what we initially perceived as a straightforward process has, unexpectedly, evolved into a controversy that could put the SDA project in jeopardy.
In June 2023, we published an innocent post that sparked an unexpected dispute. It was simple: a side-by-side graphic showing two Arabic words — kaws (bow) and kuzah (ray) — which combined to form the word rainbow. In Arabic, this is a fascinating linguistic detail we thought was worth sharing. But we hadn’t initially realized that the date coincided with Pride month, a time when the LGBTQ+ movement is a prominent topic of discussion.
What followed was a reminder of the challenges of archiving in a polarized social and political landscape. The post, which we expected to resonate with those who appreciate Arabic typography and fun word play, ignited a storm of reactions. At a time when social media was buzzing with conversations about LGBTQ+ rights, our post was interpreted as an act of solidarity with the movement.
While we support LGBTQ+ rights as individuals, as archivists, we are not in a position to judge or curate a certain narrative – we simply intend to archive Syrian graphic language. And yet, the reaction revealed how powerful the context is in shaping the meaning of an image or message.
The backlash from our audience came quickly: some celebrated the post, while others criticized it and alleged us with pushing an agenda. As the situation escalated and reports against our page piled up, we felt our years of hard work connecting and archiving were at risk. Faced with mounting pressure and worried about the safety of the archive, we temporarily hid the post, re-releasing it when the rage died down.
This was a reckoning, for us. What is the role of archives in societal conversations? Archives are not neutral spaces, but sites where meanings are created, contested, and stored. Debates surrounding them often mirror societal tensions around identity, inclusivity, and freedom of expression.
The way the post was received emphasized the ways that archives intersect with cultural and political timelines. They preserve not only artifacts, but also evolving conversations and terminologies around those artifacts. In this case, the rainbow connected to broader debates around LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination around such movements.
In other words, the “current context” is crucial to the interpretation of graphic symbols. Symbols like the colorful rainbow and other words/shapes that have no direct political intent can take on new meaning depending on timing and societal, regional, and international foci. There is, then, a responsibility that comes with managing an archive: to preserve cultural heritage, resist erasure, and facilitate fresh perspectives even when it invites controversy or exposes ongoing cultural divides.
We see this perhaps more acutely when analyzing the reception of Syrian political symbols. Both the symbols and their reception underline the place of graphic design as a tool for power, resistance, or propaganda, depending on the viewers’ perspective. Studying designs and audience reaction then uncovers deeper societal issues and ideology.
But whether a rainbow or political symbol, each piece in our archive tells a story in its history. With each supportive comment and debate they spark, they remind us why preservation matters. They reflect who we are, where we’ve been, where we are now, and the issues we still need to address as a society. That, to us, is their true power.
You can check out the sections of the Syrian Design Archive project by visiting the following accounts on Instagram: