At Buro247 Middle East, we are committed to showcasing and celebrating the extraordinary talent in the Arab world. With our column, #BuroSpotlights, we bring you stories of pioneering artists, innovative designers, tech trailblazers, cinematic visionaries, sports stars, and more.
This week, #BuroSpotlights Emirati graphic designer Shamma Buhazza.
If you’ve ever questioned the complexities of identity and culture, Shamma Buhazza is the graphic designer whose work will make you rethink how we navigate these deeply rooted themes in a modern world. A proud Emirati, Buhazza’s design journey is as much about personal exploration as it is about the larger socio-cultural context of the UAE. Buhazza’s visuals speak directly to the heart of cultural intersections, shedding light on the friction and beauty of traditional and contemporary values.
Her story began at Parsons, New York, where she honed her craft in communication design before embarking on a career that would bridge global brands like Adidas, Nike, Apple, Rimowa, and Pinterest. But it’s her personal projects that truly tell the story of who she is as an artist. Buhazza uses typography as a powerful tool to engage with language, identity, and the spaces in between them, creating designs that challenge perceptions and open dialogues.
Buhazza’s exploration of Arabic typography is where her designs become most compelling. For example, her 2018 project Halla Walla takes the casual Emirati greeting and transforms it into a vibrant typographic mural. The piece explores the phonetics of the phrase alongside its script form, creating a striking visual that bridges slang and culture with playful intensity. It’s here that she taps into the pulse of language itself and its ability to reflect, shape, and sometimes challenge identity.
Then there’s Hierarchy in the Gulf, another bold 2018 project that layers script and phonetic typography to confront cultural hierarchy, fracture, and conflict. It’s a visual exploration that places language at the center of the cultural conversation, questioning how it divides and unites simultaneously.
In her 2019 project Heroes and Villains, Buhazza’s typographic style takes on a more poignant, introspective tone. Inspired by the Khaleeji TV series Madinat Alriyah, the design reflects the series’ themes of identity and moral conflict. With script playing a central role, Buhazza uses the medium to explore fractured identities and the tension between what’s good and evil in a narrative that mirrors the emotional complexity of the region’s evolving identity.
Some of her more recent work explores the tension between algorithms and human identity, questioning how technology influences our choices and distances us from our true selves. Drawing from her personal Instagram Explore page, Buhazza uses images shaped by algorithms to highlight the overwhelming and confusing effect technology has on our sense of identity. The series challenges the idea that algorithms are better equipped than humans to define who we are, urging us to consider whether technology is distorting our self-discovery in the pursuit of convenience.
What’s most remarkable about Buhazza’s work is its masterful balance between thought-provoking concepts and arresting visuality. Her design pushes the viewer to question, to engage, and to understand the intricacies of the world around them. This sensitivity to cultural dynamics, paired with bold use of typography, places Shamma Buhazza’s work at the forefront of contemporary graphic design. In a world where visual design increasingly serves as a reflection of our identities and cultures, Buhazza reinvents the conversation.
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