After having the pleasure of sitting down with Kareem Osman the man behind DesignKaf, a house of innovative products set to distinguish themselves in the market by satisfying the needs of consumers rather then sticking to the generic tres expensive alternatives. Kareem ran me through what this new brand was, what it aimed to achieve, current projects as well as what was to come.
What was the idea behind DesignKaf?
The idea is to have tailored products for people with different interests, and make it as open source as possible. in short, making tools to inspire people.
Who is DesignKaf, and where does the name come from?
Design is my profession and obsession, talking to people needs design, body gestures are designed, dancing, mixing a drink, tiding your bed, so it is design with a broader scope.
Kaf is only the first letter of my name, i started using it as my signature for the column i wrote in e7na magazine around 2005.
I think it can have different connotations for people, like kaf as enough in arabic or it can be seen as half the name of kafka maybe, what matters to me is it sounds musical and i think it is unique and easy to remember.
What is your background in the design field?
Ever since i graduated i have been working in the field in different places and positions, Core Publications ltd. (G mag, Campus, and E7na magaines) as a layout designer, photographer, and writer. Later on i worked for Tarek Nour Communications, and started my solo career in january 2011, my resignation letter was dated 24jan 2011 one day before the revolution!
I started in 2012 a visual jockey career, quite a big start for me i was the resident VJ for the 6th 100live electronic music festival, and the feedback was really positive, i used the brand designkaf there as well!
As a first project, you created a note pad. What makes yours so different to all those already available in the market?
All the sketchbooks available in the market don’t seem to listen to the needs of their users, they try to generalize the needs to spread more and sell more products, a very americanized marketing strategy. I’m trying to listen more, and for this one I was listening to my own needs as a visual artist/graphic designer, I ended up putting five different types of papers in there selected after a lot of investigation with fellow designers, a classic grandpa style pencil holder + book lock leather loops, an inside pocket to keep your valuable collectibles in it, a hard cover with simple textured cloth on it so it can be used as a paper holder or a little table while not be annoying if you hold it for too long and your hands got sweaty.
The book comes with a hand picked pencil and a binder clip, along with goodies (so far a “saff tani” lick n stick sticker, transparent flexible ruler, and a carbon copy paper).
The cloth on the cover can be customized to any other piece of cloth a user prefers, also the cover can have any laser engraving on it that can be useful for company brands or personal messages, this will cost a little bit extra, but this can be a kickass custom gift, right?!
Where can we find it?
Right now it is sold in Diwan bookstores, Qertaseya – Zamalek, and through Diwan website, you can also place an order at the designkaf facebook page and it will be delivered to your doorstep https://www.facebook.com/designbible
What’s next or at least in the pipelines?
Very soon there will be a pencil case that integrates with the sketchbook, velcro is the keyword here 😉 it will come in a choice of different materials, one of them will be a cycler choice thats all i can say about it so far, and again there will be little tweaks in there to make the crazy artists/designers happy!
Its too early to say wait for the bag…
