The world of picture books is a fascinating design laboratory. Words whisper, images shout, and together shape how a child experiences story, emotion, and imagination. Graphic design plays a decisive role in this process. Typography, composition, color, and illustration style do not merely decorate the narrative; they structure how young readers see and feel the story.

This study investigates how integrating contemporary Arabic picturebook aesthetics can enrich graphic design education. Conducted across four cohorts (N=86) of undergraduate art and design students at Zayed University, the research employed a structured, studio-based methodology combining visual analysis, redesign projects, and reflective evaluation. In the first phase, students analyzed selected Arabic picturebooks to identify aesthetic and cultural features. In the second phase, they reinterpreted foreign picturebooks for Arabic cultural contexts through rewriting and redesign, incorporating locally relevant imagery, artisanal references, and symbolic motifs.

Student work was assessed using an analytic evaluation method with a standardized rubric and a five-level scale defining "Degrees of Quality", enabling transparent measurement of how students synthesized symbolic motifs and met course objectives. To identify trends across cohorts, the study employed phenomenographic analysis and process-similarity comparisons to trace the evolution of cultural awareness and visual literacy.

Findings indicate that this approach strengthens cultural awareness, enhances visual literacy, and fosters more culturally responsive design practices. These results highlight the importance of embedding culturally grounded frameworks in design education to support inclusive, contextually aware visual communication.

Authors:
Tala Atrouni, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Tina Sleiman, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates

About the Presenter(s)
Tala Hammoud Atrouni is an Assistant Professor of Design at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. Her interests include visual literacy and narrative illustration, currently researching Arabic picturebook aesthetics in design pedagogy.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tala-hammoud-atrouni-9722b1/

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