07/01/2026
What Does It Still Mean to Be a Graphic Designer Today?
In 1996, I graduated from a prestigious school where we were taught everything with rigor and depth: typography, drawing, composition, color.
Our teachers were renowned figures — Cieslewicz, Lewandowski, Batory.
The Polish school gave me strong foundations in creation, deeply influenced by collage and by artists such as Kurt Schwitters.
When I returned to Lebanon in the late 90s, I was confronted with a major challenge:
explaining to clients the importance of typography, of concept, of giving us time to think.
Design practice became a daily struggle — defending reflection, meaning, and visual intelligence.
Twenty-five years have passed.
Today, many of my fellow designers are abandoning the profession.
AI is rapidly taking over, alongside thousands of apps that promise instant design.
So what now?
Should we turn the page? Adapt?
Or try to understand the challenges and stakes of this new world?
Commissions are becoming rare.
Print has almost disappeared.
And the profession is once again forced to redefine itself.
