Artisan Spotlight: Rand Dabboor's Influential Designs

Rand Dabboor is an incredible Palestinian artist and graphic designer who weaves Palestinian heritage and her own sense of Palestinian identity into every design she creates. From tatreez to post stamps, Rand’s colorful and intriguing designs encapsulate the beauty and history of Palestine. And we spoke with Rand to discuss her work, her process, and what she has planned next!

Rand created her first design project in 2017 and soon started publishing her project in 2018. She shared with us her inspiration for her design journey that spotlights Palestinian culture in her work!

Rand shared, “I was on a tour among old houses, most of which were destroyed and uninhabitable. I sat with myself contemplating the house, its contents, and the divisions of the house. I wondered to myself about the residents of this house and the way of life that they used to practice and their clothing during that period. Thus, I came up with the first design here. I began to search for all the questions related to the house, the life of this family and Palestinian families, and their traditional dress, and I launched the project.”

This project has become a way for Rand to delve deeper into the things that make Palestinian identity so vast and beautiful. With each home she visits, each person she talks to, her designs become that much more detailed and meaningful. Plus, she finds some new friends along the way.

She continued, “The importance of this project to me is my research and collection of missing information. It is an adventure that I consider to be part of my day and linked to my personality, due to the importance of the information and images that I find among different questions and answers. With this project, I established relationships with elderly people and took information from them about the old life.”

Not only is this work so important with its connection to history and culture, but it also became a way to build interest around the importance of Palestinian culture with her audiences. And with such researched designs comes deep conversations about the meaning behind every inch of these illustrations. Even with this hard work and research, her designs have also become an exciting outlet for Rand too! 

“In my experience making these designs, I collected old information and collectibles that I benefit from in my life and the information I publish to the world and then I open a dialogue session about the information and materials that I collected. This made me a source of trust in front of people and my designs became a reference for many stories. My favorite part so far is that the first time I get information or a picture and go search for it, I ask myself about everything behind this picture and the secret in it. Then I choose the elements and colors that I will use in the designs to show people’s lives in a way that has spirit and life,” shares Rand.

The details in Rand’s designs are never by chance. Each and every part of her design carefully thought out and constructed to tell a story. This all is because of her incredible focus to detail.

She continued, “When I start designing or pre-designing, I work on collecting elements, pictures, information, and everything related to the subject for the proposed project. This is after researching what I will present in the project for each series of designs, with my inspiration from the faces and clothes of the elderly that I see on the street.”

And with such talent comes new designs and evolving techniques! Rand is always working on something new, and every project is as unique and meaningful as the last.

On what's to come, she says, “I am currently working on two groups: kheer lblaad, which I have not finished yet for a year of intermittent research, in addition to another research project related to the Palestinian family and its old daily life. The next step for me will be a different addition to the technique that I use with designs and it will be new with a new specific artistic style.”

Rand has become an inspiration to us – with how she uses every part of her work to communicate her identity, her personality, and the vast beauty of Palestinian culture. She’s made waves with her use of color and design, and it’s even started conversations about how important it is to preserve and celebrate Palestinian identity and culture. She left us with some important thoughts on the expanding reach and impacts of her inspiring work. 

“I see a lot of people who follow me, and they become interested and return to researching our cultural heritage. This makes me proud of the content and materials that I present through social networking sites.”

You can buy Rand’s work here and continue this important conversation today!