My business ethic has been influenced by mentors and others who have helped me form my management and design style. Now at the later half of my career, I see this opportunity to take my years of business experience and put it to work in education as a teacher and mentor to motivate my students to develop/express their creativity in Graphic Design.

Self-discovery of my formal and informal education has led me to understand that I have been creating type since elementary school when I experimented with hand drawn type brochures before I even understood what typography or Graphic Design was in the context of the world. All I knew was that I loved to create designs.

A wellspring is defined as a source of water, a spring or a stream.

The most basic thing I knew when I arrived at VCFA was that I wanted to work with my hands. I wanted to find a way to practice design that helped me connect body, heart and mind. I have discovered that working with my hands making watermarks allows me to understand and experience my life more clearly and fully by temporarily bypassing the judgmental part of my brain and working directly with my heart.

The process and methods of making watermarks has become, for me, a metaphor for life. Using my hands and the tools of design, I have found a way to reveal, articulate and organize the otherwise amorphous realm of my emotions and the complexities of being in relationship with others and with the uncertainty of life.

Using these simple elements of design: color, form, scale, space, texture and line, I can see the fabric of my heart on each sheet of paper.

I recognize the American flag is a sensitive subject, but also understand the flag is simply an artifact. It represents an illusion perpetuated by the mere presence of the design artifact. It is a form of idol worship and often associated with fervent nationalistic passion, which leads to a somewhat fanatical form of patriotic allegiance. The design artifact, or flag, is comparable to a mythical symbol, that is, for some, infallible. As the design of the flag has transformed through the

years, the influence of the symbol has also been transformative, to our nation and its citizens, and others around the world. The symbol of the flag has an ability to unite as well as divide. My project of redesigning of the flag is an exercise in considering the possibilities. It is an effort to rethink the one graphic symbol that both unites and divides us as a country, and create a potential new symbol, a new artifact, unifying us as a society and nation.

A flag is simply a piece of cloth and has little value as a commodity. The inherent or perceived value as a symbol of allegiance or patriotism, however, is potentially infinite.

My thesis asks, “How can design facilitate happiness?” In my experience, the answer has begun with learning to value myself as a whole person, to find balance in my life and to have faith that if I rest my needs will be met. Since I

have discovered this, I now have joy overall, and in turn I have more joy as a designer. The design that has resulted from this is a variety of collaborative projects that have had a contagious effect in spreading happiness to others.

How can design facilitate happiness?”” In my experience, the answer has begun with learning to value myself as a whole person, to find balance in my life and to have faith that if I rest my needs will be met.

My process, in which personal memories are recontextualized into new visual form, is a demonstration of reflective self-discovery and cultural connection through making. Through this work, I developed my voice as a designer and achieved a deeper understanding of my dual, and at times conflicting, cultural heritage.

I was born in Karachi, Pakistan. I lived there until I was thirteen years old and then my family abruptly moved to Canada, leaving our loved ones behind. At the age of seventeen, I left Canada to escape my father’s controlling behavior and came to the United States to start my life all over again.

After almost 20 years in North America, I have yet to visit my country of birth. At times I feel like an outsider, not truly belonging to either one of the two countries that I have called home.

It was refreshing to be in a culture where you had the freedom to speak your mind and take control of your own life. But there were many other things that were so different and strange that I had a hard time adjusting to them, such as the weather, language, food, and culture. I did my best to adapt to the new culture and learn the language. I even changed the way I dressed.

Exploring My Dual Cultural Identity Through Making.

Through years of experience, I have become aware of a number of dualities that comprise who I am as a person, graphic designer, artist and instructor.

My work has focused on ways to develop the interaction between these dualities to create a more complete and whole person.

Through personal exploration, I have bridged the gap between these once opposing forces, and their dual ties have now made me a complete being. My personal practice now strongly informs, inspires and re-ignites my love for teaching graphic design. My discoveries led me to the realization

that personal creative practice and teaching are not separate entities. But rather, underlying foundations that seamlessly support each other as they co-exist. I further realized the development of personal creative practice and related beliefs can inform inspired teaching and practice.

The development of my personal practice allowed me to gradually gained respect for all my dualities and how they can work together to create a unified teaching philosophy and methodology.