Gulf Today newspaper redesign

Launched in 1996, Gulf Today is one of the oldest publishing entities in the United Arab Emirates.

Time is constantly evolving, and so do our habits and ways to access information. The dependence on print media is steadily declining, and the need for a digital presence is more important than ever for any business to succeed. Despite being the first to break the news ahead of other publications, Gulf Today was hit by this very phenomenon, struggling to build a strong and diverse audience and stand out in a highly saturated market.

In response to this, I conceptualized and crafted the new brand identity, one that would bridge the past with the present and move the company forward into new digital times while building on its already renowned legacy.

The result is a brand identity that fosters the evolution of a traditional mass media brand into the modern digital age. Straddling the line between the legacy of the newspaper and the multi-cultural environment of the UAE, I created a visual language to express a refreshed voice for just this diverse metropolis.

I used Pensum for the word “Gulf” to inspire the newspaper’s heritage and the amalgamation of different Arab cultures around it. A robust typeface with sharp details and strong serifs, Pensum embodies tradition and credibility. It reads very well in small sizes but also has its own character in large sizes.

Contrastingly, for “Today” as the second half of the brand name, I used Euclid Flex to reflect modern times and a more digital brand. The young and audacious feel of Euclid, with its unique, quirky details, matches the contemporary landscape characteristic of our newspaper.

The juxtaposition of these two distinct typefaces completes our brand mark and builds the visual language.

The typefaces represent the foundation of the brand, uniting experience and knowledge with modernity. I designed the new brand identity to promote a conversation between the old and the new, the east and the west, the writer and the reader. These two fonts reflect this balance.

In collaboration with a talented team of UI/UX designers, we developed the new vision into a fully-implemented online presence.