Studio Melli is working at the dynamic intersection between art and design

Meet Omid Nemalhabib and Mahsa Gholionezhad – the impressive pair of graphic designers who make up the Tehran-based graphic design studio, Studio Melli. Omid and Mahsa worked together for over 16 years before they finally decided to found the studio in 2014. Mahsa reminisces about these days before Studio Melli, studying with Omid in Tehran and being part of a “new wave of Iranian graphic design and typography”. In retrospect, Mahsa notes that their combined practice felt distinctly “indigenous” and “local” when they were starting out as graphic designers. Today, the team draws from its experience in modern and traditional Iranian design culture, but is constantly innovating and looking towards a “larger global perspective”.

With a “strong typography-driven” approach, Studio Melli has tackled an extensive range of briefs in its eight years. Its particular expertise is in mastering multilingual typographical systems, often combining two or more languages within a single project. While each project gets a unique approach, one thing remains constant – “we read a lot,” says Omid. The pair are fascinated by exploring the interstices of graphic design with art, philosophy, music, sometimes branching out to psychology and geometry. “Designing a book can be formed from a piece of music or a Japanese haiku or Iranian miniatures composition,” Mahsa continues. For a poster design, “we may be inspired by an architectural work, calligraphy, or a psychological or philosophical concept.” Once immersed in a framework of historical interdisciplinary references, the team works to incorporate “personal narratives” to designs with a fresh “contemporary approach”.

Since 2016, Studio Melli has developed a healthy working relationship with Baan Publishers. This partnership has seen six years of beautiful book designs for Baan’s fascinating collection of publications. Studio Melli’s focus on interdisciplinary research is well matched by this collection which covers the themes of “philosophy of art, history, liberal arts, social sciences, criticism, cinema and aesthetics,” Mahsa adds. While the team has experimented with new typefaces and colour palettes over the years, its book designs for Baan revolve around a consistent aesthetic of “simplicity” whilst carefully establishing “formal and semantic connections to the original books,” says Omid.

Through their work for Baan, the team has worked mainly on Persian translations of French, English, or German books. However, at the end of 2021 Omid and Mahsa designed a book for the young Iranian author and artist, Ali Meer Azimi. His book Lipstick To The Void, comprises Azimi’s “study of the late years of the Iran-Iraq war when the new radar disruption technologies made it difficult to track the bombings.” For Azimi's installation exhibition in Argo Factory, a Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre in Tehran, the team produced an impactful book design with a striking red, white and black colour scheme. Omid explains how he worked carefully with Mahsa to produce a design which would appropriately reflect some of the more “sensitive moments” in Azimi’s book such as “the moment a bomb is fired from above and received from below”.

One of Omid and Mahsa’s favourite projects came about when they won a competitive open call held by the city of Shiraz. Studio Melli was asked to design a visual identity and sign which captured the city’s important literary heritage. Rather than turning to traditional calligraphy for inspiration, the team transcended the public’s expectations by going for a “completely different approach,” Mahsa explains. “Through kinetic typography, we tried to simulate a view of the city landscape and gardens which is legible and also could create a sense of familiarity with the space and forms.”

Amongst Studio Melli's extensive body of work, one project is particularly close to their hearts. Atrough is one of Studio Melli’s “most important and complex” multicultural identities. This is an experimental and “self-initiated” project which has allowed the pair to test the boundaries of their graphic design practice. “Atrough is our playground for combining interdisciplinary experiments,” Omid continues. The project has materialised through a range of paper-based products through which the team gets to experiment with their “favourite aspects of design and typography”.

On taking a wide view of the graphic design scene in Tehran, Omid paints a vivid picture of the city: “It's full of joy and excitement, and at the same time full of annoying noises, cultural flaws and anomalies, political, economic, and social problems.” Over time the team has developed strategies to cope with the “reality of our space”, even when the city is at its “height of chaos and disorder,” Mahsa explains. She continues, “of course, there is always a struggle between the mind of the designer and the atmosphere of this city, but we try to be inspired by this chaos as a creative resource.”