Identity Design
Ayni Education International (now Sahar) creates quality educational experiences in Afghanistan. They empower and inspire Afghanis to build peaceful and life affirming communities. This is achieved through access to education. Blank Space created a brand and identity system that would resonate within Ayni’s communities.
Catherine Gelband, Eliza Hurlbut, and Ginna Brelsford contacted Blank Space for a bid to design a new identity for Ayni. We first met Catherine and Eliza while working with Seattle’s Pacific Crest School. They shared stories of young Afghani girls attending school for the first time. First grade girls carried their own chairs from home to the classroom. Students attended classes outdoors under the grueling Afghan sun. It was clear the Afghani children were thrilled to simply have a school to attend.
Our goal was to create a brand that truly reflects Ayni’s mission to build bridges of understanding and mutual respect between Afghans and Americans through education. We created a logo mark that represents focus, collaboration, and community. It was inspired by the pattern in the The Shrine of Hazrat Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque, located in the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.
