Samarkand
Preserving Palestinian embroidery through contemporary design systemClient / Samarkand
Industry / Cultural Preservation
Type / Cultural Initiative
Location / Bethlehem (West Bank), Palestine
Year / 2025
Samarkand is a cultural initiative dedicated to preserving traditional Palestinian tatreez (cross-stitch embroidery). They offered embroidered products, hands-on tatreez workshops, and research to protect this art form while fostering global appreciation.
Trained in International Law and Human Rights at Bard College, Samar Abedrabo founded Samarkand to teach Palestinian tatreez to a new generation, creating embroidery kits and leading workshops that empower beginners to connect with this heritage under occupation.
Samar needed an accessible identity for tatreez embroidery kits that could appeal to a wider audience, including international audiences. The initial brief requested no visual references to tatreez patterns, the concern being that literal reproduction might appear dated or limit contemporary appeal.
The solution begins with four circles arranged to echo the gathering of women around their embroidery. Their intersection creates a distinctive star-shaped form in the negative space between them: a geometric distillation of tatreez's fundamental building block, the single cross-stitch.
Just as every tatreez pattern begins with one stitch that multiplies into thousands, this mark tessellates into infinite patterns. The construction mirrors the practice: individual elements combining through intention and precision to create something larger than themselves, echoing how both tatreez and Islamic geometric art build complexity from humble repetition.
The identity becomes dynamic, allowing it to adapt to Samarkand's growing initiatives and needs.
Observing Samarkand's tatreez workshops revealed patterns beyond visible embroidery. Participants gathered in rough circles, each with their own work, occasionally helping neighbours. The physical arrangement fosters community connection while preserving individual focus. Experienced stitchers developed rhythm: needle up, needle down, counting the threads. The repetition was meditative, building slowly toward something larger and more intricate.
Every complex tatreez pattern builds from the basic cross-stitch. Knowledge is transferred through practice, passed down from generation to generation. The patterns carried meaning, and the gathering created space for stories to be preserved. This revealed tatreez as methodology: individual elements combining through intention, precision, and community to create something infinite and meaningful.
in Qalandia Camp Women's Handicraft Society, Palestine 1974.
Ekrem Canli / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0
The primary bilingual logo embodies the essence of the Samarkand story: community creating sanctuary. Two flanking marks create natural brackets around the bilingual wordmark, their inner curves forming a protective embrace that mirrors the circle of women gathered around their tatreez. Just as Palestinian women create safe space for stories, memories, and dreams through their communal practice, the marks create visual sanctuary for the Samarkand name, honouring both languages, both cultures, within the same protective geometry.
The symmetrical arrangement reflects Samarkand's balanced mission: deeply rooted in Palestinian tradition yet designed to welcome international audiences. The marks stand as guardians of cultural meaning while the typography bridges worlds, ensuring both Arabic and Latin scripts receive equal visual dignity rather than hierarchical positioning that privileges one language over another.
The typographic approach prioritises clarity and accessibility across cultures, intentionally creating space around the geometric mark rather than competing with it. Grantha Sangam MN for Latin script and Anaqa Variable for Arabic provide clean and legible geometric sans-serifs. Rather than using heritage-inspired or overtly cultural typefaces that risk appearing dated or exotic, the typography takes a supporting role.
The primary palette restricts to black and white for practical, cultural, and strategic reasons. Single-colour printing is most cost-effective for small-scale production, and reducing variables prevents colour inconsistency across applications.
Culturally, this mirrors how traditional tatreez uses open-weave fabric, black or white, as structural foundation with coloured threads providing pattern. The identity provides structure, the embroidery provides colour. Strategically, restraint creates distinctive consistency and allows photography and tatreez imagery to command attention without graphic design competition.
#FFFFFF
#000000