Meet Nourhan Wahdan | Design Director & Brand Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nourhan Wahdan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nourhan, why did you pursue a creative career?
It’s funny because I originally planned on going into medical school and becoming a doctor, and I could have saved my parents a lot of money considering I got offered a scholarship, but I have my dad to thank for that. He was the first to notice my “artistic talents” on all the walls of every room in our house since I was about 5 years old, and while he was an orthopedic himself, I think he knew deep down what my calling was at the time. So, I did start sketching things at the age of 5 but I think my love for illustration really started when I got so much into cartoons, comic books, and finally the internet. In those early-days internet forums were where I really started getting into “designing” stuff, being able to turn my sketches into posters or book covers. I think it was still a niche community back then, and everyone was so willing to give critique and tips, and I loved being part of that small pocket of the internet. Come 2011, and to graphic design school I went — it was at the German University in Cairo, and this is where I learnt the fundamentals of graphic design and how I’ve come to turn everything I’ve been practicing since the age of 5 into a career.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
If you had asked me about pew. 6 years ago, I probably would have not expected to be where we are today. I think the scary but exciting part about this was the attention we got in our first 3 years of operating. We were but only two fresh graduates trying to make a little bit more money doing what we enjoyed doing with full creative freedom. But then we caught the attention of Google and YouTube where we were commissioned to design, run, and manage 5 of their events in Cairo and Dubai in a single year. And it was when the market started to really take us seriously.

Honestly, if I were to give an advice for younger designers it would be this; take yourself seriously. I know for a fact that despite us being younger and less experienced, we did look the part. When we started pew. design bureau we had a running website, an updated portfolio, and a professionally written “about” page with good quality headshots. But, we were also always on time for meetings, we delivered work in time, we never compromised the quality of our work, and we were always honest about what we could and could not do. It might sound easy or common sense, but the tricky part was maintaining it for 6 years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Ok, I love this question — because I’m relatively new to LA and I wish someone had a similar list for me! One of the first places I went to was “The Broad” museum in DTLA, it’s not too big and therefore not too overwhelming, but it has a great collection of artworks especially for beginner-level art enthusiasts. For work, I always loved Boxx Coffee in the Arts District, it’s originally founded in Istanbul, Turkey, so they make one of the best Turkish coffees in the city, and they always have good wifi and great music. Over at the westside, a beautiful spot in Santa Monica is LA Puglia, the architect who designed it is Dane Twichell, who is a good friend of my husband and I, and he was the reason we discovered the spot — LA Puglia is an authentic Southern Italian restaurant with beautiful interior and delicious food and pastries, open 24-hours, it’s a great spot for work, meetings, or chilling with friends. Finally, I wouldn’t miss a Taste of Tehran in Westwood and Raffi’s Place in Glendale for those family style delicious cravings.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely my husband Al Hassan Elwan, he is my mentor, my business partner, and remains to be the main reason I am where I am today. From him, I learnt to take leaps and calculated risks that I was able to apply, not only in my career but in life as well. And I have to thank my sister, Nadine, who’s only a year younger than I am, but she was the first to encourage my weirdness, embrace my quirks, and tolerate my insufferable obsessions with my grades. Throughout the years of my career, I have to thank my amazing friends Naga, Al-Hussein, Hania, Yomna, Hesham, Sally, and Angie, who have consistently been my biggest cheerleaders — always recommending books to read, pushing me to network in events, and most of all sharing the celebrations and the rough bumps I had to go through. I’ll forever be grateful to having them every step of the way.

Website: pewdesign.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nu___uh/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nourhanwahdan/

Other: https://be.net/nourhanwahdan

Image Credits
Marshall Fenty for the AIGA photo