safa

a little glimpse behind the curtains of our shoot with @tiffanyonehere 👁️ Always so grateful to have such great and talented people around us that not only elevate our ideas, but also make it more fun! Again, special thanks to everyone involved 🫂 Art direction + Styling: @tiffanyonehere @sfznd Photographer: @sfznd Producer: @tiffanyonehere Makeup: @sfznd Models: @selina_moussa @scarlettxosullivan Photo Assistants: @tracy.explores @shania.janine

First creative collaboration to start the year off! Helpless heartbreak and infantile inabilities to hold and reclaim tenderly unyielding arms who’ve lead the waltz of our lives. is the only way out of this performance forward? We’ve had many shared frustrations and ultimately decided to channel the energy into something creative, exploring the origins and emotional journey of internalized misogyny within maternal bonds. Many thanks to everyone who’s helped us on this – continuous – journey: Art Direction + Styling: @tiffanyonehere @sfznd Photographer: @sfznd Producer: @tiffanyonehere Makeup: @sfznd Models: @selina_moussa @scarlettxosullivan 
Photo Assistants: @tracy.without.an.e @shania.janine

HI! THERE’S MORE😎 This publication serves as an archive of the contextual research and visual experimentations that led to the outcomes of The Ordinary Swiss project, as well as compiling every person that contributed to my project in a A6 phone book as an ode to community-building. 🌟 I am thrilled to also announce that you will be able to find the book at the ‘The most beautiful Swiss books’ exhibition at Helmhaus, Zürich from the 13th to 20th of June 2025! 🥳 DETAILS The Ordinary Swiss: Making Of. 2024. 160-pages multilayered book RISO and digitally printed [210x297mm]. Designed and Published by me in Central Saint Martins.

As part of my graduate project “The Ordinary Swiss”, I conducted walking interviews that took the final form of a 20-minutes multiscreen documentary. The video highlights the voices of 9 2nd-generation immigrants Muslim women in the context of their native medieval town of Sion, Valais, Switzerland. This video was thought as a “visual podcast”, inviting to be part of a casual yet deep reflection on themes like race, gender, language, double consciousness, and belonging. While we take over the Swiss public space, we aim to question our understanding of the [Swiss] national identity and start building a collective narrative that reflects our current reality. I hope this is just the starting point of more needed conversations – let’s share our thoughts! You can find a link to the full video in my bio for now, or just reach out to me! (-: 🌟 Special thanks to: Laurine Fayolle @laulauthelove for the 360 camera Photo assistants for the BTS footage: Gabriela Arrabaço @crackcoquine , Sam Lucibello @sambysam_ , Munira Aweis @mxxnchxldh And all the interviewees 🤍❤️

“By disrupting the current conservative representation of Switzerland, I am making brown and black bodies the face of ‘Swissness’ through the process of reappropriating and subverting nationalist elements.” Safa Zanad is a Swiss-North African designer based in London, “dedicated to pushing the boundaries of traditional graphic design to reimagine our world in a more inclusive way.” “The Ordinary Swiss” is a series of portraits and supporting 20-minutes multiscreen documentary. Read more at the link in bio Art direction, styling, and photography: Safa Zanad @sfznd 
Photo assistants: Gabriela Arrabaço @crackcoquine , Munira @mxxnchxldh , Sam Lucibello @sambysam_ 
Models: Nasra nasraxmed, Khadra @khadraxmed , Maxuba maxuba_axmed, Muna @welldumn 
Special thanks to Sabrina Billod for providing the abayas

What image comes to mind when thinking of a Swiss person? Completed as part of my final project, The Ordinary Swiss is a 20-minutes multiscreen documentary and series of accompanying photos exploring the representation of racialised Swiss people in the media landscape of French-speaking Switzerland. The portraits cement the presence of these often invisibilised individuals in the collective Swiss imaginary as they truly are: ordinary Swiss nationals. The documentary (viewable at CSM graduate showcase June 2024 or on demand) highlights 9 Muslim women in the context of their native medieval town of Sion, Valais, Switzerland - me included. By disrupting the current conservative representation of the Swiss landscape (metaphorically and literally), I am making brown and black bodies the face of ‘Swiss-ness’ by reappropriating nationalist elements such as the Swiss natural landscape and national icons (ie. Heidi) to reflect on the question: who gets to be Swiss? Photo assistants: Gabriela Arrabaço @crackcoquine , Munira @mxxnchxldh , Sam Lucibello @sambysam_ Models: Nasra @nasraxmed , Khadra @khadraxmed , Maxuba @maxuba_axmed , Muna @welldumn Special thanks to @sayia.shop for the abayas ✨ Art direction, styling and photography by me 🧚‍♀️