Mir'at – A Gift of Poetry from Ireland

Since 1995 Literature Ireland has been building international awareness and appreciation for Irish literature. Working with Arabic translators in 2023, Literature Ireland asked us to create a series of postcards to showcase Arabic translations of contemporary Irish poetry.

With both translations of English and Arabic appearing side by side, written in opposite directions, a natural typographic reflection occurred. This led to the project being titled Mir’at meaning mirror.

Each poem influenced its own unique artwork for each card. Using both Arabic calligraphy and Irish landscapes as starting points we created expressive, abstract and textured images that avoided pictorial content – occasionally problematic in Arabic culture – or clichéd Irish colours.

For the packaging a square format was chosen to stay true to the geometry of Arabic design principles. We looked to Middle Eastern screens (mashrabiya) and used Literature Ireland’s existing icon to create an Arabic inspired window with splashes of colour coming through. This allowed for six different styles of packaging as each postcard could be placed in front, offering different glimpses of Ireland though the geometric window.