I am currently working on the visitor experience for the new Saadiyat Culture District. The district is going to be a vibrant hub of world-class museums and cultural institutions that while reshape the Abu Dhabi as a leading cultural destination.

I am currently available on freelance and project basis. drop me an email at adnan.arif@hey.com or message me here.- Cultural Analysis: I work regularly with Cultural research firms trying to understanding the Gulf (KSA, UAE .etc.) and the larger SWANA region. The role varies from Cultural Analyst, Semiotician or Researcher. Agencies I've worked with: Space Doctors, The Future Laboratory, Flamingo, Creative Culture among others.- Researcher: I work on a project basis on research projects the draw on various approaches: design research, ethnography, semiotics, ux research, foresight. I can also brief quant.Agencies I've worked with: Orikami Labs, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, The Alto Agency- Experience Design Strategy: I work on Experience / Service Design (CX, UX, Spatial, Service, Brand and Product Delivery) with both international and regional agencies. I've experience across design disciplines - From Brand to Experiential Design to Product and Speculative approaches. I'm adept at client and project management.Agencies I've worked with: Atolye, Zayed National Museum, Third State Agency, Ikonospace.

I supported Alto with its client Align Technologies (Invisalign). The work involves engaging with the regional orthodontic community over a series of projects.

I am currently teaching DES 475 Service Design and DES 300 Design projects within the Design Management program.

I co-led a workstream for a project with the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation on the future of education in the UAE.

Entrusted with shaping the visitor and employee experience. My role was to lead the discovery phase through interviews, workshops and conducting comprehensive secondary research. This informed the guiding framework for the museum. In the second phase, I served as liason alongside others to ensure successful delivery in line with the museum’s objective and vision.

As part of the Atolye team, I contributed to a multi-agency project for the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi. The project goal was to revitalize the teaching of intangible cultural heritage in schools nationwide. Led desktop research to understand cultural education in the national education system and contributed to the prototyping and framework.

- Strategically guided brands seeking to transition in response to consumer shifts. Notable projects include: Revitalizing the Clinique spatial strategy for a younger millenial audience; Leading a cultural research project for Ajmal, delving into emerging consumer landscape of the perfume category and uncovering brand opportunities. - Utilized a semiotic approach to shape creative direction, collaborating to deliver end-to end projects. - - -- Guided clients through the creative process ensuring learnings were effectively integrated into internal strategies.Key Clients: Art Jameel, Area 2071, Ajmal, Clinique, Este Lauder

Jameel Art Center is a prominent Not-for-profit Art Museum in Dubai. I was part of their launch team, developing and delivering their retail offering.

Selected as Designer-in-Residence at Fikra, an annual design residency program seeking to conduct design research and delve into an experimental process of making. During my residency, my project explored the future of work through design fiction.

Space Doctors is an award-winning global communications consultancy specializing in semiotics-led approaches to brand strategy and innovation. SD was my introduction to agency work. During my time, I contributed to diverse projects across sectors, participated in data merges, designed engaging communication materials i.e. presentation and collateral. I was also entrusted with conducted research on speculative design methodology to enhance the agency’s practice. I continue to maintain a relationship as a freelancer to date.Key Clients: P&G, Samsung among others.

Design for MSK is a public and patient engagement project led by the Public Programmes Team at The Nowgen Centre, Manchester and The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit. Within the project, my role was to engage with young people who suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, including arthritis and connective tissue disease and develop products that arose from the workshops for a public show. I was also responsible for designing the graphic identity of the project and its print communication materials.

I've pursued a number of product design projects on the side while I worked in the wristwatch industry. Personal milestones included furniture that was shortlisted by Wallpaper Magazine and was on show as part of the DXB Store at Art Dubai.

Joined Swiss Eastern in 2004, became Creative Director in 2008. Led creative direction and product strategy for a portfolio of wristwatch brands. Successfully rebranded the flagship brand, resulting in its expansion into 12 additional territories.

Developed and designed design-led retail concept, overseeing setup, day-to-day operation. Directed creative and business strategies, resulting in recognition as a top fifty shop in Dubai consecutively by Time Out Dubai.

Facilitated a series of design workshops as part of the programming at the Archive, a design library

I was part of the early wave of design blogs - Sensory Impact and Wrist Fashion were design blogs that covered the culture of object design. Accolades included a Yahoo site of the week award, Newsweek listed Wristfashion as one of the top ten design bloggers, two nominations at the SXSW web awards and praises in such reputed media brands as the Guardian, USA Today, Vanity Fair, Core77 and Gizmodo. The Blogs were also cited in two books. I also participated in The End of Free, a group blog founded by Twitter co-founder, Evan Williams, chronicalling the end of the free web in the mid 2000s. Additionally, I was also once the Online Editor for the Oracle, the college newspaper for the University of South Florida and Maxed, an online collge zine. I was also a Meetup organizer for three years, among several other social media roles.

Co-ordinated the test launch for a Swiss Made wristwatch brand in three sales territories – Florida, California and New York including participating in various trade shows such as the Columbus Watch fair and JA New York Fair.