Zara Arshad was born and raised in the UK, but has also lived in Indonesia and Syria. She now resides in China as a graduate of the BA (Hons) Design course, Goldsmiths College, and continually promotes internationalism and the potential of design to solve social and political issues.
Since 2008, Zara has been a freelance graphic designer and creative thinker, with clients such as UNV China, Teach for China, The Library Project, Icon magazine, Change Observer, and AIGA. She previously worked at Icograda Beijing 2009, British Council China, and Beijing Design Week, and currently writes for Design China and other publications.
This year’s AGI Open—easily graphic design’s most high-profile annual international conference—took place in London at the end of September. Organized by Tony Brook (Spin, Unit Editions), Angus Hyland (Pentagram, London), and Adrian Shaughnessy (Unit Editions), and the AGI UK board, sessions covered education, gender, clients with ideas, and the pluses and pitfalls of collaboration.