Ayasha Khan’s three-dimensional identity for a technician’s platform draws on model kits and stencil shapes

When the art directors Daphna Krygier and Assal Sharifrazi reached out to Ayasha Khan to create an identity for their new project, the platform Technicienne, she was instantly on board. A branch of the pair’s creative agency, Face B, Technicienne is a space for women and gender minority individuals working as technicians in the cultural and artistic sector to connect, create community and find jobs in a largely male-dominated industry. “Knowing how useful and necessary this project is, without hesitation, I dived into it,” says Ayasha.

As Technicienne isn’t your typical technical platform, Ayasha didn’t want to opt for a typical identity – and so she moved away from ‘technical’ imagery, often associated with digital realms. “I wanted to include all technical professions by creating the identity more like a playful cutout, similar to what you might find in model kits or stencils,” says Ayasha. “Instead of the cold, digital aesthetic, the visuals evoke a tactile, hands-on experience that reflects craftsmanship and precision.” This analogue feel also extends to the texture Ayasha has crafted, the base layer of the cut-out assets looking like a heavy hemp paper or thin cardboard, down to the grain flecked throughout. Not only does this approach speak to the plurality of the profession, it also adds a warmth to a platform that’s all about connection.

Ayasha achieves this three dimensional, cutout effect by mimicking a very physical technique – embossing; raising a material (often paper) with a stamp or other tools. It was no easy task to create this effect digitally, however, and it took a lot of work to master the hand-crafted look, but one Ayasha sees as very much worth the work. It was from this that the identity’s logo arose, a chunky T that takes from the platform’s name, finished with a “chunky, modular feeling to them”. For Ayasha, the T becomes more of a pictogram than simply just a logo throughout the identity, changing and morphing throughout the events to suit each function. The cutout also spells out the rest of the platform’s name throughout the identity, at first glance simply looking like a series of shapes left behind, but on closer inspection the letters emerge.

When it came to colour Ayasha says that she wanted something “recognisable”, veering toward a muted purple with paired accents of soft grey, deep green and pale but bright yellow, which all represent a different pillar of the platform: community, network and transmission. “I think that creating structure through the choice of colour is super interesting,” says Ayasha. The colourway comes into its own when applied with pattern, a series of overlapping dots and graphic shapes accentuated by the contrasting hues. Now, with how tactile the identity is, Ayasha’s now excited about the possibility of printing the new look physically, to feel the texture she’s crafted so well digitally, in the flesh.