Slick, playful and graphically precise: Cairo-based studio Ntsal puts quality and communication first

What do you get when you mix the acute design sensibilities of seasoned professionals, the scrappy “heart and soul of a small studio”, and the steady stream of vitamin D from the sun-washed island of Zamalek in Cairo? You get a Ntsal, specifically its chamber of design headed by design director Nardine Shenouda. “From the get-go,” Nardine details, “the design chamber was founded on two pillars: quality and open communication.” After 10 years of “advertising agency fatigue”, Nardine tells us she “went rogue” and partnered with multi-disciplinary agency Ntsal to found its design wing.

Since then, and with the help of her “curly-haired senior Maltese dog”, the team has exploded into 20 designers, working across visual identity, motion design, posters, 3D – you name it. “Firm believers that ‘branding’ is not a one size fits all,” Nardine tells us that the studio's client roster is as random as it gets. From “film and music festivals all the way to the public sector, heavy industries and bespoke dining experiences", the team have taken their slick, playful but graphically precise practice to just about everyone. And the studio is nowhere near finished.