About

I am a communication design consultant by profession, but writing has my heart. Between running a design studio with my husband, and being parented by my 7 year old daughter, I have decided to dedicate time to pursue writing. It is neither a hobby, nor an attempt to move from one profession to another. It is instead, a necessity – born from the want to write daily – to write what I see and feel and to share the intimate world of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

I started writing in college; for campaigns, for the radio and for our communication assignments. At some point I dabbled with the idea of making money while writing. But I was not keen on journalism, writing for a magazine or joining an ad agency. I studied design instead and writing became something I did on the side.

In 2011, my husband and I started our own design studio. This gave me the freedom to write for my clients. I conceptualized and wrote campaigns, edited website content and helped with basic content development. I realised how much I enjoyed it and began to dedicate a few hours each day to writing.

I wrote my first book, 57/8 (2007), a photo story of a thousand words, as my graduation project in art school in. The second one, One Bedroom, Hall and Kitchen (2014), a sequel of sorts, was written as part of an artists collective and launched at an exhibit. Both books were published, and both received heart-warming responses from its readers. I then started writing for theatre, watching what I had written put to life by seasoned actors. After writing for two plays, I joined a theatre collective called The Play Factory and have continued to write for performances. One Bedroom, Hall and Kitchen was adapted into a play in 2019.

I like to write to make sense of my world. I write to better understand who I am and how I think. And in the end I write to be able to connect with people.

I hope you enjoy these random musings of a woman growing up and growing old.

Samira.

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Design Studio: Studio Eksaat | Substack