Nadina Ali
- Mary Hemingway
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 18
Written by Helen Tong
Originally from Marseille, Nadina Ali is a London-based graphic designer with a love for colour and bold typography. She moved to the UK to study Clothing and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University and worked in the fashion industry for almost a decade as a product developer and garment technologist after graduating in 2009. Nadina developed an interest in graphic design whilst at University and started experimenting with lettering and typography in 2018 whilst taking a career break. It wasn’t until 2020, following being made redundant from her day job that she finally committed to pursue a career as a graphic artist.
Through her vibrant type-focused style, Nadina’s work is centred on creating empowering messages around social justice, representation, and inclusivity. She works across a variety of channels, from designing billboards to painting murals. Nadina has collaborated with several art and cultural institutions including the Migration Museum, the National Maritime Museum and Tate. She also runs workshops to make creativity accessible to people who don't traditionally have access to art spaces.
We talked to Nadina to find out more about where she finds inspiration, her career journey so far and her thoughts on diversity and inclusion within the design industry.
How did you first become interested in being a graphic designer?
I developed an interest in graphic design while studying Clothing Design at university, but I didn’t consider becoming a graphic artist until five years ago. Unitl that point, because I didn’t see or know anyone looking like me doing graphic design, I felt like it wasn’t for me. Besides, as I came to the UK to study Clothing design, my career plans after graduation were centered around working in fashion and working as a graphic designer was not a career path I had envisioned for myself. It was only in 2018 when I was dabbling with lettering and typography whilst on a break from my fashion job that I started working on some projects for friends and realised that maybe I could be a graphic designer after all.
Your work is often focused on bold typography, where did that interest using type begin?
My interest in type started when I discovered the poster art of Roger Borders in my early 20s. He did many travel posters back in the day, including a couple of advertising posters for my hometown Marseille in which he used bold typefaces alongside very picturesque imagery. That’s when I realised how visually impactful using the right typeface could be; his posters have always stuck in my mind.
Your style is vibrant, type focused and filled with powerful messages. What are your go to places where you find inspiration and how do you usually approach a new project?
Contemporary art galleries are a great source of inspiration for me as I’m very much interested in how other artists respond and interact with the current state of the world. It’s always fascinating to me to discover the unique ways in which artists communicate their ideas/creative vision. Otherwise, I’m always on the lookout for anything colourful, so inspiration usually comes in various shapes and forms for me. It could happen anywhere from spotting a cool shopfront sign whilst out and about or catching a witty slogan at a protest. As Paul Smith said, “You can find inspiration in everything, and if you can’t, look again!”
When starting a new project, I usually grab my sketchbook first to brainstorm text, and layout concepts before taking them to the computer. I find going through that process helps me formulate ideas better than sitting in front of my computer and attempting to generate ideas there and then.
Your work is often focused on issues of social justice and representation. Can you tell us about any stand out projects that you've worked on and why they’re important to you?
My top 3 stand out projects are:
- The ‘Decolonise Everything’ billboard I did for the Black Outdoor Art project. That artwork was important to me because it tackled a topic that wasn’t discussed much at the time in the context of fighting racism. It was also my very first piece of public art in the UK and it allowed me to expand my practice beyond digital graphic design
- The ‘Your Black Is’ mural I did for Loughborough University. This was a collaborative project with the Black students and staff at Loughborough University where we co-created a mural that challenged negative sterotypes against Black people using positive and uplifting language. This one was important to me because it celebrateed Black identity on campus in a way I wish Black identity was celebrated when I was at University.
- The ‘Art Is For All Of Us’ poster I designed for Tate shops. The aim of the poster is to empower everyone who consider themselves to be creative to embrace making art. The message of the poster is important to me because it embodies accessibility in the arts which is somehting I strongly believe in . It’s also the advice I wish I received as a young person who used to think art wasn’t for people like me.
Has being a woman of colour impacted your career and what challenges have you had to overcome?
It 100% has. First of all, the lack of diversity and representation in the creative industries when I was younger made it harder for me to visualise myself doing anything creative. As a result, it took me so long to even consider a career in graphic design. Then, being from an immigrant and working-class background, a creative career is not a career path that was encouraged so I had to find the motivation and ambition within myself to make it happen. That said, I’m really glad the internet and social media platforms such as Instagram have made it a lot easier to connect with fellow creatives and showcase your work to the world. Without them, I think I would have struggled even more to do what I am doing today.
How do you think we can encourage greater diversity and inclusion across the creative industries?
Companies need to hire more people from diverse backgrounds, especially for top roles. A lot of companies in the creative industries are predominantly — if not entirely — white, and that’s not being challenged enough. Ways to improve this could be by diversifying the places where companies hire from or creating more internship opportunities that are easily accessible to people from marginalised groups and lower socio-economic backgrounds. For instance, unpaid internships in the creative industries are still far too common. That alone prevents a lot of people from accessing valuable experience in the first place.
What do you hope to see in the future in terms of the role design can play in influencing societal change and challenging inequality and the lack of diversity?
In the future, I hope to see more design that is inclusive of different cultures and challenges societal norms more. If the design industry remains dominated by straight white men, no significant changes will happen.
If you could go back to the beginning and start your career again what would tell your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to trust her talent and not let the lack of representation discourage her from pursuing a creative career. Through passion, motivation and determination, you will find a way to make it happen for yourself not matter how many barriers you face.
Do you have any top tips for women considering a creative career in design today?
Stay true to yourself and don’t be afraid to do things your own way.
Name your top 3 creative women who you find inspiring.
Written by Helen Tong