Duma is a children’s brand with a mission to create safe and soft toys for children while providing meaningful experiences, including raising awareness. Their products are handmade in Egypt by women who come from many different backgrounds, including refugees. Under the larger company, Vandi, Duma empowers women by training then hiring them. The women learn a skill that gets them a job, gives them some control over their lives, and provides them with more financial stability.
During my time there, I was as their in-house artist and designer and essentially became their creative lead, doing several things including the following:
Developed a line of toys and accessories that raises awareness of significant matters (i.e. environment).
Created cohesive collections around single products that already existed in the brand. Designed, chose materials, and illustrated plans for the production team.
Provided advice to the founders to further define their brand identity.
Created detailed project plans with deadlines for the creative department.
Assisted with photoshoots (including concepts, some of the photography, some of the editing, or would otherwise direct), edited written content, and coordinated with the graphic designer.
Gave advice regarding some of the website, content post-production, social media and marketing posts.
Two of the more significant projects I’ve worked on are below. Founders differed and went their separate ways, leading to the creation of a new separate brand, which I was asked to join and help create. So further work of this nature could be found for Wondrous.
