Event concept in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Adhlal at Saudi Design Week

The tree of shade

Adhlal is a Saudi design mentorship platform founded by Princess Nourah Al-Faisal. Its name means shade in Arabic; the shade of the tree where knowledge has always been passed down, where the experienced sit with the young, where the conversation happens before the formal instruction begins. When Adhlal made its public debut at the inaugural Saudi Design Festival in Riyadh's JAX District in 2022, we didn't build a stage or a booth or a brand moment. We built a tree. A large scale fabric sculpture suspended from the industrial ceiling of the festival warehouse, casting its own kind of shade over the space below. Thirty five sessions. Kindergarten children to senior Saudi designers and educators. All of them gathered, in one way or another, beneath it.

Exhibition booth with black letters spelling 'ADHALL' on the floor, green lighting, suspended fabric decorations, and a stage setup, likely at a conference or trade show.
“The novel program aims to connect the dots between academia, industry and community through research-driven design solutions.”
— Arab News

Client
Adhlal, under the patronage of HRH Princess Nourah Al-Faisal

Market
Saudi Arabia

Scope
Event concept, spatial design, fabric installation design and build, production, programming strategy

Two women wearing traditional clothing and headscarves are engaged in conversation indoors. One woman is seated on a white stool, while the other is speaking and gesturing with her hands.
Panel discussion with six women on stage, four women with covered faces, and a man in a blue jacket, at an event with audience members seated and listening.

Launch Adhlal publicly at the inaugural Saudi Design Festival. Create a space that embodied the platform's mission of bringing the Saudi design community together to share knowledge, build connections, and strengthen the next generation of designers.

BRIEF

The name told us everything. Adhlal means shade. In Arabic culture, the shade of a tree is where knowledge transfers, where elders teach, where community forms without formality. We took that literally and made it physical. A fabric sculpture tree, suspended from the warehouse ceiling, transforming an industrial space into something ancient and alive. The installation became the event. Everything, the sessions, the workshops, the conversations between kindergarten children discovering design thinking and experienced Saudi designers debating the future of their industry, happened under its shade and presence.

INSIGHTS & APPROACH

5 sessions across the festival. Participants spanning every generation of the Saudi design community. A debut that positioned Adhlal not just as a platform but as a physical, cultural presence in the Kingdom's growing design ecosystem. The installation was one of the most photographed elements of the Saudi Design Festival. And it said everything about what Adhlal stood for without a single word of copy.

EXECUTION & IMPACT

Why it worked.