How We Landed a Partnership with Ford MENA in a Special Project that Honored the Arab Story and Why It Was Never About Aesthetics
This Arab American Heritage Month, Maraseel was entrusted with a deeply meaningful special project: to represent Arab identity, values, and artistry at the kickoff event for Ford MENA (Middle East & North Africa), hosted at The Henry in Dearborn, Michigan.
And while this was an incredible moment of recognition for our brand, let me be clear…
It didn’t happen because of our visual identity.
Yes, we have a polished logo. A consistent color palette. A refined design language. But that’s not why Ford reached out.
It was never about aesthetics.
It was because of something deeper.
Because of the way Maraseel tells a story.
Because of the feeling our brand leaves behind.Because of the responsibility we carry in every product we create.
When we are working on product development and then testing and marketing we do every single product as if it were our best and last and we do it with the stories of its people in mind.
Often other brands focus on physical quality and features which is great but will land you a deal with Ford. Big brands look for the excellence you bring in only after they had an opportunity to hear your story.
How It Started
One of the organizers for Ford MENA’s Arab American Heritage Month programming came across a Maraseel card. And it wasn’t at a pop-up in the Middle East; it was right here in Michigan.
And yet, they initially assumed our work was imported.
They said it felt so authentic, so refined, it had to come from an Arab country.
But it didn’t.
It came from right here. From our little Dearborn studio. From a brand rooted in story, not performance.
That moment of realization made them stop.
And once they discovered who we were: what Maraseel stood for (community, family, heritage, expression), how we operate and genuinely care (about being the true voice of Arabs and not necessarily the voice that made Arabs look good or bad, just the most authentic one), they knew we were the right partner.
I mean..
Wasn’t it genius of Ford MENA to hire us?
This is what corporations who truly care do.
They don’t hire the loudest. (Those of you who keep obsessing over your follower count, Ford hired us with 2000 followers!)
They hire those who lived the story, just like Maraseel.
Those who know the stories of Arab men and women who picked up change from their back seat to raise future doctors and engineers and artists, they know it in their bones.
Those who tell these stories with heart, not tricks.
Those who are just real and not those who fake it to make it, because - truth is - people can spot these brands from miles down.
What We Created
Ford MENA wanted to go beyond surface-level representation. They selected 24 Arabic words, each rich with cultural meaning. Words that hold space in the Arab consciousness.
Words like:
- ʿAdl (عدل) – Justice
- Ṣumūd (صمود) – Resilience
- ʿArāqah (عراقة) – Heritage
- Amal (أمل) – Hope
Our role was to bring each word to life through Arabic calligraphy. Not just as a visual, but as a feeling. A message. A truth.
We carefully selected a unique calligraphy style for each word. For ʿAdl (Justice), we used Geometric Kufi, with its sharp symmetry and no-nonsense angles; because justice must be unbending, balanced, and true.
We integrated Ford MENA’s color palette and brand feel into each design, creating large-scale prints that framed the entire venue where each piece was crafted with love and heart and a story behind it was told. They weren’t just decoration. They were the visual language of the night. The silent storytellers. The frame that held the essence of the celebration.
Just like Ford MENA was not our first corporate client, it was not like this was the first time we did this, this is our day to day process at Maraseel. We bring words to life through visual designs, calligraphy and stories and we have been doing this for quite some time so to do this corporate event with Ford MENA was the natural next step.
A Night to Remember
I had the honor of attending the event myself. And what I witnessed was unforgettable.
People didn’t just see the art.
They felt it.
They felt seen.
They felt proud.
They felt like they mattered.
One brilliant lady ran up to me, smiling from ear to ear. She had seen her name; Amal, on one of the boards. “It means hope,” she told me, posing proudly next to it for a photo. Her joy was contagious. She didn’t just feel represented. She felt honored.
Moments like that cannot be faked. They cannot be outsourced.
They come from a brand that knows its people. From a brand that is the people. Ford MENA also brought in a Professor of Calligraphy from Harvard which created a full immersive experience so now only did the team see the final products but also got to try out some techniques themselves.
Why Maraseel Was Chosen
It wasn’t a pitch deck.
It wasn’t a follower count.
It wasn’t luck.
It was the work we put in for multiple of years.
It was establishing a brand known for being the true voice of the people it serves.
And our love for our Arabic language through calligraphy: the Arab world’s oldest and most sacred art form.
This is what Maraseel was built to do. To speak the unspoken. To bridge generations. To carry our stories with elegance and meaning.
Ford MENA didn’t just hire a vendor.
They chose a storyteller.
They chose a keeper of culture.
They chose Maraseel.
A City of Many Stories
To create this project in Dearborn, of all places, made it even more powerful.
Dearborn is a heartbeat.
A city where stories from around the world intertwine.
Where some trace their roots to Ireland. Some to Italy. Some to Iraq.
And yet somehow, we all create one shared home.
A city that shows us: we don’t have to erase ourselves to belong.
We bring our flavor, our rhythm, our legacy to the table, and we make the table richer.
This Is the Power of a Brand that is rooted in Passion, Culture, and Identity
When a brand is rooted in story
When it speaks the language of its people
When it leaves a mark without ever forcing itself to be seen
It doesn’t chase the spotlight.
It becomes the spotlight.
It doesn’t ask to be remembered.
It becomes unforgettable.
This is the Maraseel way.
This is the power of a brand that is homegrown, heart-led, and culturally fluent.
This is the power of a story so true you can’t help but look twice.
Farah Bazzi: Branding consultant, master storyteller, lead educator, relevant writer, and the founder of Maraseel LLC: a luxury Arab stationery brand that celebrates Arab culture and stories.
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