Life & Work with Mohamad Alyoussfi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mohamad Alyoussfi.

Hi Mohamad, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My relationship with design began with the simple act of making things out of paper and cardboard. Long before I thought of any of it as design, I would sit and watch my dad paint. I still remember the colors on his fingers after he finished. He would bring me pieces of cardboard, and I would spend hours cutting and gluing them, turning them into all kinds of objects, shapes, and structures.

One creation stands out in my memory. It was a large ship. I still remember its size, its details, and the hours it took me to make it. My parents displayed it on top of our 1980s cabinet, and I was so proud of myself. I think that was when my relationship with form began. It was also when I started to understand the time and attention it takes to turn an idea into something real.

When computers entered my life during my teenage years, that same curiosity found a new outlet. I created a collection of digital work and put it on a CD. I gave the CD a name and designed its cover. Then I approached several publishers, looking for someone willing to release it. One of them eventually agreed, although I wasn’t paid. At the time, seeing something I had created reach other people mattered much more to me than being paid for it.
In a way, this was a natural continuation of what had begun with paper and cardboard. An idea was no longer something I created only for myself or kept inside the house. It could leave my hands and reach other people. That was also when design began to become my profession, starting with logos and brand identities.

A few years later, I left my city for the first time. I left behind my books and most of the things I had collected over the years, taking only my MacBook and three books with me. One of them was Los Logos 4. What fascinated me about it was the diversity of its ideas, the relationships between letters and forms, and the way a simple composition could carry an entire personality. That curiosity continued to guide my work in logo design, branding, and user interfaces for companies and brands across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

In Istanbul, freelancing became central to my life. I designed, experimented, and wrote about those experiences on my blog. I had originally begun writing as a way to understand myself and my experiences more clearly. Later, I realized that my writing could also help other people. It became one of the ways clients discovered my work, understood how I thought, and decided whether they wanted to work with me.

Around the same time, I created Picalica, a marketplace for independent designers and artists. Over several years, it grew from a single idea into a platform where artists and other creatives could sell their work. For some of them, it became a primary source of income. The platform was later acquired by Hsoub.
Today, I live in Bucharest, and I recently published my book, Run by One, which distills what I have learned from freelancing and building projects into a series of short reflections. I also continue to work through 80.design on logos, brand identities, digital products, and other design projects.

Over the past few years, my interests have expanded to include the history of industrial design. It began with an orange lamp designed by Josef Hůrka for the Czechoslovak manufacturer Napako. What first drew me to it was its color and form. My curiosity then led me to research the designer, the company, and the period the lamp came from. I wanted to understand why certain objects can still feel close to us after so much time, and how a designer’s presence can remain visible in something they created.

I felt that same curiosity during my visits to Italy, where I had the time and space to follow whatever caught my attention. That curiosity became a way of entering each place more deeply rather than simply passing through it.

When I visited Aleppo again after many years away, I began to understand more clearly the connection I felt among Aleppo, Istanbul, and Milan. In all three cities, people and time have left their marks on the stones, the storefront signs, the shops, and the smells of food and coffee. Although each city has its own form and language, the traces of people trying to express themselves remain everywhere—in what they build, what they make, and what they leave behind.
That is ultimately why I don’t define myself as only one thing. I see myself as a designer, an artist, and a creator. I try to approach every project as a new beginning and another opportunity to explore and discover.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Leaving my country, Syria, was one of the biggest challenges of my career. I didn’t just leave my home. I also left my office and the professional network I had spent years building. I had to start over in Istanbul.
There, I came to rely almost entirely on freelance work. That brought its own kind of uncertainty. I had to find a way to earn a steady income while also rebuilding my life and my career in an unfamiliar place.

Growth brought a different set of challenges. When I established my company in Istanbul and later created Picalica, I was no longer responsible only for design. I became responsible for a team, as well as a community of users and sellers. I had to learn how to balance the freedom to design, build, experiment, and try new things with the routine responsibilities of running a company and maintaining a growing platform.

But the deepest challenge has been internal. It has been about understanding myself and deciding what I truly want to create. How do I protect my curiosity and freedom as an artist without allowing my many interests to pull me in too many directions?

I still haven’t found a final answer, but I now understand much better what suits me, what I should hold on to, and what I need to let go of.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Today, I primarily work on digital products. I often join a project at an early stage, while its identity and direction are still taking shape. My role isn’t simply to design a logo or a user interface. I try to help the product find its way and learn how to speak to people.

I still feel closest to logo design and branding. Even today, I approach each new project with the same curiosity I had as a child making things out of paper and cardboard.

I explore the name, the letterforms, the lines, and the relationships between shapes. Then I study the nature of the business and explore its materials and colors. Sometimes I develop dozens of possible directions before arriving at the final one. At other times, I leave the screen entirely and wander through the streets, looking for an old storefront sign or a small detail that gives me the feeling I need to create something distinctive for the project.

What may distinguish my approach is that I don’t see brand identity, user interface, language, and packaging as separate, disconnected pieces. Every point of contact shapes the relationship between people and the product, so I try to give every part the same spirit.

I believe that creating and managing my own projects has changed the way I see design. I now approach it from two perspectives: as a designer and as a founder.

I feel proudest when something I have created continues to live and evolve beyond the boundaries of my own role. Picalica began as a small idea and grew into a platform with its own community of artists and users. My writing followed a similar path. It began as a way to understand myself and eventually became my first book.

In both cases, what matters most to me is that something that began with curiosity was able to reach other people and become useful and meaningful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://80.design/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moalyousfi/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moalyousfi/
• Twitter: https://x.com/moalyousfi