A conversation with Nour Arkilo on purple, permission, and choosing the easy way on purpose
Nour Arkilo insists, more than once, that she is a designer and not an artist, before spending the better part of an hour proving the distinction may not matter as much as she thinks it does.
Lightly edited for length and clarity. Nour Almoujabber's lines are marked NAM, Nour Arkilo's are marked NA.
On Beginnings
Nour Almoujabber. What's the first piece of art you remember making in your entire life?
Nour Arkilo. I don't think it was the first piece of art, but I remember how I started drawing. During the holidays, Mother's Day, Christmas, Easter, Father's Day, my mom used to have a little arts and crafts session for me and my sister. We'd draw, do some collage, some piquage, stick them all over the room and the closets, and they'd stay on the walls for about a week to celebrate the holiday. This is how I started loving art. What I remember drawing the most as a child is clothes, fashion design. My mom used to buy me this magazine, not quite a comic, called Witch, it had comics and games and crosswords in it, it talked about witches in a good way, for kids. I used to love their outfits, so I'd recreate them.
NAM. Do you remember the style of the outfits you used to draw?
NA. It was very gothic and emo, because I was recreating theirs, leather boots, high heels, and, oh my god, actually, there was a lot of purple in the outfits and in the magazine. I guess that's why purple is my favorite color.
NAM. It's just clicking right now.
NA. I'm realizing this as I'm saying it, yeah.
NAM. You never pursued something related to fashion later in your life.
NA. I wanted to, this was mainly what I wanted to do, fashion design. I don't remember exactly why I chose graphic instead, I think it was easier, and cheaper, I went to the Lebanese University, and you couldn't go to a private university and pursue fashion design there.
NAM. Did you ever try to incorporate fashion and graphic design?
NA. No, because I'm not into fashion as much as I used to be. Now I'm more interested in things related to kids, even during university I tried to do all my projects around kids.
NAM. Why did you focus on kids specifically?
NA. I really like kids, I don't know, maybe it's a mother instinct, I'm not a mom yet, hopefully soon. I love kids, even my cousins, or when I see a baby I just have this feeling, I need to go hug them. That's why, when I finished university, I was a teacher for two years. I didn't want to become a graphic designer and sit behind a laptop.
NAM. What did you teach?
NA. Arts and crafts.
NAM. How was that experience, when it comes to you being an artist?
NA. It was amazing, honestly. And I don't like being called an artist, I think I'm more of a designer. Artist is a big word, it's a privilege. There were some kids who were really, really great, and I loved watching them draw, they were so passionate. It was really fun.
On being a Designer
NA. Art is different from design, it's the first thing we learn in university. Art is about emotion, the artist's own emotions, and trying to convey that to the viewer. Design is about conveying a specific message, not only your own feelings.
NAM. So now, what's your job title?
NA. Art director at an advertising agency.
NAM. How do you feel about that being linked to your design?
NA. Sadly, you don't have a lot of space to be creative in advertising, in a very corporate world. You need to do what the client will like, not what you think is right, follow the guidelines, not what's best for the ad. We have a lot of restrictions. That's upsetting, but at the end we need to satisfy the client.
NAM. You need to box yourself into the client's vision rather than your own.
NA. Exactly, exactly. And we try to find ways to be creative and enjoy the process anyway, to add our own touch as much as we can.
NAM. Do you have a story where you did that, and the client actually liked it?
NA. Honestly, recently, but I can't say names, it's still a work in progress.
NAM. Oh, NDA. This is what NDA does to us.
NA. For a client, we're doing a little fun booklet for kids. It's related to kids, so I'm happy they had me work on it. The client loved it, we're still working on it, it's not as creative as I'd like, but I'm trying to have fun with it and put my touch into the process.
NAM. If you'd never become a graphic designer, would you choose something completely different now that you're an adult?
NA. I'd have my own bakery. […] I love to cook now, I think I like cooking more than being an art director, more than being artsy, honestly, because baking is art too.
NAM. Cooking or baking, or both?
NA. Both. Cupcakes, boulangerie, pain au chocolat, I love all of it, and I love cooking Lebanese dishes too.
Kitchen and Craft
NAM. Going back to what you submitted, I can notice there's a lot of recipes in your art. Are you trying to incorporate food and design?
NA. Honestly, this was a project I worked on, and it was one of my favorite projects, because the client was super fun and we had a lot of freedom. I guess this is what makes me feel like mixing art and recipes, the love for both together.
NAM. Out of the three recipes you sent, baba ganoush, falafel, and kibbeh, which is your favorite?
NA. Kibbeh, because it's my favorite dish.
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Kebbe Kras Recipe by Nour Arkilo
NAM. Do you make it better, or does your mom make it better?
NA. It's very similar, honestly. What I make better than my mom is the rice.
On Process
NAM. Walk me through your brain. When you start designing something new, independent of any client, how do you start?
NA. It honestly depends on the mood, the situation, what I want to draw. There's not one process, A, B, C, done. Sometimes I spend days on Pinterest getting inspired, sometimes the idea comes naturally. Sometimes I sketch on paper first to get the composition, though I really suck at that, and then I start illustrating on my laptop. Sometimes I go straight to the laptop because the idea is already so clear in my head.
NAM. What's one piece where you enjoyed the process the most?
NA. The recipes. I didn't want it to be a regular recipe thing, I wanted it fun, so I researched how to illustrate the ingredients, how to make the composition fun but still readable. Plus I love food, so I'd start with hummus and end up somewhere completely different, I really enjoyed it.
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Falafel Recipe by Nour Arkilo
NAM. You mentioned you don't feel you've mastered drawing on paper. What's the difference for you between physical and digital media?
NA. For me it's much, much harder to actually hold a pen and draw on paper. During university, we had a sketching class, and my teacher used to make fun of me and my friend, like, how did you two even pass the entrance exam. He never meant it badly, he was fun about it, but I don't know, it's just very hard for me, I should probably practice more.
NAM. Do you feel like using multiple layers, or being able to undo a mistake, is just easier?
NA. Yeah, everything's easier on a laptop. Not the idea, the idea and the process are the same either way, but executing it is much easier for me digitally, because you can always control-Z, you can place different artboards next to each other, change a color and still see both versions side by side.
NAM. So you're worried that physical media doesn't have an undo button? Tell me more, I think this is really interesting, what are you fearful of there?
NA. Now we want to talk about my insecurities, that's a different interview.
NAM. Fair. I think it's just your process, wanting to see multiple options before deciding.
NA. Yeah, exactly, it's a much easier process and it's not as time consuming, it's just easier. I don't practice sketching on paper, that's probably on my bucket list, but it's easier for me to express myself with a laptop.
On Influences
NAM. Is there a designer, dead or alive, who influences you?
NA. Honestly, I used to love Malika Favre a lot, she works with negative space, and her art is brilliant, I don't know how she thinks to see something hidden in the empty space like that. It's so obvious once she's shown it to you, but as a normal person you'd never think of it.
NAM. Why did you say used to?
NA. Because right now I don't have a single favorite artist or designer. I haven't been into illustration for a long time because of work, I'm not up to date on recent illustrators, which I know is wrong of me. I don't have a favorite movie or song either, it depends on my mood, the period I'm in, how I'm feeling.
NAM. Is there an artwork, an ad, anything you've seen where you thought, I wish I'd done that, or thought of that?
NA. A lot, honestly, but mostly film ads, not static ones, and not because of the execution, because of the idea. There's a Lebanese one, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with a character called Um Ali. […] She's using dough as a stand-in for the breast, to show people how to check themselves. The target wasn't youth, it was elderly women, so she spoke in their language, something they'd actually understand. Elderly women know how to bake, they grew up baking, so it landed. It's one of my favorite ads.
NAM. What's so special about the idea, the part you wish you'd thought of?
NA. How they thought to compare the breast to dough, and how they used language people would actually understand, nothing clinical, nothing like a doctor lecturing you. It was a very local Lebanese woman, in her kitchen, explaining something women are usually afraid of, in a very simple way. It's brilliant.
NAM. Are we noticing how we somehow went back to the kitchen again?
NA. Oh, yeah.
On Being Arab
NAM. Other than being a woman, you're also Arab. How does that show up in your art? We've got the Levant recipes, obviously, what else?
NA. The messages, the topics I talk about. And calligraphy, that's my own handwriting.
NAM. Is there anything else in Arab culture that inspires you?
NA. Everything, visually and otherwise. Our nature, our patterns, the architecture, all of it. Plus, honestly, the situation we live in. There's this idea that you draw when you're in pain, that art comes out of a rough time, and I never related to that, never. I couldn't even open my laptop when I was sad, I couldn't think of a single thing to draw. I usually draw when I'm happy. The Beirut explosion in 2020, and the war in 2024, were the first times that ever changed for me, the first time I made something out of fear, or pain.
NAM. What did you make, in that moment?
NA. A calligraphy piece of the word Beirut. Very simple, very straight to the point, just to show my love for the city.
NAM. What's your favorite piece of your own work?
NA. A photo of the sky, clouds, and the moon, it's also my screensaver, with the phrase الحياة لا تعرف الكمال إلّا بالحب written over it, life does not know perfection except through love. That's my motto.
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Life Doesn't Know Perfection Except Through Love by Nour Arkilo
NAM. Why that phrase specifically?
NA. It's not something I came up with, I drew it, but the words came from my baby cousin's memorial card, when he died. He had Down syndrome. He was everything to us. When we first found out, not everyone was against it, but a lot of the family was sad, praying he'd be healthy, worried about complications. I don't know why, but I was just happy. I remember asking everyone, why are you sad, there's an angel coming to our family, he's literally an angel. And when he was born we all fell in love with him instantly. Then he died, he'd been completely healthy, and it happened in a day. It was shocking for all of us. You know how it is in Lebanon, kids with Down syndrome aren't very represented, they don't really have their rights here, they're not always loved the way they should be. So that phrase isn't only for him, it's for everyone. If we loved the people around us, loved what we do, I don't understand why it's not easier, it's such an easy thing to do, and yet we choose to hate and disrespect each other instead. I think if everyone actually lived by that phrase, everything would be better.
NAM. Thank you so much for sharing this, I know it's very vulnerable.
NAM. If a young version of you came up to you and said, look at my painting, look what I did, what would you tell her? Am I touching a mother instinct, are you going to put it on the fridge?
NA. Oh, my mother instinct goes the other way, actually, I'd critique it. If I know it's me, I know her too well, I won't go easy.
NAM. Wait. If you know the person in front of you is a version of yourself, you'll critique her, but if it's a stranger, you'll be gentle?
NA. Yeah. Story of my life. The title of my book.
NAM. The title of your book is Critique Yourself, Be Gentle to Other People.
NA. Thank you. That tracks.
NAM. Let's end on your favorite color. You said purple before. How does purple show up in your life? Please tell me your wedding is all lavender.
NA. Not all of it, but of course. My favorite is purple, my makeup is purple, Patrick will hate me for it. Everything is purple, most of my outfits, most of my earrings, when I design anything for myself, it's purple. My wedding invitation is purple. And now I'm genuinely upset because the furniture in our new place isn't purple, so I'm buying vases and things that don't match at all, and I don't care, it's perfect.
NAM. If you ever open a cafe, or a bakery, or a restaurant, would you put your art in it?
NA. Yes. Yes. Because it would have my identity, even the interior, even the colors, it would be purple, of course.
NAM. That's good. This is the name of your restaurant, by the way: Banafsaji!
Prints of Nour Arkilo's work are available now on arabiyon.art.
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