El Wezara

Branding, Graphics, Photography

2025—08
Cairo, Egypt

 Adobe Illustrator + Photoshop + Inkjet Print + Photography



When it came to branding this up and coming Youtube channel spearheaded by Marwan Imam—the name of which roughly translates to “The Ministry of Amusement & Artistic Affairs“ — the idea began with a simple cultural truth: in Egypt, lebb (sunflower seeds) are synonymous with leisure and entertainment—much like popcorn in America. The act of cracking lebb shells is practically shorthand for “passing the time.” Marwan was sure he wanted to relate the brand with lebb.

But while lebb is perfect as a concept, its aesthetics don’t easily translate into a strong or recognizable logo. Instead, the focus shifted to the “Wezara” (Ministry) part of the name, which doubles as the channel’s YouTube handle: @ElWezara. Enter the eagle—an emblem of institutional authority the world over. Except here, the eagle laughs. Rendered in a cartoonish style, it injects humor and playfulness, highlighting both tasliya (amusement) and tafnin (artistry).

The lebb hasn’t been forgotten. Rather than forcing it into a difficult-to-discern icon, it appears in photographs for the channel’s banner—spilling out of a paper cone (’ortas) across a flyer-like print. Its visual language borrows cues from the graphic aesthetic typically associated with traditional nut and snack shops in Egypt, cementing the cultural link between “entertainment” and “lebb.”

Finally, in a tongue-in-cheek nod to bureaucratic inefficiency, the branding embraces inconsistency: the logo never appears quite the same way twice, often mimicking the quirks of erroneous printing. It’s a deliberate touch of “ministerial incompetence” that seals the brand’s smart sense of humor.