Laila Grace Zayed – SAIC Graduation Exhibition 2026

SAIC SHOWS 2026 GRADUATE EXHIBITIONS

Graduates

SAIC SHOWS 2026 GRADUATE EXHIBITIONS

Laila Grace Zayed

Master of Design in Designed Objects

Graduate Exhibition Two

lailagracedesign@gmail.com

lailagracedesign.com

Laila Grace Zayed is a Palestinian Christian industrial and graphic designer based in Chicago. Her work brings together discursive commentary and Palestinian futurism through functional objects, including furniture, alternative seating, and domestic objects. Her practice is grounded in preserving and reinterpreting West Asian design philosophies and aesthetics.

With roots in Ramallah Tehta, Birzeit, Jerusalem, and Al-Husun, Jordan, her Palestinian ancestry is central to her work, translating the experiences of her community between Palestine, Chicago, and beyond.

Design activism is at the forefront of her practice. Since 2018, Laila has been actively involved in the Palestinian liberation movement, using her background in graphic design to create flyers, banners, and posters, and her photography practice to document people’s movements.

Her work intersects with architecture and interior design through the development of layouts, creating interior objects, and graphic supplementary materials

Laila received her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois at Chicago and earned her Master of Design in Designed Objects (MDDO) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Laila Grace Zayed - Your Bombs, Our Leisure

Your Bombs, Our Leisure, An Object the FBI Expects to Find in the Home of an A-rab

In creating the “hookah bomb,” I was interested in combining the imagery of leisure—a hookah—with the themes of violence in the use of a nuclear weapon as the body of the hookah. This object delves into the multifaceted meaning of a nuclear weapon for the SWANA (South West Asia/North Africa) community. . In the Western world, there is normalcy over Palestinian suffering. To the West, Palestinian death has become normalized. The genocide in Palestine is perceived as permanent, an unchanging part of the region’s identity—just "another day" in the life of a Palestinian. This consistent violence is expected, and Palestinians in Gaza are forced to live with the constant bombardment, making it almost as though the bombs are a tragic form of leisure, a regular occurrence in their daily existence—if bombs are your leisure, might as well smoke and get used to it. On the other hand, SWANA and Arab Americans are often stereotyped as the terrorists—a label that fuels programs like CVE, Operation Boulder, and FBI/CIA raids targeting our communities. The hookah bomb embodies this stereotype: an object the FBI might expect to find during a raid on an Arab-American household. However, upon closer inspection, the flags reveal a deeper truth about the true architects of violence and terror.

Laila Grace Zayed - The Gaza Chess Table

The Gaza Chess Table

Inspired by the Karawan Chess Club for children in Gaza, which seeks to provide children with a sense of normalcy, joy, and intellectual engagement amid the ongoing genocide, this initiative emphasizes resilience. With schools destroyed, games like chess and checkers have supported intellectual stimulation for the youth in Gaza. The table design draws inspiration from traditional Arab furniture, featuring aged dark wood and black outlines. The tatreez motifs featured, which are all from the Gaza region, reflect Palestinian culture dating back to our Canaanite ancestors. These themes together show our inter-generational struggle.

Laila Grace Zayed - Nijma

Nijma, One Star, Endless Possibilities | Design from Palestine

"njma" draws directly from the heritage of Tatreez, incorporating the star motif of Al-Khalil (Hebron), a city in Palestine with a reputation of highly skilled makers & creatives amidst the brutal conditions of the israeli occupation. By incorporating this traditional motif into an eastern-style ottoman with matching pillows-designed to invite intuitive pattern combinations, much like traditional Tatreez-she revitalizes Palestinian & regional aesthetics of rest, gathering and resistance.

During the course of my undergraduate education in industrial design, the predominant focus on Western or European design was evident. Seeking a broader perspective, I expressed to a professor my interest in understanding industrial design through a multicultural lens. The response was disheartening: “Well, that’s because white people invented design.” This statement was not only ignorant, but also verified my realization of the need for a more inclusive and diverse approach to design.

Contrary to the narrow views expressed by this professor, I came to understand that many aspects of the design principles we aim to implement in the U.S. and the West, such as community, environmentalism, and empathy, are already flourishing overseas, particularly in so-called “third world” countries like Palestine—my ancestral home. There, amidst the challenges posed by Israeli military occupation and colonialism, conventional design principles fall short. People living under military occupation, apartheid, and siege face unique challenges that render their lives far from normal, which conventional design practices often overlook. Consequently, design must confront occupation and play a pivotal role in promoting social justice in these spaces, in order to design under occupation and uplift the voices of the oppressed.

My current work and projects revolve around the concept of designing under occupation, utilizing Palestinian design aesthetics to tell our story and uplift our voices. As a Palestinian, I am deeply committed to countering ethnic cleansing and the appropriation of our culture by incorporating Palestinian and Arab design into Western spaces. This not only centers and represents us, but also serves as a passionate response to the shortcomings of current manufactured and soulless Western design standards. Palestinian design is vibrant and detailed. It values hand craftsmanship and tradition. It is imbued with meaning, identities, and stories, reflecting a unified relationship with the earth, community, and empathy.

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