Beirut “a city with more texture than diamond-studded sandpaper”

The Dieline is an international authority on packaging design. One of their partners, jonathan ford, visited Beirut and found it to be “brilliant”:

Here you can find an array of beautifully designed ancient buildings standing shoulder-to-shoulder with European and Middle Eastern influenced brand emporiums. Hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs innovating through an array of brilliantly designed experiences and rivalling the best of New York, London and Barcelona in quality. And, all the time, the stylish and convivial Lebanese citizens mix effortlessly with weekend visitors from the neighboring and more conservative Middle Eastern cultures who come here for a vibrant break

I actually miss those fawning pieces about Beirut after the mess with Israel on Tuesday. I think this is the first time I read of Beirut as a successful “package” in the design sense of the word. I also love his reference to Rana Salam, a woman who actually taught me packaging design back in AUB.