Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

Mecca: A Symbolic Path
Sarah Alfulaij

Every year about three million Muslims from around the world visit Mecca for the pilgrimage of Hajj. Not only does this happen once a year for Hajj, but also throughout the year to perform the minor pilgrimage, Umrah. This leads to a highly dense space with a very diverse group of people coming from differ- ent backgrounds and speaking many different languages. Even Arabic, the language of Islam, consists of many dialects used in different regions throughout the world. With a blend of countless ethnicities, language is the one thing that separates the pilgrims from one another. Mecca: A Symbolic Path involves designing a universal wayfinding system to potentially solve the issue of a language barrier in Mecca. The project includes a collection of symbols that represent the six monumental places of the pilgrimage, and placing them on signage that directs pilgrims around the city to those places. Working simultaneously with the signage, the mobile application gives users a step-by-step guide to performing the pilgrimage of Hajj and Umrah. Also a visual map of Mecca, embedded in the app, will make it easier to get around the large city. Finally, posters will help pilgrims recognize the symbols and what they represent. Inspired by the stories I’ve heard of other peoples journeys and my own, I hope that this project will benefit many pilgrims on their spiritual journey to The Holy City of Mecca.

Sarah Alfulaij

Michael Anderson

Darwin Andrango

Leonardo Araujo

Atif Azam

Kyle Barber

Rachel Bernstein

Jillian Black

Matthew Boblet

Mallory Brennan

Joel Califa

Rosaurora Cardenas

Flora Chan

Hanna Chang

Julie Hanna Chea

Abby Wanyu Chen

Justin Cheung

Sherylene Chew

YunHee Choi

Mehr Chopra

Lu Chuang

YooMin Chun

Key Peum Chung

Haesoo Chung

Tyler Cohen

Vernicia Colon

Samantha Cooper

Gabriela d'Amato

Roderic David

Ambar Del Moral

Taryn Dooley

Anthony Duong

Patricia Encarnaciòn

Evelee Estevez

Virginia Leigh Farrell

Kean Ferin

Adam Fernandez

Enrique Ferreyros

Férvido Frías

Jane Gardner

Stephanie Gonzalez

Danielle Gorodenzik

Omar Greene

Gabrielle Guglielmelli

Elda Hadajian

Joy Han

Emma Hanson

Julio Hernandez

Jacob Hernandez

Chris Hong

Ann Yung Chu Hsieh

Xinle Jill Huang

Thanh Cong Huynh

Anthony Iciano

Wesley Johnson

Polina Kadkina

Byoungok Kim

Gena Kim

Lindsey Kim

Lucia Ji Won Kim

Tiffany Kim

Hyo Taek Kim

Esther Kim

Ga Hyun Kim

Jane Kim

Jae Young Kim

Daniella Krihely

Andrea Latimer

Seulbi Lee

Jina Lee

Yongmin Lee

JiYun Lee

Julie Lee

Jae Yong Lee

Iris Li

Joanne Chai Wen Lim

Octavio Llano

Rebecca Low

Andrea Fiorella Martinez

Odile Martínez-Santamari

Gerald Morin

Nadine Muhtadi

Phuong Nguyen

Brandon Nicolas

Seema Nisar

Grant Noel

Neal Oh

Solgil Oh

Valentina Pherson

Elli Pohl

Cody Pumper

Regina Puno

Shem Rajoon

Fabian Rastorfer

Bryan Ribeiro

Konstantinos Riginos

Sarah Rim

YoungHee Ryu

Sylvia Saborio

Joamir Salcedo

Camille Sacha Salvador

Emilio Sanchez

Katherine Santos

Joely Saravia

Amber Rose Seppi

Pauline Shin

Jennifer Shin

Anjana Singhwi

Renee Sluzhevsky

Meghan Smart

Noelle Smith

Chrystal Soegandhi

Wannina Somboonvechakarn

Albert Son

Suho Song

Charmaine Kwan Tung Sum

Natasha Sumant

Aija Suuta

Rachal Tai

Lisa Thieffry

Natashia Tjandra

Natasha Villarraga

Robert Vinluan

Francisco Vivar

Simone Wagner

Robert Waluszko

Kathleen Wang

Ashley Wayne

Boyun Yang

Kanny Yeung

Taylor Zanke

Frankie Zek

Sharon Zhang

Jody Zhou

Tiffany Zhu

Or Zubalsky