News: One Design and Field of Practice Named Fast Company Innovation by Design Finalists for Watermelon Pictures Brand

Chicago, IL, September 14, 2026 — One Design and Field of Practice are proud to announce that they have been named finalists in the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards for 2026 in the Graphic Design and Branding category, for their collaborative effort to create the Watermelon Pictures brand.

Now in its 15th year, the Innovation by Design Awards celebrate the designers and businesses addressing today’s most urgent challenges while anticipating the problems of tomorrow. The program is one of the most prestigious design competitions in the industry, spotlighting work that exemplifies originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural significance, and measurable business impact.

About our work for Watermelon Pictures

Our efforts for Watermelon Pictures—a Palestinian-owned, Chicago-based film production and distribution company focused on elevating underrepresented voices in cinema—challenged us to consider how to build a globally resonant, scalable brand for a mission-driven company that must reach across cultures without diluting its identity.

One Design and Field of Practice—another Chicago-area design consultancy—collaborated to develop a culturally rooted, bilingual identity system that treats Arabic and English as equal carriers of meaning, rather than translating one into the other, while embedding symbolic storytelling directly into the brand’s visual language.

“As a studio, we believe in the essential need for a diverse range of artistic voices and perspectives to be elevated and amplified. Conversation, understanding, and empathy require a platform where different perspectives have a chance to be heard. It was an honor to be trusted to help craft the beginnings of a mission-driven arts organization already brimming with global talent from the world of filmmaking.”

—
David Sieren, One Design Executive Director of Design and Strategy

Many bilingual systems default to visual compromise or hierarchy, which can unintentionally marginalize one audience. Our system instead creates cohesion without flattening difference—enabling Watermelon Pictures to engage diverse audiences while remaining unapologetically rooted in Palestinian culture.

Our teams focused on rethinking how bilingual brands function. Instead of a single, static wordmark, we created a flexible system of variable Arabic marks inspired by travel stamps, border crossings, and lived experiences within the Palestinian diaspora. Paired with a complementary English wordmark, the system establishes true linguistic parity—ensuring Arabic is not subordinate, but central to the brand’s voice.

“The brand needed to resonate deeply with a bilingual community across the Arab and Arab-American diasporas. This meant designing a system where Arabic was not treated as an afterthought or a direct translation of the English wordmark, but as an equal carrier of meaning and narrative.”

—
Nermin Moufti, Field of Practice Design Director

The result is a system that is both highly expressive and intentionally restrained, allowing the films themselves to remain the focal point.

In the months following Watermelon Pictures’ debut at the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, the company has expanded its film slate and strengthened its presence across festival circuits and distribution channels. The brand system has proven effective across a wide range of applications, demonstrating its adaptability in real-world use. 

One of the first films distributed by the label, Walled Off, directed by Vin Arfuso and produced by Anwar Hadid, Roger Waters, and Kweku Mandela, explores the Banksy-designed Walled Off Hotel overlooking the West Bank separation wall.

“We are changing the ways in which we are viewed … we want to see Palestinians in the mainstream.”

—
Alana Hadid, Watermelon Pictures Creative Director

The global response has been striking: audiences see themselves reflected in the brand. It stands confidently alongside major cinematic voices while maintaining cultural specificity and integrity, strengthening trust with filmmakers, collaborators, and audiences alike. The launch of Watermelon Pictures and Watermelon+ marks the debut of a platform built for lasting cultural impact, elevating access to unheard voices on a world stage.

The project has also catalyzed new models for partnership across creative teams, as One Design and Field of Practice came together to bridge studio perspectives in service of a more powerful expression of design and brand. The project became a microcosm of the broader goal of Watermelon Pictures: creating a space to learn from one another in order to build greater understanding and appreciation.

Honorees were selected by a panel of top designers, business executives from leading organizations, and Fast Company editors.

“The Innovation by Design Awards have always recognized the ideas that challenge convention and show what’s possible when design is treated as a strategic force, not an afterthought. Congratulations to this year’s honorees, who demonstrate how thoughtful design can solve meaningful problems and create new possibilities for people and businesses.”

—
Brendan Vaughan, Fast Company Editor-in-Chief 

To learn more about our work for Watermelon Pictures, check out our case study.

To see the complete list of 2026 honorees, visit fastcompany.com, and read about the winners in the Fall issue of Fast Company magazine on newsstands September 22, 2026.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com.