Syeda Mehwish Zara Zaidi
Education
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Master’s in Graphic Design by Research, University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia —
Thesis: Application of information design and human-centred design to bring social change through healthcare outreach, focused on healthcare information communication for an indigenous nomadic community - Bachelor’s in Communication Design (Major: Graphic Design; Minor: Printmaking), Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan
Research Interests
- Information and Communication Design
- Design Thinking and Human-Centred Design
- Design Strategy for Healthcare and Policy Outreach
Biography
Syeda Mehwish Zara Zaidi has been Associate Professor of Practice in Communication and Design at Habib University since January 2025, having first joined as Adjunct Associate Professor of Practice in Fall 2024. She specializes in information and communication design, with expertise in communication and design strategies, design thinking, and human-centred design.
Alongside her Habib appointment, she has served as Chief Designer and Executive Director at Hypatia Design Studio since January 2024, and as Co-founder and Trainer at the Design Thinking and Policy Lab since June 2023. She also directed the design and establishment of the Karachi Film School’s curriculum (September 2023–October 2024). Before Habib, she spent over seven years as Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Media Sciences at SZABIST, Karachi (September 2016–January 2024), and earlier was Lecturer and Program Coordinator in the Department of Media Sciences at Iqra University North Campus (February 2015–August 2016) and Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Communication Design at her alma mater, Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (March 2007–December 2009).
At Habib, she co-chaired and organized the Imagining Futures Conference 2025, and has led numerous design-thinking workshops and hackathons, including the Design and Policy Hackathon (2025), workshops on design thinking and judicial communication, design thinking and healthcare outreach, climate change and redesigning life, and design thinking, social justice, and entrepreneurship, in addition to co-teaching an international course for the Centre of Design Studies (CODES) at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia.
Selected Training & Workshops
- Design and Policy Hackathon, 2025 (part of the Imagining Futures Conference)
- IFTP Hackathon, 2025
- Design Thinking and Judicial Communication (two workshops), Playground, Habib University
- Design Thinking and Outreach in Healthcare, Playground, Habib University
- Redesigning Life: Climate Change, Summer Trainings, Habib University
- Participatory Design, Imagining Futures Conference, Habib University
- Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship, Summer Training, Habib University
- AI and Creative Mind, Zero Week, Habib University
- Significance of Elements and Principles of Design (co-taught), Centre of Design Studies (CODES), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia
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