Quilliam Foundation

BACKGROUND

Quilliam is the world’s first counter-extremism think tank. It was founded in 2007 by Maajid Nawaz a former Islamist ideologue and Ed Husain the celebrated author of ‘The Islamist’. Their mission is “to challenge Islamists’ extremist ideology to expose the intellectual bankruptcy of their worldview; promote political pluralism as an antidote to Islamism; and inspire positive change so that Muslims and others live harmoniously as citizens, not as separatist communities.”

Quilliam aims to influence two main audience groups: governmental policy makers, politicians, influential leaders as well as the general public.

Cogent has designed and managed the production of a number of publications including books, brochures, magazine and a DVD and CD. Cogent also designed and project managed the environmental graphics and presentations for the organisations launch at the British Museum.

KHUDI MAGAZINE

Khudi is a new counter-extremism social movement working to promote a democratic culture in Pakistan and peace in South Asia. Its aims include:

Opening up spaces in Pakistani universities to enable students to freely debate the great issues that affect Pakistan today – particularly issues of identity, nationalism, democratic governance, women’s rights and regional stability.

Creating a magazine to allow students from around Pakistan to openly express themselves on these subjects and to share their ideas on how to make Pakistan a better country and how best to challenge different aspects of extremism.

DESIGN APPROACH

Cogent developed a flexible and adventurous design concept for Khudi to appeal to its young aspirational audience. It was decided to use a newspaper tabloid format to give the publication immediacy. Cogent also produced the illustrations and image manipulation in house and took an eclectic approach to typography and page layout.