DAO DESIGN SPOTLIGHT

RAJIE COOK

Also known as Roger Cook

The Palestinian-American graphic designer, artist, activist, humanitarian and photographer behind the iconic universal language of wayfinding pictograms.

FAMILY ORIGIN

Rajie was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1930, to Christian Palestinian immigrant parents, Najeeb Esa Cook and Jaleela Totah, from Ramallah, Palestine.

The Cook family name was reflective of the different ruling powers in Palestine as Rajie’s grandfather originally had the family name Suleiman. Under Ottoman rule, the Turks renamed his grandfather to Küçük, meaning "Small" in Turkish, and later was renamed by the British under their rule to Cook.

Despite the historical transformations of his family name, "Rajie" in Arabic translates to “hopeful” or “full of hope”, which reflects his legacy of resilience and reclaiming of what it means to be Palestinian living in the USA.

Rajie Cook

Najeeb Esa Cook

GRAPHIC DESIGN CAREER

Rajie Cook graduated the Pratt Institute in 1954, and pursued a career in graphic design. He worked for renowned advertising agencies and eventually established his own firm.

His most significant work, his collaboration between AIGA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), where they aimed to design a universal visual language for passengers and pedestrians that transends all spoken or written language. With his business partner, Don Shanosky, they designed a set of 50 universal symbols to be used at the intersections of public spaces such as navigation for transportation hubs and public bathrooms.

On Jan. 30, 1985, Rajie earned national recognition when President Ronald Reagan honored him with one of the first Presidential Design Awards.

JOURNEY TO PALESTINE

Cook visited Palestine in 1981 to reconnect with his roots, and saw the realities of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West bank and reframed how he uses his craft to make a difference for the people of Gaza and the West bank.

Inspired by artist Joseph Cornell’s work, Cook created over 80 exhibited boxes, each serving as a commentary on the realities of life under occupation. Despite not being able not able to exhibit them in major museums as were afraid to show his work due to pressure from zionist groups, his goal with his art was to highlight the stark power imbalance between Palestinians and Israelis, and to challenge narratives and stereotypes, portraying Palestinians not as aggressors but as individuals fighting for their rights and dignity in the face of oppression and injustice.