Twelve Degrees is led by Sahar Madanat and a growing multidisciplinary team of designers and engineers. We work to create products that exist to solve a need, enhance an experience or facilitate a higher quality of life through the development of innovative solutions to everyday living.
What We Do
The most important person in our design process, is the user. We create a deep understanding of what your user needs. This allows us to create innovative solutions that actually work. Whether it’s designing something from scratch, or improving on something that already exists. We use all possible resources to create the best and simplest solutions. Solutions that are beneficial to your business, as well as to your user and their environment.
We create products that not only solve problems, but that look good doing it.
WE DO
• Product design
• User research
• Design for Manufacture Support
• Branding
• User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design
We also offer different trainings and mentor teams to become more innovative.
Get in touch
Our Values
We believe that good design should hold the following values:
Honest
What we produce and how we produce it, affects the environment and the society. You’ll never catch us cut corners to create impactful products.
Curious
You will hear us ask “why?” a lot. We are curious and test every assumption so we understand what to design.
Experimental
And then we ask “why not”. Because imagining what can be, allows us to create innovative design solutions.
Driven
We work with you to go from concept to production. We work hard. Your success is also ours. We are the only industrial design studio in the Middle East, and aim to set the bar high.
Meet Our Team
Sahar Madanat
Founder and Creative Director
Sahar has been working with (inter)national clients for the past twenty years. She is an industrial designer by training and an entrepreneur and design advocate by heart. Sahar is one of the most awarded designers in the Middle East and is considered a pioneer in product design. Her design work ranges from medical design to new concept furniture. At the same time, Sahar works hard at developing new talent and inspiring design thinking in the Middle East through talks, mentoring, workshops and using design to empower under privileged communities.
Ahmad Jarrar
Industrial Designer
Ahmad is our resident visual communicator and product designer. You might also encounter him at one of our trainings. Ahmad has worked as a bespoke designer for BMW in Germany and did packaging and product design in Jordan. His work has been exhibited at Amman Design Week and he is always on the lookout for doing unexpected things to everyday materials.
Joyce Spasioti
Industrial Designer
Joyce graduated with a BA (Hons) in Product Design from the University for the Creative Arts in Surrey, UK. She’s worked on different products ranging from portable coffee makers, to outdoor furniture and lighting products. Her work has been exhibited at The New Designers Exhibition 2018 in London, UK. Joyce is our master of prototyping and creating fast design solutions. She is really into organizing things and old-fashioned music.
Yasmeen Darwazeh
Industrial Designer
Yasmeen graduated with a BA in Product Design from Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Italy. She’s worked in different design fields – from furniture design to graphic design – and alongside some of the top global companies like Daring Designs, ATA Arms, Zahi Darwazeh & Co, and Overhaul. A diverse background has helped her develop a unique approach from product conceptualization to delivery. Yasmeen is a true storyteller who loves crafting compelling narratives that emotionally connect people with the information she’s trying to convey.
Katriena Koedam-Wiersma
Innovation and Design Thinking Expert
Katriena is a Nielson Norman Group certified UX Practitioner. She’s worked in different sectors in different countries before joining Nestlé HQ in Switzerland. At Nestlé, Katriena was part of the user experience and design thinking team. She also managed a global network of large company practitioners and executives who work together on scaling human-centered innovation. Katriena shares Joyce’s love for old-fashioned music, if you’re lucky she’ll play you some of her favorites during one of our trainings.
Meet Our Team
Sahar Madanat
Founder and Creative Director
Sahar has been working with (inter)national clients for the past twenty years. She is an industrial designer by training and an entrepreneur and design advocate by heart. Sahar is one of the most awarded designers in the Middle East and is considered a pioneer in product design. Her design work ranges from medical design to new concept furniture. At the same time, Sahar works hard at developing new talent and inspiring design thinking in the Middle East through talks, mentoring, workshops and using design to empower under privileged communities.
Ahmad Jarrar
Industrial Designer
Ahmad is our resident visual communicator and product designer. You might also encounter him at one of our trainings. Ahmad has worked as a bespoke designer for BMW in Germany and did packaging and product design in Jordan. His work has been exhibited at Amman Design Week and he is always on the lookout for doing unexpected things to everyday materials.
Joyce Spasioti
Industrial Designer
Joyce graduated with a BA (Hons) in Product Design from the University for the Creative Arts in Surrey, UK. She’s worked on different products ranging from portable coffee makers, to outdoor furniture and lighting products. Her work has been exhibited at The New Designers Exhibition 2018 in London, UK. Joyce is our master of prototyping and creating fast design solutions. She is really into organizing things and old-fashioned music.
Katriena Koedam-Wiersma
Innovation and Design Thinking Expert
Katriena is a Nielson Norman Group certified UX Practitioner. She’s worked in different sectors in different countries before joining Nestlé HQ in Switzerland. At Nestlé, Katriena was part of the user experience and design thinking team. She also managed a global network of large company practitioners and executives who work together on scaling human-centered innovation. Katriena shares Joyce’s love for old-fashioned music, if you’re lucky she’ll play you some of her favorites during one of our trainings.
Yasmeen Darwazeh
Industrial Designer
Yasmeen graduated with a BA in Product Design from Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Italy. She’s worked in different design fields – from furniture design to graphic design – and alongside some of the top global companies like Daring Designs, ATA Arms, Zahi Darwazeh & Co, and Overhaul. A diverse background has helped her develop a unique approach from product conceptualization to delivery. Yasmeen is a true storyteller who loves crafting compelling narratives that emotionally connect people with the information she’s trying to convey.
Awards
Red Dot Award
Winner – Jarra
Audi Design Award
Winner- Pincher
Good Design Award
Finalist – Jarra
Dezeen Design Award
Longlisted- Jarra
A’DESIGN AWARD
Iron A’ Design Award – Pincher
iDEA International Award
Silver Award – Handy Plate
Spark Design Award
Finalist – Pincher
Spark Design Award
Finalist – Pressfit
AUDI INNOVATION AWARD
First Place Winner – One Handed Plate Set
A’DESIGN AWARD
Winner – Salt & Pepper Shaker
RED DOT DESIGN AWARDS
Red Dot Award – Push Pin Tray
RED DOT DESIGN AWARD
Honourable Mention – Plate-Oh
SPARK AWARDS – PRODUCT / CAUSE
Silver Award- One-Handed Tableware Set
SPARK AWARDS – PRODUCT / CAUSE
Finalist, Push-Pin Tray
SPARK AWARDS – PRODUCT / HEALTH
Finalist, One-Handed Tableware Set
SPARK AWARDS – PRODUCT / HEALTH
Finalist, Push-Pin Tray
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Gold Winner – One Handed Plate Set
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner – PushPin Tray
SPARK AWARDS: PRODUCT
Finalist -Sand Art Revival Table Lamps
SPARK AWARDS: CONCEPT
Finalist – Jumix
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner, Silver Award. Plate Oh
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner, Silver Award. Salt & Pepper Shaker
IDEA AWARDS
Finalist. Plate Oh
RED DOT DESIGN AWARD
Winner. Red Dot: Concept. Heart Aid
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner, Gold Award. Sand Art Revival Project
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner, Silver Award. Heart Aid
UNESCO HANDMADE OBJECTS COMPETITION
Winner 1st Place. Sand Art Revival Project.
SPARK AWARDS: CONCEPT
Winner, Spark! Award. Heart Aid
SPARK AWARDS: CONCEPT
Winner, Silver Award. Plate Oh
A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION
Winner. Milan, Italy. Vanilla Lounge Chair
GREEN DOT AWARDS
Honorable Mention. Plate-Oh
DESIGN FOR A CAUSE COMPETITION
Winner. T-Shirt Design For Underprivileged Women
2008
GEODESIGN PROJECT & COMPETITION
Winner. Torino World Design Capital
Clients
Press
Yanko Design
2019
Dubai Design Week
2019
Commercial Interior Design
2019
Albawaba
2019
Audi Innovation Award
2019
Architectural Digest
2019
Damn Magazine
2019
Commercial Interior Design
2019
A Shaded View on Fashion
2019
Icon Design
2019
Icon Design
2019
Ideat Magazine
2018
Oryx Magazine
2018
Promote Design Magazine
2018
Hers Khazeen
2017
Commercial Interior Design
2017
Wamda
2016
2016
The Jordan Times
2016
2016
2015
Design Dimension Series for the MENA Region
2014
Trend Hunter Art & Design
2013
Venture Magazine
2013
Yanko Design
2013
Royal Wings
2012
Yanko Design
2012
Jordan Times
2012
Torino GeoDesign
2009
Latest News
Jarra, our contemporary self-cooling ceramic tableware, was displayed at Art Jameel Shop in the Dubai Design District 2019.
The 2019 Audi Innovation Award for the Middle East was presented to Twelve Degrees at the opening of Dubai Design week. Simplification was this years theme. For its innovation in simplifying the seasoning process, our salt and pepper dispenser 'Pincher' was given the first place award. A dispenser to mimic the amount released from between human fingertips, so users can literally add a “pinch” of seasoning while cooking. Twelve Degrees won the Audi Innovation Award in 2016 for the Handy Plate design.
Twelve Degrees participated in Amman Design Week 2019, where we launched our material project ‘Made From Jordan’ in the Exhibition.
Made From Jordan utilizes locally sourced agricultural waste, transforming them into valuable, sustainable and functional everyday products. Inspired by the “Majles”; a traditional Arabic space where families and friends gathered over coffee, meals, socialized and shared poems, sitting simply on mattresses, adjusting the cushions to suit the activity.
Launched PressFit at Amman Design Week, 2017
The first Audi Innovation Award for the Middle East was presented to Sahar Madanat from Jordan at the opening of Design Days Dubai for her ‘One-Handed Tableware Set’ design with second and third places being awarded to local UAE based designers, Mansour Attia and Nick Karinzaidis for a ‘Metro-bike fly-over’ proposal and a ‘Gaudi style responsive bath system’ respectively.
Sahar Madanat Design Studio participated in the first launch of Amman Design Week. Our display of five different products in the “Hangar” Exhibition represented how industrial design can be used to create innovative and beautiful solutions for everyday life. We also exhibited in the Raghadan Crafts District, where we displayed our Sand Art Revival installation. The concept of the space was to showcase how sand art can be revved through design. It included handmade sand art table lamps and a lighting installation of more than 200 recycled incandescent bulbs filled with sand art.
One-handed plate set’ project was awarded a silver medal in the international SPARK AWARDS competition and was chosen among the awarded designs to be exhibited at the prestigious Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco.
We were invited to give a talk to the 4th grade students by their teacher, Mrs.Hanadi Kadura, at the Mashrek International School. Our talk covered topics such as design for future generations and design for disability, to help the students with their ‘Innovations and Technology for the Disabled’ class project.
We were invited to be part of a delegation of Jordanian creatives lead by Mohamed Al Borno on a tour of Dubai Design District, D3 for their designer Insights session.
We were invited to give a talk about Design Thinking by the MIT Enterprise Forum, Pan Arab Region, during the MENA ICT forum, where we challenged the audience to a task involving designing tableware for the disabled.
A’Design Award winners’ exhibition at the MOOD - Museum of Outstanding Design in Como Italy, where our winning designs Sand Art table lamps (Gold) and Heart Aid (Silver) where showcased among the other winners. The A' Design Award & Competitions' Winner Design Exhibition is open to the public.
Our work was showcased in the Torino World Design Capital Exhibition in Palafuksas, Torino, Italy that included among its participant’s world famous designers, the Japanese Naoto Fukasawa, the Brazilian Campana brothers, Jasper Morrison from Britain, and many others. We participated with the GeoDesign project, where we were asked by the city to work with a local community and design a sustainable solution for their specific needs.