HONOR

Context

The brief for HONOR’s mobile launch event in Tehran came in, and we started ideation. Like most major events in the city, it was planned to take place at one of Tehran’s top hotels — Espinas Hotel. Everything was designed around a modern, minimal, and exciting event experience.

Then, with less than three weeks left before the event, the brand manager made a major decision: the venue was changed to Rashidieh Hotel Tehran — a completely different setting, styled as a Qajar-era boutique hotel. This meant the concept had to be reimagined from scratch.

Process

I went back through the brief and the phone’s specifications, where the emphasis on camera quality was clearly stated. My photographer’s instinct kicked in, and I turned to Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar — known as «the photographer king,» credited with taking one of the very first selfies in history, roughly 160 to 170 years ago. It was time to bring Nasser al-Din Shah into the present day.

At the same time, the creative team built a scenario staging Qajar-era theatrics fused with present-day content tied to the phones, so the entire event would feel like a return to the Qajar era. Within this framework, I designed and executed the concept of Nasser al-Din Shah brought into the present day — this time holding a HONOR phone.