Branding for a city of visitors,
in Arabic and English together.
Looking for a brand designer in Madinah? I’m a brand identity designer working remotely, with calls in Saudi time (UTC+3). The city had more than 14.1 million visitors in 2023, 9.8 million of them from abroad, so I design the Arabic and English sides of your name and logo together and show them on your shop sign, your packaging and a phone screen. A logo takes 2–4 weeks and a full brand identity 4–10 weeks, with one fixed price agreed in writing after a free 30-minute call.
- Time zone
- UTC+3, no DST
- Visitors, 2023
- 14.1 million
- Brand identity
- 4–10 weeks
- First call
- Free, 30 min
Branding in Madinah: what the city asks of a brand
Madinah is a city of visitors. The Madinah Region Development Authority (MDA) counted more than 14.1 million in 2023: 13.3 million came for religious visits, 9.8 million came from abroad, and they stayed about 10 days on average. The MDA puts the population of Madinah Governorate at about 1.47 million.
The MDA names the airport, nearby Yanbu Port, two industrial cities and date production as economic assets, and the 450 km Haramain High-Speed Railway links the city to Jeddah and Makkah. The MDA also counted 60,311 small and medium-sized businesses in the Madinah region in Q1 2023, about 5% of the Kingdom’s total.
Arabic is the official language, but the audience is wider: services at the Prophet’s Mosque include live sermon translation into 10 languages, and the Islamic University of Madinah has students from over 170 countries. A hotel, travel or retail brand here has to read clearly to a guest who knows neither Arabic nor English, and still look at home on streets with their own lettering and, along some pedestrian routes, shopfronts the MDA has unified.
I work remotely with businesses in Madinah; there is no office in the city, and calls run in Saudi time. In Arabic this work is called هوية بصرية, visual identity, so if you are looking for a مصمم هوية بصرية في المدينة المنورة, a visual identity designer in Madinah, the guide to bilingual Arabic–English brands shows how I pair the two scripts.
- The city has its own typefaceKhat Al Madinah, based on the old Hijazi script, was launched in May 2018 in three weights. The MDA adopted it for road signs; by June 2024 the Roads General Authority used it on Madinah’s guide signs, a step approved for all guide signs installed in the region and its governorates. Your Arabic logo is seen beside it.
- Madinah has its own sign guideIn June 2026 the Madinah Region Municipality published a sign guide for shop owners, designers and sign makers. It sets dimensions, locations, design, lighting and content by urban zone. National rules already limit a shop sign’s content to the trade name, CR number and logo, if any, built as raised letters.
- Trade names: English allowed, “Madinah” needs approvalSince April 3, 2025, a trade name may be in English, with an Arabic transliteration, but not similar to a reserved or registered name, and the law bars names that imply a political, military or religious meaning. A city name can’t be the central element, and using “Madinah” needs the MDA’s prior approval.
- New districts, with global chains next doorPIF’s Rua Al Madinah Holding is adding over 47,000 hotel rooms on 1.5 million m² east of the Prophet’s Mosque by 2030. In Knowledge Economic City, Marriott plans three hotels and Apparel Group is bringing 24 international brands, 10 new to the city, to Multaqa Al Madinah Mall. Local names will sit next to global ones.
- An airport that keeps growingMadinah’s airport handled about 11.7 million passengers in 2025, up from 9.4 million in 2023, and is expanding to 18 million a year. In the 1446 AH Hajj season it received nearly 720,000 pilgrims from 53 countries, so a travel or hotel mark should be recognizable even to someone who reads neither script.
- Where a new brand gets registeredTrade names are reserved on the Saudi Business Center; activity licenses are due within 90 days of registration, unless the licensing authority allows longer. Trademarks go to SAIP’s Unified IP Platform and are published for 60 days. The Madinah Chamber points investors to the Madinah Investment Platform and Balady.
Services for Madinah
All services- Brand identityStrategy, logo system, color, type and guidelines for a hotel, travel or retail business whose guests may read neither Arabic nor English.
- Bilingual logo designArabic and English versions of your logo designed as one mark, with both scripts tested as cut letters for a raised-letter shop sign.
- RebrandingA new strategy and identity for an established Madinah business, planned around the trade name you already have registered.
- Packaging designPacks and gift boxes for dates, food and retail products, with room for Arabic and English from the first sketch.
- Brand namingName ideas, a shortlist and domain and social checks before you reserve the trade name on the Saudi Business Center.
- Logo designA logo, wordmark and symbol with files for web, print and sign makers, for a new venture opening in Madinah.
How it works, step by step
01Discovery
A free 30-minute call in Saudi time about your guests, your registered or planned trade name and your sign, then a fixed written proposal.
- Free call
- UTC+3
- Fixed proposal
02Strategy
Who you serve (residents, visitors from inside the Kingdom or pilgrims from abroad) and every place the brand must work, from shop sign to booking page.
- Audience
- Positioning
- Touchpoints
03Identity
Logo, type and color with Arabic and English designed together, cut-letter sign tests, weekly check-ins and two revision rounds per phase.
- Logo system
- Weekly check-ins
- 2 rounds per phase
04Handover
Brand guidelines (PDF), a Figma library and clean master files for your sign maker and for your lawyer’s SAIP filing.
- Guidelines
- Figma library
- Master files
Closest work: a resort, a travel agency, a café and chocolate packaging
More work
Reva7 resort brand identity and website
Wayfare travel agency brand identity
Tong coffee shop brand identity
ChocoBloom chocolate packaging design
What clients say
All reviewsAfter completing an exceptionally comprehensive brand identity I can honestly say he delivered above expectations with an excellent finished product & memorable client experience.
Questions founders ask
Do you work with businesses in Madinah?
Yes, remotely. I don’t have an office in Madinah or anywhere in Saudi Arabia; the work runs through video calls and shared files. Calls run in Saudi time (UTC+3), and Saudi Arabia doesn’t change its clocks, so a check-in booked in Saudi time doesn’t shift between summer and winter. Proposals can be in USD or SAR.
Can my trade name be in English, or include “Madinah”?
English is allowed since April 3, 2025, with an Arabic transliteration, and the name is reserved online through the Saudi Business Center. It can’t be similar to a name already reserved or registered, whatever the activity, or to a world-famous trade name or trademark, or a trademark registered or famous in Saudi Arabia, unless you own that mark. The law also bars names that imply a political, military or religious meaning. “Madinah” can’t be the central element, and using it needs the MDA’s prior approval, so check the name before design starts.
What can my shop sign show?
National sign requirements, still listed as in force, limit a shop sign’s content to the trade name, the commercial registration number and the logo, if there is one, built as raised letters; other designs need the municipality’s approval. In June 2026 the Madinah Region Municipality added its own guide, which sets dimensions, locations, design, lighting and content by urban zone. Your sign maker works to that guide; I hand over sign versions of the logo in both scripts, tested as cut letters, for them to adapt to your zone.
Should my logo use the Madinah typeface?
Usually not. Khat Al Madinah is the city’s own typeface, used on its road signs; if you still want it in a commercial logo, check the MDA’s terms first. A brand needs lettering it can own and protect, so I can draw Arabic letterforms that sit well next to the city’s script without copying it.
Can you file my Madinah business’s trademark with SAIP?
No. Trademark filing is not part of a design project: your lawyer files it, and I hand over clean files. SAIP takes new applications on its Unified IP Platform, and an accepted mark is published for 60 days before registration is completed. The naming service includes a preliminary search in the USPTO, UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism and SAIP databases, but it is not an Arabic–English meaning check.
My Madinah business already has a registered trade name and a sign. Can you rebrand it?
Yes, remotely. My work as a rebranding specialist starts from what a Madinah business already owns: if you keep your registered trade name, the new identity is planned around it, and you get files for the new sign and for any new trademark filing by your lawyer. A rebrand usually takes 6–12 weeks and a brand refresh 3–6 weeks.
What does branding cost for a hotel, shop or travel business in Madinah?
It depends on the scope: how many touchpoints the brand needs from day one, whether that is a shop sign, a hotel’s booking pages or a box of dates. After a free 30-minute call you get a fixed written proposal with one price, the timeline and the deliverables, and the price never changes mid-project. The article on how much a brand identity costs, under Related reading, explains typical market ranges.
Related reading
Designing a bilingual brand in Arabic and English
How to make Arabic and English logos feel like one brand, not two.
Rebrand or refresh? How to tell which you need
Five questions that show if you need a full rebrand or a refresh.
How much does a brand identity cost in 2026?
What drives the price of a brand identity, what a typical scope includes, and how to get a written quote for your startup.
More cities in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia- DammamFor Dammam suppliers, logistics firms, contractors, shops and food brands: one Arabic–English brand for trucks, signs and packs.
- Al KhobarArabic and English brand identities for Al Khobar cafés, retailers and B2B firms, designed remotely.
- DhahranArabic and English brand identities for Dhahran companies in energy, research and deep tech, done remotely.
- BuraidahArabic and English brand identities and packaging for Buraidah date, food and trading businesses, done remotely.
- AbhaBrands for Abha’s hotels, mountain stays, cafés and honey and rose-water makers, in Arabic and English, designed remotely.
- UnaizahSukkari cartons, gift boxes and Arabic-first identities for Unaizah date farms, Hanini makers and shops, designed remotely.
- Khamis MushaitArabic and English brands for Khamis Mushait traders, shops, cafés and food producers, designed remotely.
Not sure what your brand needs?
Book a free 30-minute call.
I’ll review where your brand is today and recommend the right scope.