Saif Hidayah: Championing the Power of Imagery

For Saif Hidayah, creativity began as an act of correction. A few years ago, the Amman-based image consultant and creative director was working in law, convinced that justice lived in the courtroom. “I thought the legal system was the key to change,” he admits. “Then I realised that true transformation starts with storytelling and culture.”

Leaving law wasn’t a rebellion so much as a realignment. Hidayah moved into fashion and visual culture, using images the way others use arguments—to challenge perception and reframe what’s possible. After two years as Fashion Trust Arabia’s editor-at-large, he joined Yung magazine as creative director, leading regional campaigns for Cartier, Puma, Hublot, and Bvlgari

Alongside campaigns and covers, Hidayah’s creative fingerprints are most visible in music, including his ongoing collaboration with Jordanian-Palestinian artist Zeyne. As her image consultant, he helps shape the singer’s evolving aesthetic language, from the dark and surreal world of AWDA to her fierce public visuals across platforms and billboards. “The independent music scene here is thriving,” he notes. “The scene just needs that extra push, as long as we keep amplifying and investing in local talent.”

Exploring creative spaces across the region, he kept running into the same problem. “Authentic representation was missing. Our stories were often told by outsiders,” he recalls. His work now responds to that gap, creating visuals that speak directly to the people they’re about, not to an imagined global gaze. “I hope to see more experimentation without restraint.” 

Hidayah’s world lives between light and shadow, inspired by real life. “Everything I create comes from what I live and see—the people, the stories, the moments that stick with me,” he says. “Sometimes my work is loud, sometimes quiet. Sometimes it’s light, other times dark.” This sense of duality runs through his practice: the mix of elegance and urgency, control and vulnerability.

He’s less concerned with career milestones than with the decision that started it all. “The defining moment was the day I chose to do this,” he says. “And turning passion into purpose is a privilege.” His current focus is on helping the SWANA region tell its own story with nuance, he adds. “I want to show that our part of the world is anything but homogeneous. If you’re different, you belong. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”