Gamil Design
Encyclopedia
Gamil Design Inc. is a product and graphic design
company located in Raleigh, North Carolina
. It is best known for the fact that many users of Gmail
have mistyped and arrived at the company's web site . Gamil also designs products for customers around the world, most of them sports-related .
for "handsome", pronounced gah-meel.
Khalifa's wife Beth joined the company in 1999 shortly after the couple married. Aly Khalifa, as a product designer, travels to locations as distant as Asia
and Europe
to take a product from an idea to something that can be produced. Many of the products are sports-related equipment for major companies.
Gamil Design's major product is Teastick, used to infuse
loose tea leaves and sold in over 200 stores. The idea came from Third Place Coffeehouse. The device had to be small enough to use for one cup of tea, but capable of enduring rough handling. An area company made a prototype
, and suppliers were found. It took several months to find a machinist who could make the actual product, and the Gamil employees had to help make it. But the product sold well, with customers in such locations as New York City
and Los Angeles
.
Finding a manufacturer who could produce a large volume of the product at a low enough price proved difficult. A redesign was tried but did not work as hoped. To make the exact product at the right price, Aly Khalifa had to go to Taiwan
, where a friend of his had a bicycle
factory that could also make the Teastick. Eventually, it became popular in Canada
, Australia
, Europe, Japan
, Taiwan and Korea
.
In 2008, Gamila Products, a Gamil Design brand, introduced the copolyester
Teastick Gem, made with Eastman Chemical Company
Tritan. Copolyester allows heat resistance and durability but covers stainless steel
mesh without adhesive
s. The manufacturing process uses injection molding
.
The popular Mila Bikini
, which Gamila created for Pacific Design in 2006 for iPod
and iPod Nano
s, included a polyurethane
screen protector that the user can see through, a connection system to attach the iPod, and a cover that can be folded into a stand.
Another Gamila product, Mila Art Jackets, was introduced as a partner to the Bikini in 2007, also to protect iPods. The art work by Paul Friedrich
, Casey Porn, Dale Flattum, Beth Khalifa, Joey Florian and Ben Wilson was intended to promote independent musicians.
In 2007, Gamila introduced the Facemod, a candlestick
using the Edgar Rubin
optical illusion
of two people's profiles. Using the latest computer technology, Gamila could create a candlestick from any person's photo.
Gamil has worked with Trek Bicycle Corporation
for more than five years, designing such items as glove
s, water bottle
s and bottle cages. In 2005, Gamil's Trek Batcage bottle cage traveled with Lance Armstrong
in the first of three Tour de France
s.
Gamil designed the process for making Vilcek Prize trophies
, designed by Sagmeister, Inc.
of New York City
and given by The Vilcek Foundation to persons born in other countries for notable work in science, arts and humanities. The Vilcek trophy won a 2006 award for typographic design
.
Other Gamil work includes the screen print designs for REI Duffel
prints.
collective
", Designbox offers First Friday Art Walks through its art gallery
and takes professionals from different design fields such as architecture
, landscape architecture
, copywriting
, interior design
and graphic design
and works to solve problems of various businesses. In weekly meetings, the members discuss trends and new ideas, and look at the work each company is doing. Designbox gets involved in the community, such as organizing a community meeting on how to deal with the Dorothea Dix Hospital
property when the hospital closes, and the group also makes money by letting businesses use their expertise.
. An engineer from Google
had accidentally gone to the Gamil site a number of times, and he asked if the site was experiencing more activity than usual. In fact, the number of hits was twice what it had been.
For two years after the Gmail e-mail
service began, many Gmail users typed the web site's name incorrectly and ended up at Gamil Design's site. Eventually, the Internet service provider
wanted to charge the company more because of the amount of activity. In Fall 2006, Khalifa finally took advantage of the situation.
He added a page to the company's web site with this message from his wife:
As of December 2006, the site was getting 600,000 hits a month. A year later, the total was one million.
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
company located in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. It is best known for the fact that many users of Gmail
Gmail
Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Users may access Gmail as secure webmail, as well via POP3 or IMAP protocols. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though...
have mistyped and arrived at the company's web site . Gamil also designs products for customers around the world, most of them sports-related .
About the company
Gamil Design began in 1995. Aly Khalifa gave the company his middle name, ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
for "handsome", pronounced gah-meel.
Khalifa's wife Beth joined the company in 1999 shortly after the couple married. Aly Khalifa, as a product designer, travels to locations as distant as Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to take a product from an idea to something that can be produced. Many of the products are sports-related equipment for major companies.
Gamil Design's major product is Teastick, used to infuse
Infusion
An infusion is the outcome of steeping plants with desired chemical compounds or flavors in water or oil.-History:The first recorded use of essential oils was in the 10th or 11th century by the Persian polymath Avicenna, possibly in The Canon of Medicine.-Preparation techniques:An infusion is very...
loose tea leaves and sold in over 200 stores. The idea came from Third Place Coffeehouse. The device had to be small enough to use for one cup of tea, but capable of enduring rough handling. An area company made a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
, and suppliers were found. It took several months to find a machinist who could make the actual product, and the Gamil employees had to help make it. But the product sold well, with customers in such locations as New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Finding a manufacturer who could produce a large volume of the product at a low enough price proved difficult. A redesign was tried but did not work as hoped. To make the exact product at the right price, Aly Khalifa had to go to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, where a friend of his had a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
factory that could also make the Teastick. Eventually, it became popular in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Europe, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Taiwan and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
In 2008, Gamila Products, a Gamil Design brand, introduced the copolyester
Copolyester
Copolyester forms when modifications are made to polyesters, which are combinations of diacids and diols. For example, by introducing other diacids, such as isophthalic acid , or other diols, such as cyclohexane dimethanol to the polyester polyethylene terephthalate , the material becomes a...
Teastick Gem, made with Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Chemical Company is a United States based chemical company, engaged in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, fibers, and plastics. Eastman has 11 manufacturing sites in seven countries, supplying its products throughout the world...
Tritan. Copolyester allows heat resistance and durability but covers stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
mesh without adhesive
Adhesive
An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...
s. The manufacturing process uses injection molding
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
.
The popular Mila Bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
, which Gamila created for Pacific Design in 2006 for iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
s, included a polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
screen protector that the user can see through, a connection system to attach the iPod, and a cover that can be folded into a stand.
Another Gamila product, Mila Art Jackets, was introduced as a partner to the Bikini in 2007, also to protect iPods. The art work by Paul Friedrich
Paul Friedrich
Paul Friedrich is an American comics artist native from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is the creator of the popular characters Onion Head Monster and Hubie the Dead Cow . He is also the creator of HellCar comics, DVD, unconference, and empire....
, Casey Porn, Dale Flattum, Beth Khalifa, Joey Florian and Ben Wilson was intended to promote independent musicians.
In 2007, Gamila introduced the Facemod, a candlestick
Candlestick
A candlestick, chamberstick, or candelabrum is a holder for one or more candles, used for illumination, rituals, or decorative purposes. The name 'candlestick' derives from the fact that it is usually tall and stick-shaped.Candlesticks are also called candle holders...
using the Edgar Rubin
Edgar Rubin
Edgar John Rubin was a Danish psychologist/phenomenologist, remembered for his work on figure-ground perception as seen in such optical illusions like the Rubin vase. He once worked as a research associate for Georg Elias Müller.-External links:*...
optical illusion
Rubin vase
Rubin's vase is a famous set of ambiguous or bi-stable two-dimensional forms developed around 1915 by the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin...
of two people's profiles. Using the latest computer technology, Gamila could create a candlestick from any person's photo.
Gamil has worked with Trek Bicycle Corporation
Trek Bicycle Corporation
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a major bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Klein and until recently, LeMond Racing Cycles...
for more than five years, designing such items as glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
s, water bottle
Water bottle
A water bottle is a container used to hold water for consumption. This allows an individual to transport or carry the bottled water from one place to another. A water bottle is usually made of plastic, glass, or metal, and so most can be recycled. Water bottles can be single use, returnable, or...
s and bottle cages. In 2005, Gamil's Trek Batcage bottle cage traveled with Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
in the first of three Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
s.
Gamil designed the process for making Vilcek Prize trophies
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
, designed by Sagmeister, Inc.
Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer. He has his own design firm—Sagmeister Inc.—in New York City. He has designed album covers for Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith and Pat Metheny.-Biography:Sagmeister studied graphic design at the...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and given by The Vilcek Foundation to persons born in other countries for notable work in science, arts and humanities. The Vilcek trophy won a 2006 award for typographic design
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
.
Other Gamil work includes the screen print designs for REI Duffel
Duffel bag
A duffel bag is a large cylindrical bag made of cloth with a drawstring closure at the top....
prints.
Designbox
Aly and Beth Khalifa started Designbox, which meets at Gamil Design, in May 2003. Considered a "brainstormingBrainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
collective
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
", Designbox offers First Friday Art Walks through its art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
and takes professionals from different design fields such as architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
, copywriting
Copywriting
Copywriting is the use of words and ideas to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing , the term copywriter is generally limited to promotional situations, regardless of the medium...
, interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and works to solve problems of various businesses. In weekly meetings, the members discuss trends and new ideas, and look at the work each company is doing. Designbox gets involved in the community, such as organizing a community meeting on how to deal with the Dorothea Dix Hospital
Dorothea Dix Hospital
The Dorthea Dix Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Dix Hill in Raleigh, North Carolina and named after mental health advocate Dorothea Dix.In 1848, Dorothea Dix visited North Carolina and called for reform in the care of mentally ill patients...
property when the hospital closes, and the group also makes money by letting businesses use their expertise.
Gmail
Before 2004, the Gamil Design web site received 3000 hits per month. Then in May 2004, Khalifa received an email from an AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. An engineer from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
had accidentally gone to the Gamil site a number of times, and he asked if the site was experiencing more activity than usual. In fact, the number of hits was twice what it had been.
For two years after the Gmail e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
service began, many Gmail users typed the web site's name incorrectly and ended up at Gamil Design's site. Eventually, the Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
wanted to charge the company more because of the amount of activity. In Fall 2006, Khalifa finally took advantage of the situation.
He added a page to the company's web site with this message from his wife:
You may have arrived here by misspelling Gmail. We understand. Typing fast is not our strongest skill. But since you've typed your way here, let's share.
As of December 2006, the site was getting 600,000 hits a month. A year later, the total was one million.