How does a project start?

With a short conversation about what you are trying to achieve, who it is for, and what already exists. From there we set out the scope, the stages and the cost in writing before any design work begins.

How long does a project take?

It depends on scope and on how quickly content and feedback come back. A single print piece is a much shorter job than a full publication or a brand identity, so we give a timeline with the scope at the start rather than a blanket estimate.

How many rounds of revisions are included?

Revisions are built into each stage rather than treated as extras — we refine the direction before detail, and the detail before final files. The number of rounds included is confirmed in the scope for your project.

What files do I get at the end?

The working files and the formats you will actually use: print-ready PDFs for print work, and web and social formats where relevant. We work in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, and in Canva where a client needs to edit templates themselves.

Can you work to our existing brand guidelines?

Yes — a lot of our work is designing within an established brand rather than creating a new one. Send the guidelines and any templates you already use and we will work inside them.

Do you handle print-ready artwork?

Yes. We prepare artwork to the printer's specification — bleed, margins, colour setup and correct export settings — and we are happy to liaise with your printer directly to check the files before they go on press.

Do you work remotely?

Yes. We work with clients remotely across the UK and internationally.

Design studio — Farnham, UK

Design and print,
in one place.

Name: Zara Designs
Address: GB
Price range: ££

Most studios hand you a PDF and wish you luck. Most print shops print exactly what you send them, mistakes and all. We do both ends, so neither one breaks.

View the work Same-day printing Start a project

Disciplines: Publication, editorial, brand identity, print
Printing: Same-day, up to A3, plus custom cutting
Studio: Farnham, UK — working UK and international

Selected work

Editorial systems, identities and print — made to be read.

All work →

Publication Design

Pareto Education's Guide to Clinical Practice

A clinical reference of more than 300 pages for medical students and early-career clinicians: cover, colour-coded specialty system and page layout.

Publication Design

Gift of Love — Cookbook

A warm, family-feeling cookbook built on a calm grid and generous food imagery.

Editorial Design

Maryam Magazine

Cover design for Maryam, a quarterly educational magazine, with a masthead and typographic system built to be reused issue after issue.

Publication Design

Abidaat

A quarterly magazine for Lajna Imaillah Ahmadiyya Singapore: a redesigned masthead and cover system, and the editorial pages behind it.

Navy hardback notebook, navy insulated flask, pen in an open black presentation box and navy leather keyring with a gold ring standing together on a pale wooden surface, each carrying the same silver H monogram with the name HAMZA across it

Product & Personalisation

Personalised Gift Box Sets

A matched set — notebook, flask, pen and keyring — each carrying the same monogram, presented in a magnetic gift box.

About

A studio, not a production line.

Based in: Farnham, UK — working remotely, UK and international
Studied: Visual Communication, Singapore
Focus: Publication & editorial design, brand identity, print
Tools: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop

Zara Designs is a design studio in Farnham, founded by Zara Tahir. We work mostly in publication and editorial design — the kind of job where someone arrives with three hundred pages of material and no idea how a reader is meant to move through it.

Zara studied Visual Communication in Singapore. Since then the studio has worked with startups and nonprofit organisations, usually as the only designer on the project. That means doing the structure, the layout, the artwork and the print specification, rather than one slice of it and a handover.

We design for print first. A cover has to survive being spiral-bound. A clinical reference has to still be navigable in its third year. An invitation has to fold into an envelope that actually exists. Because the printing happens here too, those problems get found before they turn into a reprint.

Alongside client work we make Islamic wall art and personalised keepsakes — frames, cards, bookmarks and gifts for graduations, weddings and Eid. It is the same discipline at a smaller scale, and it keeps us close to how things come off the press.

Away from the studio, I love travelling and capturing special moments with my family, finding inspiration in every new place we explore. I also have a passion for cooking, and cherish spending quality time with my loved ones, which keeps me refreshed and creatively inspired.

Zara Tahir, founder

Services

Services available

You will work closely with our designers — speak directly to the designer behind Zara Designs, from first call to final files. No account managers, no handovers.

Publication & editorial

Books & cookbooks
Reports & brochures
Magazines & catalogues

Brand identity

Logo & visual language
Simple, usable guidelines
Marketing assets

Print

Posters & flyers
Stationery & packaging
Same-day printing up to A3

See same-day printing

Presentations & digital

Pitch decks & proposals
Social media content
Landing page visuals

Pricing

Every project is quoted on scope.

Every project is quoted on scope, so tell us what you need and we will come back with a fixed price and a timeline.

Working together

How does a project start?: With a short conversation about what you are trying to achieve, who it is for, and what already exists. From there we set out the scope, the stages and the cost in writing before any design work begins.
How long does a project take?: It depends on scope and on how quickly content and feedback come back. A single print piece is a much shorter job than a full publication or a brand identity, so we give a timeline with the scope at the start rather than a blanket estimate.
How many rounds of revisions are included?: Revisions are built into each stage rather than treated as extras — we refine the direction before detail, and the detail before final files. The number of rounds included is confirmed in the scope for your project.
What files do I get at the end?: The working files and the formats you will actually use: print-ready PDFs for print work, and web and social formats where relevant. We work in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, and in Canva where a client needs to edit templates themselves.
Can you work to our existing brand guidelines?: Yes — a lot of our work is designing within an established brand rather than creating a new one. Send the guidelines and any templates you already use and we will work inside them.
Do you handle print-ready artwork?: Yes. We prepare artwork to the printer's specification — bleed, margins, colour setup and correct export settings — and we are happy to liaise with your printer directly to check the files before they go on press.
Do you work remotely?: Yes. We work with clients remotely across the UK and internationally.

How we work

Clarify

We agree the goal and audience before designing anything.

Structure

Hierarchy first — what has to be seen, and in what order.

Refine

We iterate until it's clear, not clever.

Hand over

Print-ready and editable files, cleanly organised.

Printing

Same-day printing

Design and print in one place. Artwork done here, printed here, delivered locally the same day.

What we print

Up to A3

Posters
Flyers and leaflets
Cards and invitations
Photo and image prints
Menus, order of service, event stationery

Custom cutting

We can cut shapes into the print itself, not just around the edge. Die-cut stickers and labels, shaped cards, windows and cut-outs, custom shapes to your own artwork. Most local print shops can only give you a rectangle.

Delivery

Same-day delivery options, locally.

Get in touch to confirm we can hit your deadline.

Get a quote

Most people leave printing to the last minute, and usually they haven't got the artwork ready either. We can design it and print it the same day — that is the whole point.

Get a print quote

Get a quote

Send us your artwork, we check it first

Most print shops will print exactly what you send them, mistakes and all. We are designers first, so we check your file before it goes on the press — and if it is not right, we can fix it.

Tell us what you need

Size, quantity, paper, and when you need it.

Send us your artwork

PDF is best, but we can work from most formats.

We check it before we print

We look at resolution, bleed, margins and colour, and tell you if anything will cause a problem.

The shop

Prints, cards and gifts are on Etsy

Personalised keepsakes: graduation frames, wedding and nikah frames, Islamic wall art sets (Ayatul Kursi, Sabr Shukr Salaam, children's dua prints), personalised money boxes, faux leather keyrings and empty Eid favour boxes. From £3 to £75, designed and made in the UK and sold through the Etsy shop.

We also make monogrammed gift box sets — see the gift box sets.