Turning Point Books Online

Biography

Rima Rifai is a self-proclaimed “art maniac." Born and bred in Beirut during a time when “most of us were struggling to live our teenage adventures in a very dangerous environment," Rifai was fortunate to make it through the civil war (“not without scars") by traveling and living in the United States.

When the Lebanese civil war ended, Rifai returned to Beirut and enrolled in business school with her family encouraging her to “learn to make lots of money." Recognizing, however, that her passion lay in the arts (“I was always scribbling and sketching anyone or anything I laid my eyes on"), she left business after only two semesters and “rushed" into the School of Fine Arts at Beirut University College (now known as the Lebanese American University).

Today, she is a graphic designer and illustrator whose work is featured in magazines, children’s books and advertisements, as well as publications and reports for UN agencies and private and public businesses. Rifai has extensive experience in corporate-identity development and teaches graphic design at two universities, a job which offers “new experiences every day."

Rifai has worked with Turning Point on a number of travel guides. She was inspired to create Map’n Lebanon – an illustrated and historically enhanced map guide – during the course of her own journeys abroad. “I was traveling one summer and became inspired by the travel guides I was using. So, I contacted Charlotte Hamaoui about the idea. Map’n Lebanon took two years, but it came out very nice."