Twenty years designing for the person in the room.
Fabidha Safar-Rahman, founder and creative director of Design Matter, has, for more than two decades, designed places where people heal, work, live and belong.
Along the way, she also built a studio, raised a family, led teams across markets and learned that good design and good leadership begin with understanding people.
Fabidha’s point of view is shaped by the belief that good design, good leadership and meaningful mentorship all begin with understanding people.
She designs for the person in the room rather than the photograph of it, leads by creating clarity, trust and space for others to do their best work, and believes experience carries a responsibility to open doors for the next generation. Across her work as a designer, founder and mentor, the common thread is care — for people, for culture, and for the environments in which both can grow.
Building Design Matter
Building Design Matter has shaped the way she thinks about creative leadership. She believes good work happens when teams are given clarity, trust and room to think. As the studio has grown, her focus has increasingly been on how creative businesses can scale without losing the curiosity, care and attention that made them strong in the first place.
Beyond the studio
She believes the next generation should not have to figure everything out the hard way. Through communities such as Ellevate and through the younger designers she works with, Fabidha shares what she has learned about confidence, leadership, creative practice and building a career. For her, opening doors and sharing honest lessons is part of the responsibility that comes with experience.
960,000
Sqm designed
26
Projects since Jan 2025
AED 957M
Construction value, 2025
“The time she spent to understand the client’s needs, style, preferences and the attention to detail and their pursuit for perfection is real art at play.”
Alisha Moopen · Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare