PRNTCODE is a collaborative textiles studio rooted in the belief that print is everything. Based between the UAE and the US, the brand was founded by designer Hessa Al Suwaidi as a space where the emotional depth and expressive power of print take center stage.
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At PRNTCODE, prints are not merely surface decoration — they are the starting point, the narrative, and the soul of every creation. From childhood memories to cultural symbolism, digital glitches to traditional craft, each collection begins with a visual story and evolves into form — whether as an abaya, a wall covering, or a ready-to-wear piece.
THE PHILOSOPHY
PRNTCODE sees prints as time capsules vessels of memory, identity, and personal history. The studio explores this philosophy through a hybrid creative process that merges photography, hand-drawn illustration, hand embroidery, and digital manipulation. Each print is layered with meaning, bridging nostalgia with innovation, craft with technology, the intimate with the universal.
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PRNTCODE is a design-first studio that treats print as its medium, not its embellishment — a lab for storytelling through shape, color, and material.
Hessa Alsuwaidi is a UAE-born textile artist and designer whose work reimagines print as a vessel for memory, identity, and emotion. As the founder of PRNTCODE, a textile and print studio based between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, she leads a multidisciplinary practice that merges surface design with storytelling — where every pattern becomes a living archive.
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Educated at Parsons School of Design (MFA, Textiles) and Loughborough University (BA, Printed Textiles: Design & Innovation), Hessa’s approach bridges traditional craft and contemporary process. Her work moves fluidly between hand-drawing, weaving, photography, and 3D fabrication, resulting in deeply layered, hybrid compositions that are both experimental and intimate.
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A recurring symbol in her practice is the dot — inspired by a childhood fascination with polka dots and a lullaby her mother used to sing called Gaba Gaba. Whimsical yet resonant, it anchors her visual language and recurs as a thread of nostalgia throughout her collections.
Before founding PRNTCODE, Hessa worked as a color designer at Nike’s World Headquarters in Oregon, where she helped shape iconic storytelling projects including the MoMA x Nike collaboration. Her work has been exhibited internationally — from New Designers in London and NYC Textile Week in SoHo to regional showcases like Fashcultivate in Sharjah and Dubai Design Week with Bentley Motors.
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Through PRNTCODE, Hessa is cultivating a new language of print — one that is emotionally grounded, materially rich, and unapologetically bold. Her vision is rooted in the belief that textiles are more than objects — they are portals: to culture, to memory, and to self.
