This practice-led research examines the capacity of graphic design to contribute to improving the visitor experience of Zamzam water services across their Umrah journey. Zamzam water is a holy water considered one of the enduring miracles of Islam and represents God’s mercy for Muslims. The Umrah is a non-obligatory but important religious ritual for Muslims. Saudi is the land on which the two Holy Mosques and the Kaaba are located. It is the Kaaba, the holiest Islamic shrine on earth, that Muslims around the world turn towards at prayer. The Saudi government has the great honour to serve Umrah visitors and to ensure their comfort and safety. Enriching their religious experience is identified as one of the overriding objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030. This is envisaged as a process to improve the quality of the services related to Umrah religious rituals while also integrating e-services across Umrah visitors’ journey to meet visitors’ needs and desires.

The central aim of this research is to contribute to facilitating the Umrah journey for Umrah visitors by examining in what ways graphic design can help to improve public services within a religious context. More specifically, the main research question is: How can graphic design contribute to enhancing Umrah visitors’ experience of the Zamzam water service across the Umrah journey?

To accomplish this, the methodology combines a range of methods and graphic design practices while prioritising human-centric and culturally sensitive design-led approaches. Culturally sensitive means that this research is conducted with respect to Islamic faith and teachings embedded within the Saudi government values for services related to religious rituals. To scope the existing graphic design profession in Saudi, a two-part strategy incorporated desk-based analysis complemented by a series of Design Conversations with local and regional practitioners who possess first-hand knowledge and experience of working in graphic design in the Saudi context. This revealed a gap in the ways that graphic design was being employed to enhance the delivery of public services and led to innovation in the field. Limitations in the understanding of how graphic design can contribute to a greater public service improvement industry were exposed, and the consequent lack of case studies that could demonstrate such a contribution.

Consequently, an opportunity was identified within Saudi to strengthen and expand upon the understanding of graphic design as a method to improve the experience of public services rather than as only an aesthetics-related activity. The range of approaches undertaken in the research positioned it at the intersection of visual communication design, social design and service design and borrows from all these fields. Ultimately the research findings led to the discovery of ten interrelated themes that form a service graphic communication framework, which is piloted through the case study of Zamzam water service across the Umrah journey.

This practice-led research presents a tangible opportunity to improve the visitors experience through the service graphic communication design framework. Furthermore, with regard to the perception of graphic design in Saudi, this research serves as a catalyst for change at all levels of the graphic industry beginning with graphic design education within Saudi universities.