Spread featuring Ayo Akiwande
- For Ayo’s artwork, I combined two pieces into one spread, which was chosen as the first artist’s spread in the entire zine!
Spread featuring Bruce Onobrakpeya
- My finished outcome for Bruce’s spread was crucial in convincing the client that our work met/exceeded industry standards.
Finished exhibition zine front cover
Version 1 of spread for Ayo Akiwande
Version 2 of spread for Ayo Akiwande
Version 1 of spread for Bruce Onobrakpeya
Version 2 of spread for Bruce Onobrakpeya
"Create a zine and a visual identity for an exhibition about Nigerian artists for the Brunei Gallery in London"
In my art education, prominent African artists were less present. I’ve always wanted to learn from iconic African voices and work with amazing artists to create something worth remembering.
I was fortunate enough to work on The Design Team for the first part this brief! Through my tutor, Andy Vella, I was able to meet Ayo Akiwande and Peju Alitise. Getting to know them as people made me realize the profound opportunity and responsibility of representing somebody’s art.
From there, I was assigned to represent Ayo Akiwande and Bruce Onobrakpeya. I had the chance to work with real professionals in a gallery setting, and I needed to know more about the artists I would be designing for.
Bruce contributed a drawing about women protesting in the nude.
Ayo contributed poetry and photo about politics in Nigeria. Understanding what tools to develop spreads for both artists was crucial.
When I started creating spreads for these individual artists, I found myself creating something more than a zine. The pieces and assets I used became a representation of how the reader would emotionally connect to the piece.
Creating assets: oil on water, cut up plastic, and paint strokes
Knowing the medium would define the spread, not the contents.
Ayo’s spread, featuring poetry, told a story of change. By combining plastic and oil, with words flowing through four chambers from sparse plastic pieces to bubbles of oil, this creatied an immersive narrative despite getting the poetic content on the last day.
Knowing and understanding the artist as well as their work
Bruce’s spreads, featuring women in protest, used red paint strokes to symbolize the fight against oppression, creating an immersive narrative through strong and coordinated arrangements.
After completing the poster-zine and visual identity, we visited the Brunei Gallery to see the exhibition. It was incredible to see the artwork in its intended space and be the first to experience the gallery we helped shape. From start to finish, I represented the artists by creating immersive narrative spreads, adapting to changes, and effectively presenting their work, which convinced our clients of our quality and placed my designs at the front of the poster-zine. This experience fulfilled a long-held dream, and I’m deeply grateful.
Opening Night 1/4
Opening Night 2/4
Opening Night 3/4
Opening Night 4/4
