welcome to my world of design
chanelle
abankwah
scroll
a few of the places where my work has lived
Across products, brands, and real-world experiences
welcome to my world of design
a few of the places where my work has lived
Across products, brands, and real-world experiences
what i bring to the table
how i design
As a designer, I want my work to leave an impact not just visually, but emotionally and experientially. I aim to create designs that feel intentional, challenge the ordinary, and contribute to experiences that people genuinely enjoy, remember, and connect with.
Designing with understanding, emotion, and people in mind.
Constantly learning, exploring, and pushing creative boundaries.
Creating work that sparks ideas, emotion, and conversation.
Every design decision should have meaning and purpose.
career
Founding Product Designer
Owambe
UX/UI Designer
The Global Black Alliance (GBA)
Digital Content Designer & Events Coordinator
Rise In STEM
Brand Strategist & Web Designer
The Body Form
Freelance Digital Designer
Web / UX / Brand / Graphic Design
Adriana Elcena · Michael London · JupiterHR · Elle-Amie · J&I Beauty · Ajamjo
programs
AHF 2024 Winter Fellow
Accelerate Her Future
CFC x Soho House Mentee
Soho House & Co
HXOUSE CONNECT Mentee
HXOUSE
internships
Digital Marketing Intern — UX
Lavish Life Brand, LLC.
learning
Bachelor of Fine Arts — New Media
Toronto Metropolitan University
Web Development
BrainStation
behind the scenes
Beyond design, I'm someone who genuinely values connection, community, and creativity in every form. I love being around people, experiencing new things, exploring ideas, and bringing positive energy into the spaces I'm part of. Whether it's discovering a new creative outlet, spending time with friends and family, attending events, or finding inspiration in everyday moments, I'm always drawn to experiences that feel meaningful and human.
Something deeply important to me is giving back and creating opportunities for others, especially upcoming youth and young creatives navigating their own journeys. As someone still growing within my career, I understand how impactful encouragement, support, and access can be. I care about uplifting others, sharing knowledge, and contributing to spaces where people feel seen, capable, and inspired to pursue their potential.
At my core, I want to build a life and career that not only creates meaningful work, but also leaves a positive impact on the people and communities around me.
Here's a small glimpse into the person behind the designer: the energy I bring, the moments that inspire me, and the things that matter most to me outside of work.
Design doesn't stop at the edge of a project. Outside of client and product work, I use personal projects as a space to explore, experiment, and push my creative boundaries. Whether working across traditional media, digital design, or blending both, these projects allow me to test new ideas, refine my visual voice, and approach design without constraints.
Many of these explorations are rooted in my culture and identity, serving as both inspiration and subject, while others are driven purely by curiosity and a desire to try something new. Together, they reflect how I think, how I create, and how I continue to grow as a designer beyond the brief.
A gallery-featured, interactive art piece exploring the relationship between pattern, culture, and identity, inspired by the visual language of Kente cloth.
✦ About the Idea
Designed as a textured, immersive experience, the work invites viewers to engage with patterns as more than decoration, positioning them as carriers of history, meaning, and expressions of prosperity across generations. Through layered materials and visual systems, the project bridges traditional cultural elements with contemporary design, creating a space where identity is both seen and felt.
✦ My Goal
To create an experience that didn't just reference Kente cloth but asked the viewer to be inside it. The goal was to use design as a form of cultural documentation, something that felt alive, layered, and deeply intentional rather than decorative or surface-level.
✦ The Outcome
A gallery-featured, interactive piece that was received as both an art installation and a design statement. The work sparked conversations about how traditional visual languages can exist in contemporary spaces, and how pattern, when given context, becomes a form of storytelling.
✦ What It Meant to Me
This project challenged me to think beyond the screen and into space, material, and experience. It pushed my understanding of what design can hold, and reinforced that the most powerful work comes from a place of genuine meaning. Designing from my own culture taught me that specificity is a strength, not a limitation.
Materials
Yarn · Wood · Embroidery · Felt
Platforms
Plinth · Gallery
// Inspo
A projection mapping installation using a 3D model of the Ghanaian flag as the canvas to celebrate the sounds and eras that define Ghanaian music culture.
✦ About the Project
During the Covid-19 pandemic, as part of my Experiential Design class, we were introduced to TouchDesigner and tasked with finding creative ways to project design and imagery onto physical surfaces.
I decided to build a 3D model of the Ghanaian flag and use it as the canvas, projecting music videos and visuals from different eras of Ghanaian music directly onto it. Ghanaian music is a deeply significant part of the culture, and its influence stretches across the continent and around the world. This project was my way of honouring that.
✦ What It Meant to Me
This project was a genuine turning point. It demanded that I move beyond the familiar: mastering a platform I was still discovering, developing an entirely new skill set in audio mixing, and stepping away from the conventions of traditional design in favour of something far more immersive and experimental.
The process was demanding, but the result was transformative. It sharpened my ability to work across disciplines, proved that growth lives at the edge of discomfort, and produced a piece of work I continue to hold with a great deal of pride.
✦ The Outcome
A work that brought together entirely different creative mediums: motion, sound, physical construction, and projection, unified into a single culturally representative experience. Each discipline informed the other, resulting in something that felt less like a student project and more like an installation. A sincere, multidimensional tribute to Ghanaian culture and music.
Materials
Foam Board · Hot Glue · Stationery · Projector
Software
Adobe After Effects · Premiere Pro · TouchDesigner · Procreate · DJay App
Platform
YouTube
For this project, I decided to do a very brief timeline of some big Ghanaian songs from the past few decades — songs that have all been influential in my life, presented within a 3D model of the Ghanaian flag.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I do not own nor claim to own any of the original songs used in this video.
// What Do the Songs Mean?
The core message is about overcoming rumours, moving forward, and leaving the judgment of others in the past.
A group singing about a girl so beautiful they can't function — they can't walk, can't breathe. Her beauty is undeniable.
Another love song.
Part of a huge Ghanaian movie soundtrack that became a big hit. The chorus says "ayi" — be watchful, be mindful, like a warning. If you see me, you better go.
A dance vibe song.
Sung in the Ga dialect from Ghana. I only understand Twi, so I don't have an accurate translation — but the energy speaks for itself.
// Songs List
Obu Ate Me So Buo — Daddy Lumba
Ahomka Wo Mu — V.I.P
Odo Nwom — Kofi Nti ft Ofori Amponsah
Ayi — Criss Waddle ft Bisa Kdei
Genging & Benging — Mr. Eazi
Tag Team Chorkor Special — Joey B, DJ Flex
LAVA FEELS — Joey B
// Listen
A 10-second motion graphic exploring how visual design can carry the emotional weight of a story — translating narrative, tension, and identity into movement, colour, and composition.
✦ The Brief
The assignment required creating a 10-second motion graphic based on a book, designed to give viewers a meaningful glimpse into its story. The challenge was to communicate something emotionally complex within a tight time constraint, using only motion, typography, and visual language.
✦ The Outcome
I was able to condense the weight of the story into a precise, intentional 10-second sequence. Through my use of colour, pacing, and typographic movement, I was able to communicate the duality of the protagonist's world and the urgency of her story. What started as a coursework assignment became one of the pieces I am most proud of.
Materials
Laptop
Software
Adobe After Effects · Adobe Illustrator · Photoshop
✦ Context
Set as a class assignment to create a vector portrait, I chose Saweetie as my subject. At the time she was a rising female rapper making waves in the industry, and her energy and aesthetic felt like the perfect challenge to take on. Working entirely from a reference photo, I built the illustration from scratch using Adobe Illustrator — every shape, curve, and colour chosen deliberately to capture her likeness and presence. An exercise in patience, precision, and the art of translating a person into pure graphic form.
Software
Adobe Illustrator
An 8-week end-to-end brand and digital transformation: building a complete luxury identity, fully responsive website, and real-world event presence for a fashion label rooted in cultural heritage and self-expression.
About the Client
Adriana Elcena is a luxury fashion brand rooted in cultural heritage, femininity, and self-expression, where each garment is designed as a form of wearable art. Built on storytelling and identity, the brand invites women to see fashion as an extension of who they are.
The brand was entering a new era without a visual language to support it. There was no website, no cohesive identity, and existing elements lacked intention, making it difficult to communicate the depth, luxury, and meaning behind the brand.
The Goal
Build a complete, intentional brand world, from identity to digital experience, that reflects the brand's essence while creating a seamless path from discovery → connection → conversion.
What I Did
As Brand & Web Designer, I led an 8-week end-to-end transformation through a structured design program.
Scope Brand Identity · Logo Design · Colour Strategy · UX/UI · Web Design · Art Direction · Event & Experiential Design
Web Design
The website was architected from the user journey up, wireframed first, then brought to life with the new identity. Fully responsive, editorial in feel, and built to convert curiosity into connection.
Event Collateral
From launch materials to sponsorship collateral, the brand was extended into physical spaces. Every touchpoint carried the same intentional visual language built for Adriana Elcena.
Brand Guidelines
Every mark, colour, and typographic rule was documented into a full brand guidelines system, giving Adriana Elcena the foundation to stay consistent across every platform and touchpoint going forward.
RESULTS
Brand Transformation
Transformed the brand from concept to a fully realised luxury identity, with a complete visual system, digital presence, and strategic foundation built from scratch.
Digital Presence Launched
Launched a complete digital presence, enabling direct audience connection and a seamless path to conversion.
Cohesive Visual System
Established a unified visual language across web, brand collateral, and marketing, ensuring consistency at every touchpoint.
60+ Attendees at Launch Event
Supported a debut fashion launch event with branded collateral and experiential design, extending the brand into a real-world moment.
Partnerships & Visibility
Designed event collateral and sponsorship materials, strengthening brand partnerships and raising visibility ahead of the launch.
Scalable Foundation
Created a long-term brand foundation designed to support future collections, storytelling, and growth as the label evolves.
Editorial design and multi-platform campaign work for a youth-focused nonprofit, spanning two annual Impact Reports and a Black Futures History Month campaign across LinkedIn, reels, carousels, and web.
About the Organization
Rise In STEM is a youth-focused nonprofit dedicated to empowering students from underrepresented communities through programs, events, and initiatives that promote access to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Rise In STEM was looking for a new report designer to refresh their annual Impact Report, alongside design support for Black Futures History Month, an opportunity to bring a fresh, engaging visual approach to both long-form storytelling and digital campaigns.
The Goal
Create visually compelling, cohesive design outputs that elevate how the organization communicates its impact, across both editorial reports and multi-platform campaigns, while resonating with a youth-driven audience.
What I Did
As the Designer, I collaborated with cross-functional team members while leading the visual direction across all deliverables.
Scope Editorial Design · Impact Reporting · Campaign Design · Social Media · Visual Identity · Design Systems
2024 Impact Report
This wasn't a regular annual update. The 2024 Impact Report marked five years of Rise In STEM, and that milestone needed to come through in the design. Working alongside one team member, we both agreed the existing approach wasn't doing justice to what the organization had built.
The report existed, but it wasn't telling the story properly. We came in with a clear brief for ourselves: make this feel like five years of real impact, not just another PDF. View the report here.
The Changes
Missing
A designed cover that set the tone for the milestone year
Added
A bold editorial cover that immediately communicated five years of impact
Missing
Visual hierarchy. Pages felt flat with no clear reading order
Added
Structured layouts with typographic scale to guide readers through each section
Missing
Data visualization. Stats and numbers were presented as plain text
Added
Infographics and callout treatments that made the numbers land with impact
Missing
A consistent spacing and grid system. Every page felt disconnected
Added
A cohesive layout system applied consistently from cover to close
Missing
Community representation woven intentionally into the layout
Added
Photography and story placements that centred the people Rise In STEM serves
2025 Community Report
The 2025 report was another collaboration, and this time we went further. We didn't just refine. We completely reimagined the visual identity to be something that actually felt aligned with Rise In STEM's brand and spoke directly to the youth and community members the organization was built for.
We made a deliberate choice to move away from the formal, corporate feel that reports often default to. The young people in Rise In STEM's community are energetic, ambitious, and culturally connected. The design needed to reflect that. We leaned into bold colour, dynamic layouts, and expressive typography to create something that felt alive on the page.
The goal was a report that the youth would actually want to read. One that felt made for them, not just about them. View the report here.
The Campaign
Rise In STEM wanted to mark Black Futures History Month with something meaningful. Not a generic branded moment, but a series that actually centred the people who had been directly impacted by the organization. Their journeys, their voices, their futures.
I came in as part of a team of three, and from the start I was thinking about how to make this feel personal and real while still being polished enough to hold attention across every platform they showed up on.
Creative Direction
My visual approach leaned into contrast. Strong typography against warm, expressive imagery to give each story its own presence. I wanted the design to feel celebratory without being loud, and intentional without being cold.
I built a palette and layout system that could flex across LinkedIn, reels, carousels, and web without losing its character. Every decision was made with the audience in mind. Young people from underrepresented communities who needed to see themselves genuinely reflected in what they were looking at.
The Outputs
The campaign rolled out across LinkedIn, Instagram reels, carousels, and the Rise In STEM website. Each format had its own visual treatment while staying unmistakably part of the same campaign family.
The result was a cohesive, platform-native campaign that gave each featured story the visual weight it deserved — and showed what Rise In STEM is capable of when design and storytelling work together. Read the full blog here.
RESULTS
Impact Reports Transformed
Transformed Impact Reports into clear, structured, and visually engaging storytelling pieces that communicate the organization's work with intention.
2,000+ Community Reached
Designed for a community of 2,000+ followers across platforms, creating content that speaks directly to a youth-driven audience.
Cohesive Multi-Platform Output
Delivered a cohesive visual direction across editorial and social media campaign outputs, ensuring consistency from report to reel.
Scalable Design Systems Built
Built scalable templates for efficient, ongoing design production, reducing the effort needed for future campaigns and reports.
Long-Term Impact Strengthened
Strengthened the organization's ability to consistently communicate impact over time, with their target audience always at the centre of every design decision.
End-to-end brand and e-commerce design across multiple phases from 2022 to 2025, building and evolving a Shopify shopping experience for a women's shapewear and athleisure brand rooted in confidence and inclusivity.
About the Brand
The Body Form is a women's shapewear and athleisure e-commerce brand focused on empowering women through high-quality, comfortable essentials designed for every body. Built on a foundation of confidence and inclusivity, the brand blends function with a refined, elevated aesthetic.
Starting as an early-stage concept, the brand lacked a defined identity and digital presence. The challenge was to translate a powerful mission into a cohesive brand and seamless shopping experience, while evolving the platform over time to support new product directions and growth.
The Goal
Create a scalable brand and e-commerce experience that balances luxury, accessibility, and usability, driving engagement, strengthening brand recognition, and increasing conversions.
What I Did
As Web Designer and Brand Strategist, I led the end-to-end creation and evolution of The Body Form's digital and visual presence across multiple phases.
Scope Web Design · E-Commerce (Shopify) · Brand Identity · UX/UI · Email Marketing · Packaging Design · Art Direction
Understanding the Vision
The Body Form came to me in their earliest stages, a powerful concept with no visual identity to back it up. Before touching a single design, I held a consultation with the founders to understand exactly what they needed. Their ask was clear: luxury, sophistication, and a brand that made every woman feel seen.
With that foundation in place, I got to work building an identity that could carry the weight of their mission from the ground up.
Creating the Brand Identity
The Body Form needed a logo that spoke to their world, so I presented options across cursive, serif, and modern slim typography, each reflecting a different facet of the brand's luxury positioning. The chosen direction brought all three together into something cohesive and distinctly theirs.
From colour testing across their neutral palette to delivering full brand and site guidelines, every deliverable was built so the client had a complete system they could use confidently across every touchpoint.
Branding the Products
Once the identity was locked in, the client needed to see it live on their actual product. I strategically applied logo placements across their clothing samples using raw product photography, ensuring each piece reflected the luxury and consistency the brand stood for.
Across the Waist Trainer, Strapped Body Spandex, and Detachable Body samples, the founders saw their brand come to life in a tangible way for the first time, and the vision finally felt real.
Creating the Platform
The client needed more than a website. They needed a shopping experience that could actually convert. I designed and developed their Shopify store with clean navigation, intuitive product categories, and high-quality imagery that matched the premium feel of the brand.
Every product page was built to highlight detail and quality, and the checkout was streamlined to remove friction so customers could move from discovery to purchase without a second thought.
Email Marketing & Packaging
Beyond the website, the client needed creative assets to stay connected with their community. I designed a series of email campaigns covering product launch announcements, exclusive offers, and brand moments, all built to feel on-brand and drive return engagement.
I also designed their thank you cards and packaging to make sure the unboxing experience matched the level of care put into the brand itself. A small touch that made a meaningful impression on customers.
RESULTS
+5% Conversion Rate
Increased conversion rates by 5% through optimized UX and strategic CTA placement across the Shopify store.
Recognizable Brand Identity
Established a recognizable brand identity, strengthening awareness and positioning the brand within the competitive shapewear and athleisure market.
Seamless Shopping Experience
Improved customer engagement through a streamlined e-commerce experience, reducing friction from discovery to checkout.
Brand Evolution Supported
Successfully supported a full brand evolution from shapewear to athleisure with a redesigned platform that kept the experience cohesive throughout.
Cohesive Design System
Built a cohesive design system across web, product, and marketing touchpoints, enabling long-term scalability through continuous design iteration.
Data-Informed Design Decisions
Studied store analytics, customer behaviour, and conversion data to inform design iterations, ensuring every update was grounded in how real users were moving through the experience.
A Gen-AI powered mobile platform designed to simplify how people plan and experience social gatherings. As Lead Product Designer, I led the end-to-end design from early concept to MVP and beyond, shaping the brand, leading research, and driving every design decision along the way.
About the Product
Owambe is a Gen-AI powered mobile platform designed to simplify how people plan and experience social gatherings. Built for individuals navigating busy, independent lifestyles, the app transforms event planning into a seamless, collaborative experience, from scheduling to discovery.
As people move into adulthood, coordinating time with friends becomes increasingly difficult. Research revealed that scheduling conflicts, decision fatigue, and fragmented communication were the biggest barriers to maintaining real-life connections, despite the rise of social platforms.
The Goal
Design an intuitive, scalable product that reduces the friction of planning social events while fostering deeper, more consistent real-world connections.
What I Did
As Lead Product Designer, I led the end-to-end design of Owambe from early concept to MVP and beyond.
Scope Product Design · UX/UI · Brand Identity · Web Design · Research · Visual Design · Event & Experiential Design
Achieving this by providing intuitive tools that simplify coordination, inspire new ideas, and foster meaningful connections.
Origin
The project began by identifying common frustrations with organizing social events, such as coordinating schedules, managing guest lists, and arranging logistics. Recognizing these pain points inspired the team to create an app that could do more than just schedule a date. Through AI integration, Owambe goes a step further to help users streamline their plans, recommend venues, and personalize each experience, transforming how we gather and connect with our communities.
"In a world where social media claims to bridge distances and foster connections, it ironically seems to leave us feeling more isolated."
As the pioneering Product Designer on the team, I executed the founders' and stakeholders' vision through strategic brand identity development, comprehensive product design, and thorough research. I delivered a platform that effectively addresses the common challenges and delays people experience when planning events.
Discovery
Social Media has promised to keep us connected, yet as its use increases, it appears we are more disconnected than ever.
To create a platform that truly addresses the challenges of planning social gatherings, we began by immersing ourselves in research. Understanding the frustrations and needs of our potential users was essential to developing a solution that feels both intuitive and relevant to their lives. Through surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis, we gathered valuable insights to inform every stage of our design process.
Society faces declining physical and social interactions, especially when we reach our 20s where no one is bound by attending classes, working or being provided the conventional "pathway" the education system recommends. We all start to explore our own paths and they are never the same.
To gain deeper insights, we conducted in-person interviews with 17 individuals to explore their experiences and perspectives on planning events with others, whether friends, family, colleagues, or otherwise.
// Findings & Insights
87%
// SCHEDULING
"Challenges with time availability between friends and time coordination."
of interviewees noted that coordinating a time that works for everyone was the most difficult part of event planning.
78%
// GROUP DECISIONS
"Sometimes people want to choose the majority. It feels like some are people pleasers wanting to appeal to others so sometimes it prolongs the decision process."
of interviewees expressed that managing larger groups often led to decision delays or cancellations.
63%
// DISCOVERY
"Social media is used to hear about events most of the time, or I hear directly from friends and family."
of interviewees relied on social media to find events or things to do with others. TikTok was the top source for about 23% of those participants.
44%
// MOTIVATION
"To create new experiences and create and maintain relationships."
of interviewees expressed that spending time with friends and family was a big motivation for planning and attending events.
User Research
After interviewing participants, we created a user persona based on the feedback we gathered. This persona reflects the common behaviours, challenges, and motivations shared by them, helping guide our design decisions.
Keyanna represents the needs and challenges of our audience, emphasizing the importance of creating a tool that simplifies planning, encourages collaboration, and enhances social connection.
And while it is applicable to her current life stage as a student, it is something that is useful for other adults in different stages of life as well.
Build
Brand Identity
In a two-week sprint I built the full brand identity: name, logo, visual system, colour palette, tone, and landing page. The initial direction leaned into warm tones of orange and red, reflecting energy and community.
Every logo iteration was built around a core principle: intentionality. Community, collaboration, and connectedness are the heart of Owambe, so the logo needed to represent that visually. Whether through two or six components, the central idea was always people coming together to create something greater.
Brand Colours
Logo Iterations
Final Logo Product
Final Logo
Wireframing
Once our online presence was live, my team and I got to work brainstorming and experimenting with different ideas for how the platform could look and feel. Here is the ideation process.
Initial drafts of the platform
Lo-Fi Drafts of the Login/Sign Up and Onboarding Process
Some Hi-Fi screens created for V.1 of the Owambe MVP Platform
Milestone
Through the FBN, we were selected as one of the startups to present Owambe at Collision, one of the biggest tech conferences in Canada. With this exciting opportunity, we had to quickly establish our demo and MVP for display at the conference and prepare for a pitch with the BAI. The pressure was on to ensure that our product was both polished and functional, ready to demonstrate its potential to investors, partners, and industry leaders.
I worked closely with the team to refine the app's key features, focusing on a seamless user experience and a clear, compelling narrative to highlight Owambe's value. We also developed a series of materials to support the pitch, including user flows, feature demos, and presentations.
Owambe @ Collision...
Expanding Our Reach At Collision
The demo for Collision featured our platform and the first official feature, the scheduling optimizing function – it's purpose is solving the problem of coordinating schedules, while using the powers of AI to sync calendar to find best times for all invitees.
Learning
After presenting Owambe at Collision, we received invaluable feedback from a lot of people who got the chance to demo our product. The experience was both humbling and motivating, as we were able to see firsthand how people interacted with the app and what resonated most with them.
One of the key takeaways was that people appreciated the simplicity and intuitive nature of the platform, recognizing its potential for streamlining event planning. However, some feedback suggested we could improve the flow and also the homepage of the platform, with people seeing it as quite intense in terms of colour choice. We also learned that our MVP, while well-received, could benefit from additional features that would make the platform even more engaging for daily use.
This feedback allowed us to identify areas for improvement and fine-tune Owambe for future iterations. It reinforced the importance of continuous user feedback in shaping a product that truly meets the needs of its users.
Feedback
Not knowing what to do with their friends.
// Pain Point — Discovery
The steps for creating events seem like a lot of pages.
// UX — Event Creation Flow
Could encourage friend groups to create new memories and step out of their comfort zone.
// Opportunity — Social Engagement
Very helpful for mixing groups and planning collaboratively.
// Strength — Collaboration
The interface feels a bit clustered.
// Visual Design — Layout Clarity
New Designs
Following the feedback and insights gathered from the Collision event, we set out to refine and enhance Owambe's design. With a focus on improving usability and elevating the user experience, I worked on new design iterations that would better align with the feedback we received.
Key updates included refining the app's visual hierarchy to make navigation even more intuitive, simplifying interactions, and introducing more engaging micro-interactions. We also expanded some of the social features based on feedback, ensuring that users could easily connect, share, and plan together within the app.
Before
The previous interface visual layout was cluttered and not as effective for the solution. Some of the interactions were not clear to users.
After
As a solution, I transformed the homepage interface to a simplistic, clean and effective visual layout — with the tools being easily accessible on the page.
Before
Testers said that the event flow was long and had too many steps in terms of clicking to complete creating an event.
After
To solve the problem, a redesign of the event page was done so users could start and add information at any point — significantly reducing the steps a user would take.
Before
The previous navigation bar had the features listed — and since they were meant to be integrated into event planning, so they didn't serve the purpose.
After
To address this, I designed a new navigation bar with functional pages for users that will be applicable to all versions of redesign & updates in the future.
Online Presence
The landing page was created to build community while also allowing the ability to gather data and see if there is a market fit.
What it contained:
I created a form of 2 questions to get more insight on potential users or even problems that we may not be aware of that people experience – aside from just taking information.
LinkedIn
Establishing Owambe's social media presence was a key step in building brand awareness and engaging directly with the community. By focusing on platforms where our target audience was most active, we were able to foster a sense of connection and excitement around the brand.
Community
Owambe wasn't just a product — it was a community. From wellness walks to major launch events, I owned the full design identity across every activation: event branding, experience design, sponsor representation, promotional materials, and all visual assets.
Community
From time to time, we organised wellness walks to stay engaged with the community — keeping people connected to Owambe beyond the app. These activations were sponsored by some incredible brands who believed in what we were building.
March 2025 — Women's Month
In March 2025, during Women's Month, we held the official MVP launch of our new and reformed product. I was responsible for all design assets, event identity, experience design, and ensuring every sponsor was represented across all touchpoints.
90+
// Attendees
10
// Sponsors
// Sponsors
October 2025
In October 2025, we hosted the Travel Discovery Lounge — an elevated in-person experience bringing the community together around travel and exploration. I handled the full design scope: event identity, experience design, all promotional assets, and sponsor integration across every touchpoint.
40–50
// Attendees
6
// Sponsors
// Sponsors
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Reflection
// Community First
Hosting events taught me that community is a product too. Every detail — the invite, the space, the energy in the room — communicates something about your brand. When people show up, they're trusting you with their time. Getting that right matters just as much as any screen I've ever designed.
// Product Meets Reality
Working on both the product and the real-world experiences simultaneously gave me a perspective I couldn't have gotten any other way. You see how people actually behave — not just in a test session, but in the moments you designed for. That gap between what you assumed and what you observe is where the best product decisions come from.
// Wearing Every Hat
Across this project I was a brand designer, product designer, event producer, and social media lead — sometimes all in the same week. That taught me how to prioritize ruthlessly and how design thinking applies well beyond the screen. The discipline of making things intentional, cohesive, and human-centred carries into every format.
RESULTS
Collision Conference Showcase
Selected to present at Collision Conference in Owambe's first year, one of Canada's largest and most competitive tech stages.
MVP Built and Tested
Successfully developed and tested an MVP with core scheduling optimization functionality, taking the product from 0 to 1.
Pre-Launch Community Built
Built an engaged pre-launch community of early adopters through events, social presence, and in-person activations reaching 100+ people.
Product Direction Validated
Validated product direction through real-world user testing and feedback, informing rapid iteration and improvements to usability and navigation clarity.
Cohesive Brand Established
Established a cohesive brand across digital product, web, and real-world experiences, creating a consistent and recognizable identity from day one.
Brand Partnerships Secured
Designed for and supported 10+ sponsored events with brands including Arc'teryx and Chick-fil-A, extending Owambe into physical community spaces.
A multi-phase UX/UI redesign of a global platform connecting users with local Black-owned businesses, transforming a post-launch product with usability challenges into a clear, intuitive, and growth-ready experience.
About the Product
RealOnes is a global digital platform connecting users with local Black-owned businesses and their allies, designed to strengthen community, increase visibility, and drive meaningful engagement through discovery and connection.
Despite a strong mission, the platform struggled with usability, clarity, and engagement post-launch. The experience lacked structure, making it difficult for users to navigate, understand account types, and fully engage with businesses, ultimately limiting growth and retention.
The Goal
Transform the product into a clear, intuitive, and scalable platform that improves user engagement, supports business visibility, and aligns the experience with its core mission.
What I Did
As UX/UI Designer, I led the end-to-end redesign of the RealOnes platform across multiple phases.
Scope UX/UI Design · UX Audit · Design Systems · Product Strategy · Figma · A/B Testing · Interaction Design
Prologue
01
You were recommended an app designed to help you connect with local Black-owned businesses and their allies — a powerful idea that emerged from the BLM movement in 2020 and the push to support local communities during the global pandemic. But when you opened the app, instead of a clear guide, you found a confusing maze. The intention was there, but the path to achieving it was not. This was the reality for users of RealOnes, a platform whose stakeholders had been live for two years and were struggling to grow their user base since launch.
Recognizing that the app was not meeting user needs, I stepped in to analyze the feedback, identify key issues, and guide the full platform redesign. My focus was on transforming the app into a seamless, intuitive experience that truly supported its mission.
Discovery
The Problem
RealOnes launched with strong community intent but the product experience told a different story. Users could not figure out what type of account to create, navigation left them stranded, and business owners had no real way to manage their presence. The gap between the mission and the actual product was wide.
I started with a full UX audit, walking through every major user and business flow to map friction points, drop-off moments, and structural issues before touching a single frame.
What the Audit Found
// Onboarding
No clear distinction between user and business account types on sign-up, causing confusion from the first screen.
// Navigation
Information architecture lacked hierarchy. Users consistently lost their place and could not find core features.
// Business Experience
Business owners had no dashboard, no way to track visibility, and no tools to actively manage their profile.
// Visual Consistency
No design system in place. Inconsistent components, spacing, and type use across the product created a fragmented feel.
Interface Review Summary
• No clear buttons
• Only dark mode available — very limiting
• The font sizing is quite small, not very clear
• No distinct difference between user types
• Things that were of high priority were not easily visible
• Spacing for inputs and placement not intuitive
Amongst a lot of things, essentially the design wasn't effective for both the users and stakeholders in terms of executing the intent of the platform from both the user and business perspectives.
Research
Beyond the audit, I synthesized feedback from app store reviews, direct user interviews, and stakeholder conversations. The patterns were consistent, and they pointed to the same core issues the audit had flagged.
I didn't know if I was signing up as a customer or a business owner. The options weren't clear at all.
// App Store Review
I love what this is trying to do but I keep getting lost. There's no clear way to get back to where I started.
// User Interview
As a business owner I have no idea how many people are viewing my profile or what I should be doing to improve it.
// Business Owner
The idea is great. The app just doesn't feel finished. It needs a lot of polish before I'd recommend it to someone.
// App Store Review
Summary of Data
It is very confusing to understand what profile version users are on.
Current users on the platform with both business and personal accounts were finding it hard to understand what profile they were on.
The business profiles do not provide enough information on their offerings.
Business users were finding that they were not able to add enough information — inputs were limiting.
The interface on the home screen of the map was not responsive to user interactions.
The map view of the business is not clear. Design is flat.
A lot of the permissions and things stakeholders needed to fulfil the purpose of the app were getting missed.
The design was not clear enough to surface the right actions and information for stakeholders to execute on the platform's intent.
Redesign
// Lo-Fi Wireframe Sketches
I brainstormed various solutions and user flows, using wireframes to shape my concepts. After sketching, I translated those ideas into low-fidelity wireframes to help bring the vision to life.
I translated my sketches into wireframes to visualize the layout and user flows, allowing me to refine interactions and ensure a seamless experience that aligned with the app's goals.
I tried a few different ideations for each screen, to see what could potentially work for the platform.
Iterations
After testing with four users, I utilized their feedback to implement changes that addressed their issues and concerns.
Before
Users felt the homepage was plain and visually monotonous, with no clear distinctions between sections, causing everything to blend together. The lack of applied design principles made navigation confusing and unengaging.
After
I revamped the interface with a new light mode for a fresh, user-friendly look while improving the dark mode. I also made the map interactive, allowing users to tap on pins for quick previews directly on the map page, streamlining access to essential information.
Before
Users found the navigation bar confusing, as the icons were not very clear in conveying their intended functions.
After
To address the issue, I introduced new icons for the navigation bar and strategically reordered them to facilitate easier access for users. Additionally, I added labels to enhance the overall user experience.
Before
The business dashboard struggled with unclear calls to action, which made it difficult for owners to navigate. They often found new functionalities hidden behind certain buttons or areas, leading to confusion and frustration as they attempted to understand how to utilize the platform effectively.
After
To resolve this issue, I designed a clearer layout for business owners, incorporating distinct buttons that enhanced their understanding of the dashboard. I also added colored headers to indicate the type of page, helping users easily identify whether they were on a business or user account.
Design System
Before redesigning any screens, I built a scalable component library in Figma. The platform had no existing system, which meant inconsistencies had compounded across every screen. Starting with the system meant every decision made downstream was intentional and reusable.
Hi-Fi Screens
// Final screens across both user and business flows
RealOnes V2.0
My work on final design utilising feedback transformed the platform into an intuitive, engaging space with improved navigation, detailed business profiles, quick access to key information, and a seamless mobile experience, all crafted to make connecting with local businesses effortless for users while allowing businesses to represent themselves and their offerings in a compact way.
RESULTS
177 → 1,434 Users
A 711% increase in the user base, driven by a redesigned onboarding flow, clearer navigation, and a platform experience that finally communicated its value from the moment users landed.
62 → 308 Business Accounts
A 397% growth in business accounts, made possible by rebuilding the business profile experience, introducing a dedicated dashboard, and making it significantly easier for business owners to understand and activate their presence on the platform.
Navigation Rebuilt From Scratch
Rebuilt core product flows including navigation, onboarding, profiles, and dashboards to reduce friction and improve clarity.
Dual-Audience Experience
Introduced clear distinctions between user and business experiences, designing tailored flows for both audiences within one platform.
Scalable Design System
Designed and implemented a scalable component library in Figma, creating consistency across the product and supporting faster iteration.
Platform Transformed
Transformed the platform into a more intuitive, engaging, and growth-ready product.
Reflection
01
There were moments when I had to shift gears based on what was not working or what was realistically possible, teaching me the value of staying flexible and adapting as needed.
02
Working alongside different teams gave me the chance to champion user-focused design while also hearing the technical perspectives of developers, which made the process even stronger.
03
I learned how to find that sweet spot between creative ideas and realistic solutions, making sure the designs were not only exciting but also doable.
Taking on a project that involved helping a business build and cement its identity was eye-opening and became an invaluable learning experience, deepening my understanding of the impact designers have in shaping brand perception.
This project challenged me to think strategically about design choices and how they can reflect the core values and mission of a business. It deepened my appreciation for the power of design in building trust and loyalty, making me more passionate about my role as a designer in shaping meaningful brand experiences.
Logo design support for a principal designer whose studio contributes to high-end residential and commercial interiors, refining and vectorizing a mark that matches the caliber and sophistication of the work.
About the Client
Michael London is a principal designer known for contributing to high-end residential and commercial interiors, including projects like The Pemberton in Toronto.
While the studio's portfolio reflected a high level of craftsmanship and luxury, the existing logo did not fully represent the caliber of work or the direction the brand was evolving toward. There was an opportunity to create a more refined identity aligned with the studio's positioning.
The Goal
Develop a sleek, versatile logo identity that reflects the sophistication of the work and can scale seamlessly across multiple brand applications and subsidiaries.
What I Did
Working alongside Janelle Holder of Elle-Amie, I supported the logo development process through execution and refinement.
Scope Logo Design · Vector Illustration · Brand Support
The Work
Every iteration was built to reflect the precision and sophistication that defines Michael London Design. Clean lines, refined typography, and a versatile system designed to scale across applications from residential to commercial.
RESULTS
Elevated Brand Identity
Delivered a sleek, elevated logo aligned with the brand's level of work
Flexible Identity System
Created a flexible identity that supports multiple applications and extensions
Cohesive Brand Presence
Contributed to a more cohesive and design-forward brand presence
