Okay play me Àṣàkẹ́ Nzaza on Spotify

I was the first born of the family and I had great responsibility on me right from when I was little. I was raised by my single mother and grandparents 😊. I had a close relationship with my grandpa while I was little and I even grew up calling him ‘dad’. He was the father every child would dream of having.

My grandfather was a retired Soldier and a Photographer. At early age, I was used to photography and he thought me how to take shots😎. It was my 12th birthday then when my grandfather bought me a camera (Kodak). I would take pictures of everyone in the house with the camera and he would print the pictures out for me.

He saw my interest in graphic and photography and he enrolled me to a photography studio to learn the basics of photography and videography training, that was after my SSCE examination. I got my very first laptop then (a hp650 latop). I was there for 1year and 5month where I learnt a lot on photography and how to edit pictures on photoshop.

After the photography class, I began to show more interest in graphic design. Whenever I was watching any film together with my siblings, I focus more on some hidden details of the film like the pattern used for a scene, the texture, the color used, etc.

My grandfather once again enrolled me to another training program with AUT media, Mokola, Ibadan. Mokola is the Hotspot of graphics design and printing in the whole oyo state. I was introduced to design with CorelDraw and Adobe Photoshop. I saw real-time graphics design, printing and Branding.

After 2 years of training, I graduated from the graphics school. I started my brand (Shigosoft Design). I was just 17 at the point when I started the brand.

I remember doing a lot of free works for people and collecting stipend as my fee then. Many a times I get good feedback from clients and this made me learn more. I started watching tutorials on YouTube and joined some design community on Facebook.

At a point when I just entered the higher institution, the only thing on my mind was to become a designer and earn money designing for people.

Some Challenges I faced

I remember working under someone (Mr T) for more than 8 month. I moved to Lagos to learn more and gather more experience but for the whole 8 month that I was under MR T, I didn’t learn anything new, all I could show for the 8 month was 15k 😂. Mr T would get me client, I would work and the client would pay Mr T instead of me. I couldn’t complain because I was under him all these times, so I had to collect whatever he gives me. I stayed in Mr T house during weekdays and I would go to my aunt house weekend. It was a terrible experience.

I remember how I couldn’t afford to buy another laptop after the one my grandfather gave to me got stolen. I managed to get a laptop that has faulty battery and keyboard. I usually need light to power this system and once the light is interrupted, the laptop goes off.. I used the laptop for like 4 years till I was able to save and afford a better laptop.

I was also face with challenges from my family. I remember when someone in my family told me that “this design thing you are doing won’t fetch you money ”. At a point in time, I wanted to give up and start a new career but something within me just kept motivating me to keep going😊.

Transitioning from a graphic designer to a brand identity designer.

Early 2019, I started learning deep about graphic design when I found out about Brand Identity and Brand Strategy. I made more research and I found branding more interesting and challenging. I was moved by some top designers like AJALA VICTOR, GANIYU RAZAQ and so many awesome designers. These designers have contributed directly Or indirectly to my growth as a designer👍.

I have worked on some great brand identity design project for a lot of people. Some of my projects are listed below:

• High IQ Design
• Fauz cakes
• Zubbric Malabis
• Shooting stars FC
• Bshisha
• Ceion farms

My journey as a Product designer

I have always wonder where all the websites and mobile apps designs comes from. So I made a research that led to product design and uiux design. I fell in love with it and decided to learn more. I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials from Jesse Showalter. User interface design was easy to me as I was already a full time graphic designer and I understand the basics of a beautiful interface. Below is my very first published ui design.

It wasn’t a perfect one but it was definitely a great progress for me. I have enjoyed every process of product design and development. I felt like I was made for product design.

Fast forward to today I have done some couple of product design 😋 images attached below

My source of inspiration

Music has always been a great source of inspiration to me.

My mother is also a great source of inspiration to me because I want to make her proud and whenever I remember her struggles on me I get moved to tears 😭.

Special thanks to my uncle

Mr Shola bolomope and my aunt Ifeoluwa Bolomope for their support and gift 📦.

I appreciate my grandfather for being a father figure to me. Alhaji Hamzat Bolomope.

And to my beautiful woman Bashir Rukayat, thanks for still believing in me.. I love you ♥

The struggle continues 😍

© Bamidele Segun