Creative Beans April 2024 Issue as documented by Emmanuel Dankyi
Hi guys, first of all, apologies for releasing this month’s issue a day later than scheduled. The article wasn’t done and I was enjoying the holiday because I don’t play with my holidays. lol.
This month’s list has an interesting mix of creative skills & projects. Ranging from background art, to type design, graffiti art, and more.
Welcome to Creative Beans top 10 favorite creatives & creative projects from April. In no particular order, Let’s jump in!
Victoria Imo 🇳🇬
Victoria is a Visdev (visual development) artist with a very unique but versatile art style, mostly working with studios on animated projects and some interesting personal projects as well. If you’re wondering why she’s on our list this month, it’s because we spotted the amazing background work she did for the Nigerian short film MMANWU, by ZOMA studios. Check out some shots below and check out her website here.
Prince Suasie 🇬🇭
An artist from Ghana expressing himself through beautiful artistic films. Last month, he unveiled his directorial debut with a new campaign for Studio Kojo Kusi, an amazing fashion designer in the space as well. Check out the film below, and feel free to find him on the internet here.
Seyi Olusanya 🇳🇬
A creative director, a brilliant type designer, and one of the best brand designers to ever do it on the continent. Leading famous rebrand projects like Paystack, Bundle, Eden Life, and a few others. You can check out some of his design work at Da Design But he’s not here today because of his brand design projects. He’s here today because he created a font we’re so much in love with, called Festac ’77, inspired by the wordmark of the largest African cultural event of the 20th century. You can check out his type foundry here for a few more interesting projects.
Maxhibits 🇬🇭
I call him a maximalist illustrator and you’re going to see why in a second. He expresses himself in very colorful doodles that seem to have some depth but is flat at the same time, has lots of characters and parallel stories happening at the same time, but not overwhelming. I love the dance with opposites, colors, and visual elements served in the cocktail he calls his art. Here are some shots from an art piece he dropped last month, hand-illustrated with colored markers. If you know me personally, you’ll know why I love this so much.
Sash the Creator 🇳🇬
Sash is a Visual designer and illustrator with one of the most interesting & distinctive vector illustration styles I’ve seen so far. It’s very easily recognizable and fun to look at. Apparently, he also animates and he went to town last month with this short loop incorporating dope fonts made by some African designers and we love it. Check out some more of Sash’s work here.
Kaz 🇬🇭
Illustrator extraordinaire, designer & most recently added Dj-ing to all these amazing skills. Kaz had a recent exhibition that totally blew our minds titled “New Jean Jacket”, in collaboration with Studio Kojo Kusi (again lol). From the art pieces to the storytelling, to the people that came through, I’d say it was a beautiful experience that provoked thoughts in me and drove me to look inward on the journey I’m on in life. Absolutely loved the experience and I can’t wait for the next one. Kaz please if you’re reading this, I still have that spot on my wall for the print *wink wink*.
Keep up with Kaz over on his Instagram.
Ian Kwakye 🇬🇭
Another really dope illustrator who deserves all the accolades in the world is Ian Quhachi (he spells his name that way sometimes. Ian is quite special because medium is no barrier for him. His work is super consistent and looks the same regardless of what materials he’s using. That I think is pure mastery of craft. He’s also one of the best graffiti artists in Ghana if not the best and I think he doesn’t get recognized enough for his amazing work so we’re giving him his flowers on here today. Attached below is an x thread of some of the graffiti works he’s done over the years. Follow him on there for daily art updates as well.
Cyrus Wiredu 🇬🇭
An architect and all things city cinematics. Cyrus has taken on the difficult task of documenting cities, schools, the culture and heartbeat of Ghana with his drone flying and editing skills. His work is loved by many and it gives us all a new perspective of the places we already know and love. Check out some more of his cinematic work here.
Niyiokeowo 🇳🇬
A creative director with a very unique style that seems to be inspired in part by classic African design and a cultural print aesthetic. Stayed on his page for a few hours going through his work when I discovered it. Simply lovely stuff going on there. His cavemen tour graphics which he recently shared caught our eye and so we thought it would be great to share with you guys as well. Be sure to check out some more of his work after this.
Fungi Dubé 🇿🇼
First time getting a feature from Zimbabwe. We’re absolutely in love with Fungi’s design work. Her type design in particular. It’s exciting to see lots of African designers getting their work featured on Google fonts. Check out the project here and be sure to check out the rest of her work.
We hope you enjoyed last month’s list and that you’re adding some cool creatives to your social feed for inspiration. Meet us here same time next month for your monthly dose of dope creatives to follow.
If you’re a creative person reading this, we’re building something cool for you.
Otherwise, run along and have an awesome May. See ya next month!
The Creative Beans Magazine is a Squid Mag initiative aimed at highlighting top talent in Africa doing dope stuff. Check out our website for more awesome stuff we’ve built to help the creative industry.
creativebeans.xyz || www.turdemoji.lol || dexartmosphere.org
What do you think?
Show comments / Leave a comment