My name is Isabelle Analo and my artist name "Isabelle Oti" was created from an abbreviation of my middle name, "Otitodelachukwu." I’m a Visual Designer working across both emerging and traditional media forms. I was born in New York City and my brother and I were raised by immigrant parents from Nigeria and Sweden. As a kid, I was obsessed with art and design. My earliest look at culture came from participating in the traditions of my Nigerian and Swedish family, as well as being just an average suburban kid born in the 2000s. I was as inspired by the vibrant patterns and bold colors of Nigerian textiles as I was by the minimalist Scandinavian design aesthetics of my Swedish heritage. This fusion of seemingly opposite visual languages—one exuberant and expressive, the other clean and restrained—created a unique perspective that continues to inform my work today.

And that whole aesthetic was my artistic upbringing. Growing up between cultures taught me to see the world through multiple lenses, finding beauty in both complexity and simplicity, tradition and innovation.

When I picked up the camera in sixth grade, it sparked my passion for design. I would design worlds in my journal (or in my head), and then use the power of a camera and editing software to help bring these worlds to life. Photography became my first tool for visual storytelling, allowing me to capture and manipulate reality to match the visions I had created.

It wasn't until I went to high school in Nigeria that I expanded my creative practice. The scarce technology products and hardware in Nigeria forced me to learn types of computer software that were accessible to me and could still help me world-build. I went from strictly Adobe Suite to utilizing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to communicate my visual worlds. This constraint became a catalyst for growth, pushing me to develop new skills and discover the intersection between traditional artistic methods and interactive digital design.

After high school, I went to the University of Southern California to study Media Arts + Practice, a major combining emerging technology with storytelling. This educational path was a perfect continuation of my creative journey, providing me with the tools and framework to further blend my technical skills with my artistic vision.

My design philosophy merges cultural narrative with digital innovation, creating visual systems that are both functional and evocative. Drawing from my multicultural heritage, I approach design challenges with a unique aesthetic vocabulary—combining the bold expressiveness of Nigerian visual traditions with the refined functionality of Scandinavian design principles. Whether designing interactive experiences, digital interfaces, or visual identities, I focus on creating work that communicates across cultural boundaries while maintaining a strong conceptual foundation. Each project is research driven and represents an opportunity to translate complex ideas into accessible, engaging design solutions that resonate with diverse audiences, and ultimately aim to build new futures!

Motto:
“A dream can be the highest point in life.”





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