KEMET Magazine is my featured self-directed project. It challenges algorithmic and cultural erasure through both digital and physical formats by exploring Black identity across the African diaspora. Its design is inspired by West African design philsophies and 1950s African studio photography. Each issue centers a cultural theme and uses pan-African visual language to platform my peers and tell stories that are both archival and speculative through image.
Format:
→ 80-page perfect-bound magazine
→ Digital & physical editions
Design System:
→ Color: Red, cobalt, palm green
→ Type: Custom grid + modular title type
Exhibited and Distributed:
→ USC Projection Installation
→ Taste of Soul, LA
The name "KEMET" is inspired by the ancient name for Egypt, meaning "the Black land," symbolizing a reclamation of African cultural identity, legacy, and creative power.
KEMET Magazine’s first issue, “The Twin Issue”(2023), pays homage to the West African idelogy of twins being otherwordly, supreme beings. It explores duality — not just through literal twins, but through mirrored identities, styling, and spirit.
What does it mean to be seen alongside someone else, to reflect and refract each other? In a world that often demands singularity, this issue embraces multiplicity.
Format:
→ 80-page perfect-bound magazine
→ Digital & physical editions
Design System:
→ Color: Cobalt blue, ivory, gold dust
→ Type: Serif body + all-caps modular titles
→ Layout: Editorial grid with spotlight photography spreads
Exhibited:
→ USC Projection Installation
→ Taste of Soul, LA
→ Featured in 2024 Black Student Assembly showcase
KEMET Magazine’s second issue, “May your roots grow you to the Sky”(2024), shows the parallels and reflections between West Africa & Black America.
In creating this issue, I drew inspiration from my home in Nigeria and the tradition of Black Dandyism — a diasporic street style movement rooted in resistance and self-expression, dating back to the antebellum era. The bold use of color and varied West African prints come together to shape the second installment of KEMET Magazine.
What does it mean to stand rooted in your origins—while still reaching outward toward new futures shaped by memory, diaspora, and imagination?
Exhibited in a historic campus-wide projection installation event at the University of Southern California
Distributed at LA’s Taste of Soul
Project year:
2022-2024
What does a modern art publication centering Black identity and culture look like? And how can it platform Black youth across the diaspora? There was a lack of African-centered editorial spaces that truly represented Black identity within an African cultural context.
As Founder, Editor, Photographer, and Designer, I led every aspect of KEMET Magazine’s creative direction. My process involved:
- Developing an 80-page editorial system inspired by pan-African textiles, Black Dandyism, and color psychology
- Creating custom layouts in InDesign with modular grid systems and analog print references
- Producing and directing photoshoots across both issues, with attention to lighting, styling, and staging
- Designing type treatments and portrait compositions that honored traditional African studio photography
- Overseeing press checks to ensure color and material consistency across physical editions
KEMET Magazine became a powerful example of culturally rooted, self-directed publishing. The project:
- Filled a gap in diasporic editorial storytelling through a distinctly African design lens
- Successfully launched two issues
- Empowered diverse communities through authentic representation, garnering 30,000+ views and creating a platform where readers saw their full cultural identity reflected for the first time
Explorations in Branding
As part of expanding the KEMET universe, I designed visual identity explorations, merch concepts, and physical brand extensions. These graphics experiment with how the ethos of KEMET can live beyond the page — through clothing, type, and logo explorations.