gasland.

Designing for Startups

Product and brand designer. I turn half-formed ideas into interfaces and identities people actually use. Currently taking on new projects.

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Selected works

NACOS Hackathon, primary screen
NACOS Hackathon, Brand identity detail
NACOS Hackathon, Event design detail
NACOS Hackathon logo

NACOS Hackathon 2026

Brand identity, Event design, Social media

Identity and design system for the first edition of an AI innovation challenge. The theme, The Mind Behind the Machine, puts the human mind at the centre rather than the technology. The system outgrew the event and now carries the chapter's other initiatives.

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Faaja, primary screen
Faaja, Brand identity detail
Faaja, App design detail
Faaja logo

Faaja 2025

Brand identity, App design, Social media

A social app for freestyling and banter, named for the Yoruba term faaja, to stretch till it breaks. The custom wordmark does exactly that, and the stretch runs through the pattern, the app and the merch.

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Kayfaey, primary screen
Kayfaey, Brand identity detail
Kayfaey, Logo design detail
Kayfaey logo

Kayfaey 2025

Brand identity, Logo design, Visual identity

A handmade footwear label that needed a mark as considered as the shoes. The monogram fuses the initials K and A into one geometric form, a nod to the skilled hands that make each pair.

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Ọkín, primary screen
Ọkín, Brand identity detail
Ọkín, Logo design detail
Ọkín logo

Ọkín 2024

Brand identity, Logo design, Visual identity

Ọkín is a Yoruba word for peacock. The brand values are built on the attributes of the bird, and the mark is drawn from the pattern of its feather. Luxury, elegance, opulence, royalty.

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Solara Pay, primary screen
Solara Pay, Brand identity detail
Solara Pay, Logo design detail
Solara Pay logo

Solara Pay 2024

Brand identity, Logo design, Visual identity

A fintech running payroll on the Solana blockchain. The old identity failed to carry the company values or the expertise, so the new one is built around four attributes: innovation, efficiency, security and global reach.

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Career Timeline

Work Experience

Hands-on background driving product lifecycle, visual identity systems, and interaction design.

Jan 2026 – Present · Nigeria

Fortica

Brand Identity Designer

  • Designed brand identity development for a Nigerian cryptocurrency platform operating across consumer and institutional segments, from initial research through to final execution.
  • Conducted competitive audit across the African fintech and crypto landscape to define positioning and differentiation strategy.
  • Developed full brand architecture covering naming framework, visual identity system, dual-register voice, and cohesive narrative across all brand touchpoints.
Sep 2025 – Present · Abeokuta, Nigeria

NACOS CUAB, Crescent University

Product Manager & Brand Designer

  • Led the full product lifecycle of the Digital Receipt System (DRS), managing a cross-functional team of thirteen across planning, documentation, and delivery.
  • Designed the entire UI/UX of the DRS platform, building out the full design system and all interface screens across web and mobile.
  • Led art direction across departmental visual communications, producing brand design, event collateral, and promotional materials for Gamefest, Sports Day, Hackathon '26, and other university-facing touchpoints.
  • Directed brand identity and event design for Hackathon '26, an AI-focused multi-university competition, developing the full visual language, copy framework, and event communication system.
Feb 2025 – Jan 2026 · Remote

Opportuna

Product Designer & Brand Identity Designer

  • Conceptualised the product vision and designed the full brand identity of Opportuna from scratch, establishing the visual language, color system, and typography that governed the entire product.
  • Designed the product experience, translating requirements into a complete interface with core interaction patterns built around clarity and ease of use.
Abdul-Gafar Sonola, Product and brand designer

About

Abdul-Gafar Sonola

I work across product design and brand design, moving between UI/UX and visual identity depending on what a project actually needs. Most of my work starts with a founder or team that has a rough idea and ends with something people can use and recognize.

I care about the same things on both sides of the work: clarity, restraint, and making sure a design decision can survive contact with a real user or a real deadline. I've worked on hackathon products, fintech identities, and app design systems, always with the same approach understand the problem first, then build the smallest thing that solves it well.

  • Brand strategy
  • Visual identity
  • Interface design
  • Design systems
  • Prototyping
  • User research