Up next in my celebration of 55 years of art in Nigerian literature is the work of a talented illustrator - Onyinye Iwu - whose art I love. Iwu's work, which is probably best known from the covers of the six Ankara Press books published in 2014, is stunning, with quite a unique style.
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| Ankara Press' leading ladies. |
In a post on Ankara Press' blog, Iwu reflects on the process of designing the book covers, which included considering 'all elements of design, such as layout, font and colour, in a new and innovative way'. It's really great to get insights into the design of a cover from the designers perspective, and here we learn about the focus Anakara press wanted for the covers, including it reflecting 'modern African romance' and from a 'female perspective', with the 'woman [as] the central focus of the image'.
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| The design process |
The final covers reflect Nigerian women 'with different skin tones, hairstyles and outfits'. Ankara print fabric, using Vlisco materials, also feature on the covers.
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| Zooming in on one of the Ankara Press covers |
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| The final six. |
Other covers Iwu has designed includes Kaye Whiteman's Lagos: City of Imagination and Chikodili Emelumadu's The Fixer.
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| I've always loved this cover. |
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| Images via onyinyestudio |
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| Image via sub-q |
Iwu has also written and illustrated two picture books - Grey and the Lost Braid and Bring Back My Sister.
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| Picture books by Iwu |
... and here are a few more of Iwu's illustrations. Check out Iwu's Instagram page and twitter for more.
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| Images via Instagram |
