Kwara Designers Community
Kwara Designers Community
Overview
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The thing about communities is—you want to feel like you belong. Like you're part of something. Merch. Events. Symbols. That feeling of "I'm in."
So how do you capture that in a hero section?
I had no idea. So I just started exploring.
Idea 1
I was thinking—a community is built by people chipping in, right? Different designers, different disciplines. What if the word "COMMUNITY" was broken apart, and designers from different fields (Product Design, Motion Design, etc.) came together to reconstruct it? Different cursors moving around, building the community (pun intended :))
Well, my execution felt gimmicky. Like I was trying too hard to be smart. The idea sounded cool but when I actually built it, it just felt... off.
So I scrapped it.
Idea 2
I saw an image on Cosmos where they spelled "Type Design" using completely different fonts for each letter. And it resonated with me. Designers have different tastes, different approaches. Design is subjective. What if "Kwara Designers" reflected that diversity through typography? I loved this idea tbh.
But i'm not a type designer.
To do this right, I'd need to either custom-design typefaces or spend weeks finding the perfect combinations, or reach out to a type designer in the community. It's a time consuming idea and we had less than a month. Great idea. Wrong skillset. Wrong timeline. sigh!
Next.
Idea 3
This one stuck :)
When you join a community, you want proof. You want validation. You want something that says "I'm part of this." So I thought—what if the hero section was a designer's passport? Your official KDC credentials.
Here's what went into it:
The horseman statue in the yellow panel? That's a Kwara cultural icon. This isn't just any designer community—it's Kwara designers. Local pride.
The grid of design work? Like passport stamps. Shows the range of what the community creates—UI, branding, motion, illustration, photography. You're not alone. You're part of a collective..
The stamps and stickers? "APPROVED." "DSGN°." The KDC logo. These say: being part of this community means something. You're recognized. Like having community stamps on your laptop. You're official.
The textured paper background? I wanted it to feel like something you'd actually hold. Tactile. Physical. Not just pixels.
Here's what went into it:
Not every idea works, and that's fine. The first two explorations didn't land, but they taught me what the hero section needed to be. Also, Constraints aren't bad. Not being a type designer pushed me toward something I could actually execute well.
Playful doesn't really mean messy. The final design has energy and personality, but it's still intentional. Out of the grid, but within the rules.
View project Gallery
Overview
Gallery
The thing about communities is—you want to feel like you belong. Like you're part of something. Merch. Events. Symbols. That feeling of "I'm in."
So how do you capture that in a hero section?
I had no idea. So I just started exploring.
Idea 1
I was thinking—a community is built by people chipping in, right? Different designers, different disciplines. What if the word "COMMUNITY" was broken apart, and designers from different fields (Product Design, Motion Design, etc.) came together to reconstruct it? Different cursors moving around, building the community (pun intended :))
Well, my execution felt gimmicky. Like I was trying too hard to be smart. The idea sounded cool but when I actually built it, it just felt... off.
So I scrapped it.
Idea 2
I saw an image on Cosmos where they spelled "Type Design" using completely different fonts for each letter. And it resonated with me. Designers have different tastes, different approaches. Design is subjective. What if "Kwara Designers" reflected that diversity through typography? I loved this idea tbh.
But i'm not a type designer.
To do this right, I'd need to either custom-design typefaces or spend weeks finding the perfect combinations, or reach out to a type designer in the community. It's a time consuming idea and we had less than a month. Great idea. Wrong skillset. Wrong timeline. sigh!
Next.
Idea 3
This one stuck :)
When you join a community, you want proof. You want validation. You want something that says "I'm part of this." So I thought—what if the hero section was a designer's passport? Your official KDC credentials.
Here's what went into it:
The horseman statue in the yellow panel? That's a Kwara cultural icon. This isn't just any designer community—it's Kwara designers. Local pride.
The grid of design work? Like passport stamps. Shows the range of what the community creates—UI, branding, motion, illustration, photography. You're not alone. You're part of a collective..
The stamps and stickers? "APPROVED." "DSGN°." The KDC logo. These say: being part of this community means something. You're recognized. Like having community stamps on your laptop. You're official.
The textured paper background? I wanted it to feel like something you'd actually hold. Tactile. Physical. Not just pixels.
Here's what went into it:
Not every idea works, and that's fine. The first two explorations didn't land, but they taught me what the hero section needed to be. Also, Constraints aren't bad. Not being a type designer pushed me toward something I could actually execute well.
Playful doesn't really mean messy. The final design has energy and personality, but it's still intentional. Out of the grid, but within the rules.
View project Gallery