Michael Akinrinmade Visual designer & art director
Independent practice · 10+ yearsIdentity · packaging · campaigns
Graphic design with edge and feeling.
I’m Michael Akinrinmade. I build memorable visual systems for music, publishing and culture—where image, typography, packaging and digital experience move together.
Three complete, self-initiated identity case studies—built from positioning through to packaging, campaign, digital and real-world applications.
01 / Vela Skin Self-initiated concept
High- performance beauty, in colour.
Vela Skin is a beauty identity made for people who treat their daily routine as creative fuel—not a quiet, neutral chore.
BriefCreate a visible, modern skincare brand that feels confident on a shelf and unmistakable in a social feed.
AudienceDesign-literate beauty customers, 22–40, who value performance and self-expression in equal measure.
RoleStrategy, naming, visual identity, packaging, art direction, launch campaign and ecommerce concept.
VELA✦SKIN
A four-point optic becomes the brand’s signal: a compact mark that shifts in scale, colour and crop across products, photography and digital interfaces.
Product architecture / Primary packagingLaunch campaign / Social / Ecommerce
The system in useHigh-impact cobalt, signal red, cream and solar yellow move from glassware to OOH, while halftone texture supplies a tactile, printed edge. The result is an identity built for recognition at every scale.
Identity · Packaging · Campaign · Digital
02 / Brass Garden Self-initiated concept
A festival identity that grows loud.
Brass Garden is a fictional three-day festival for new music, designed to make discovery feel generous, tactile and communal.
BriefBuild a flexible festival identity that carries the anticipation of live music across wayfinding, ticketing, merch and schedule design.
AudienceCurious music listeners and culture-led travellers looking for an independent alternative to a generic mega-festival.
RolePositioning, logo system, illustration direction, event collateral, digital schedule and merchandise.
BRASS✺GARDEN
A trumpet-and-sun symbol gives the festival an emblem; a botanical illustration toolkit lets each performer, stage and day have its own visual note.
The system in useHeritage-inspired motifs are redrawn with a contemporary rhythm. The result gives staff, fans and musicians a shared visual language—from the first schedule scroll to the final encore.
Identity · Event campaign · Merchandise · Digital
03 / Daymark Press Self-initiated concept
A marker for the books that stay.
Daymark Press is an independent publisher identity built around the small, meaningful marks readers make when a page asks them to return.
BriefGive an independent publisher a recognisable signature without competing with its authors, titles or ideas.
AudienceThoughtful readers and bookshop visitors who value considered objects, new voices and close reading.
RoleBrand strategy, logo architecture, editorial design direction, packaging, web concept and book-series framework.
DAYMARK│•PRESS
The signature device is a margin marker: a cobalt tab and a small vermilion dot. It is precise, quiet and flexible enough to carry an evolving list.
The system in useWarm paper, cobalt ink and a single vermilion point create a consistent but unforced presence. The Daymark device moves from book-series coding to bookmarks, literary events and a responsive catalogue.
Identity · Editorial system · Packaging · Digital
02 / Album cover design
Five covers. Five visual temperatures.
Each cover turns a distinct musical feeling into a direct, memorable visual. All cover art in this selection was designed by Michael Akinrinmade.
Kool & the Gang
Greatest Hits
Album artwork · Illustration
A living archive of collective energy, chrome type and a lifted twilight palette.
The Other Guys
The Working Class
Album artwork · Typography
Corporate speed and human identity collide in one charged, graphic gesture.
Coolhandtrew
The James Crockett Experience
Album artwork · Image-making
A strange, tender garden scene that lets the surreal image do the talking.
Eisbar
Looser Futurism
Album artwork · World-building
Soft-focus futurism set against desert scale, architecture and an unreal horizon.
Coolhandtrew
It’s a Vibe
Album artwork · Art direction
Colour, silhouette and texture translate warmth and rhythm into a physical mood.
03 / Publishing design
Stories, made to be held.
Selected publishing work across full-wrap paperback design and digital cover presentation. Each colour field comes directly from the project’s visual world.
Josie Bruce
Futility
Full wrap design · Cover, spine & back
Painted atmosphere, aged gold type and ember colour make isolation feel immediate.
Nick Clements
Life’s Imperfect
Full wrap design · Cover, spine & back
A framed mountain scene balances reflective coming-of-age energy with a warm human pull.
Camélia Guedah
MUM
Full wrap design · Cover, spine & back
Magenta texture and an electric-blue bloom turn tenderness into a clear visual signal.
Julie Nise & Scott McFall
Romance intuition
Full wrap design · Cover, spine & back
Elegant display type and a charged interior glow frame romance with cinematic restraint.
