Apr 2026 · 12 min read
Booking Q1 2027 · 2 slots
Design that reads first —
and holds for years.
I design brand identities for founders, cultural institutions and independent labels — mostly across Africa and its diaspora. Small caseload, long timelines, quiet outputs.
How I work
One direction. Defended in writing.
I don't present three concepts to choose between. I present one — and a written narrative for why. If it's wrong, we start again together.
01
Immersion
Time in the room, with the people. Two weeks minimum before I sketch.
02
Direction
One direction presented with a written narrative. If it's the wrong one, we say so.
03
Craft
Type drawn, systems built, prototypes applied in real-world contexts.
04
Handover
A living brand book you can actually use. A workshop with your team at close.
Flagship
Sankofa Museum · Full identity
Identity · Type · Wayfinding · Print
A 14-week identity engagement for the Sankofa Museum of Contemporary Art. Built the wordmark and a custom display cut in three weights, extended into large-scale wayfinding, member cards, exhibition posters and a 240-page annual publication.
- A wordmark and a custom Latin/Twi typeface in Light, Regular, Display
- Complete wayfinding system for 4,200 sqm of gallery
- The 2025 annual publication — 240 pages, offset printed
Selected work
Recent projects.
A small selection from the last three years. Full portfolio in the work section.
Identity
Founders / launches
Sankofa Museum · Full identity
A complete identity for a new contemporary art museum in Accra — wordmark, custom display type, wayfinding and print collateral.
Identity · Type · Wayfinding · Print
Identity
Publishers / brands
Suya Weekly · Editorial system
A grid, typography and cover system for an independent West-African weekly — 96 issues shipped without a redesign since.
Editorial · Type licensing · Templates
Packaging
Founders / launches
Bèni Coffee · Packaging suite
A packaging system for a specialty coffee brand across 6 SKUs — from bag to shelf to social.
Packaging · Illustration · Print
“Amara built a visual language that has held together across three exhibitions, two annual reports and 40 posters — without a single ‘brand refresh’.”
Nana Yaa Boateng · Sankofa Museum
What clients say
What people tell each other.
“Amara built a visual language that has held together across three exhibitions, two annual reports and 40 posters — without a single 'brand refresh'.”
NY
Nana Yaa Boateng
Founding director
“Our editorial system is 96 issues in and still feels new. That is the entire point.”
CI
Chiedu Ike
Editor-in-chief
“She sat with us in the roastery. The packaging looks like it grew there. Sales lifted 34% at launch.”
KM
Kojo Mensah
Founder
“The retainer is like having a senior creative director at the table for every campaign. It's shifted how our whole team thinks.”
ZO
Zara O.
Head of design
“Chalé Sans is the first African-designed family that could sit inside any European brand book without feeling out of place. That's rare.”
IA
Isla A.
Design lead
“The wordmark she made for us has been on 400 posters and 12 book covers. It still reads first, every time.”
AD
Adjoa D.
Publisher
Journal
Notes from the studio.
Short essays on drawing type, running a solo practice, and the West-African design canon.
Feb 2026 · 6 min read
One direction, one narrative: why I don't present three concepts.
Read the essayJan 2026 · 9 min read
The West-African design canon — a working reading list.
Read the essayThe designer
Amara Osei
Brand designer · Art director · Type nerd
I studied fine art in Kumasi and communication design at ECAL. I spent five years inside a design studio in London before moving back to Accra to work independently.
Since 2022 I've been a studio of one — taking three to four full brand identity projects a year and one long-running art direction retainer.
The work sits somewhere between editorial, cultural and fashion — logos and typography, but always in service of a bigger visual language: motion, packaging, art direction, print.
Disciplines
Brand identityType designEditorialPackagingArt directionMotion (with collaborators)
9
Years in practice
42
Identities shipped
4
Slots per year
91%
Client renewals
Common questions
Before we start.
It always starts with a 30-minute call — free, no brief required. I use it to see whether we're a fit. If we are, I send a written proposal within a week.
Ready to talk?
Have something in mind?
I take three to four full identity projects a year. If we're a fit, we start with a short call.