African Graphic Design: Brand Identities and Packaging to Know

From Ghana’s surfing community to the streets of Nairobi, two AIDA Award-winning projects bring local stories into contemporary branding.

A rope circle surrounding a surf club monogram. A matatu woven into a drinks label. In the work of Monday Design Ltd and The Quollective Africa, familiar details become markers of belonging. Their designs draw on the places and people they represent, bringing cultural references into objects that travel through everyday life.

Recognised at the Africa International Design Awards, Sankofa Surf Club Brand Identity and Ikonik Pride offer two very different takes on African graphic design. Each starts with a particular community and builds a visual language from its experiences, symbols and creative voices.

In Busua, Ghana, Sankofa Surf Club supports young talent through a community-led initiative. Monday Design Ltd, with lead designer Nana Adwoa Sey, created an identity that gives this shared purpose a recognisable form.

At its centre is an interlocking monogram recalling the Adinkra symbol Sankofa. A circle of rope evokes fishing nets and community unity, while the palette draws on the red, gold and green of Ghana’s flag. Clean, modern type keeps all those local references easy to read.

Collaboration extends the design beyond the logo. The Asafo Company helped create a hand-sewn Asafo flag, while a partnership with Faherty Brand brought the identity to apparel, merchandise and souvenirs. Now the club’s story lives on in things people can carry, wear and share.

For Kenya Cane, The Quollective Africa brought musicians, artists, fashion voices and cultural contributors into the creative process behind Ikonik Pride. Their perspectives informed an illustrated label grounded in contemporary Kenyan life.

Edwin Wainaina’s composition brings together Mount Kenya, matatus, Maasai beadwork and Nairobi’s skyline, with a Kenyan woman at its centre. Landscape and city life share the same frame, and the bottle tells its story through the details.

The project shows what packaging design in Africa can do when cultural knowledge shapes the creative process. Its imagery grows from the people contributing to the work and the experiences they recognise.