Skip to main content
CHIDOZIE ELVIS OKAFOR
Portfolio Loading
ceokafor.com · Boston, MA

Gallery: the work of Chidozie Elvis Okafor

Index of works

The rooms, in the order you walk them

Every work on the walls, with its first plate and the facts that go with it. The rest of its plates open beneath it.

Room 01, Temple University, M.Arch, 2019 to 2022

Graduate Studio

It starts at the drawing board. In graduate studio I learned to take a building apart on paper and put it back together with a reason for every piece.

  1. Composite drawing of Kengo Kuma's Nest We Grow, the timber frame and its panels exploded outward from the core in gold, grey and black line
    The composite drawing: the timber frame and its panels exploded out from the core.

    Spring 2020

    Building Re-Presentation: Kengo Kuma’s Nest We Grow

    See also

    Role
    Graduate Representation Intensive II (ARCH 5012): I re-presented the building in a new set of drawings, an exploded isometric, renderings and a composite drawing.
    Tools
    • Adobe Illustrator
    • Adobe InDesign
    Credits
    • Case study building: Nest We Grow, Kengo Kuma and Associates

    A representation studio: analyse Kengo Kuma’s Nest We Grow and draw it again. The drawings “sought to find a balance between accurate representations that precisely illustrate the building with expressive representations that convey subjective feelings and construct meaning.” The composite drawing became the start of my own drawing language, and it hangs again in the Designer room as the Exploded Materials prints.

    Visit the shop
    Plates 2 to 4 of Building Re-Presentation: Kengo Kuma’s Nest We Grow
    1. Exploded isometric of Nest We Grow, the roof, timber slats and walls lifted apart around the core, with his note on the project
      Plate 2Exploded isometric, the roof, slats and walls lifted apart around the core.
    2. Black and white rendering of the building alone in a mountain landscape under a heavy sky
      Plate 3Rendering of the building alone in the landscape, in black and white.
    3. Black and white interior rendering looking out through the timber frame to the mountains
      Plate 4Rendering from inside the frame, looking out to the mountains.
  2. Night rendering of an orange steel truss tower rising over a lava field under a starry sky, the cave lit below
    The Tower of Valhalla at night, the cave lit beneath it.

    Fall 2020

    Iceland Cave Tower, “Turninn i Valhalla”

    Role
    One of a team of three for the Bee Breeders competition (ARCH 8011): research on Iceland before design, then the tower in Rhino 3D, V-Ray renderings, and post production and documents in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
    Tools
    • Rhino 3D
    • V-Ray
    • Adobe Photoshop
    • Adobe Illustrator
    • Adobe InDesign
    Credits
    • Competition entry by a team of three (Advanced Architecture Design Studio I)

    For the Bee Breeders competition, “participants were tasked with creating designs for a stopping point for tourists to visit before exploring the caves,” and the jury wanted a viewing tower that could stand as a landmark seen from a distance. Our answer is an orange truss that climbs out of the lava field to a viewing platform, rendered by night as The Tower of Valhalla.

    Plates 2 to 3 of Iceland Cave Tower, “Turninn i Valhalla”
    1. Day rendering of the tower on the black lava plain with cyclists passing beneath a bright sun
      Plate 2By day, on the black lava plain.
    2. Portfolio page with the tower's exploded axonometry, section and elevation beside three renderings of the viewing platform
      Plate 3Axonometry, section and elevation beside views from the viewing platform.
  3. Night rendering of the school with large murals across its facade, the glazed atrium lit from inside
    The school at night, the community canvases across its facade.

    Spring 2021

    NOKX School of Science and Art

    Role
    Comprehensive Architecture Design Studio (ARCH 8013): I worked the design through iterations until it responded to the site and the programme.
    Tools
    • Adobe Photoshop
    • Adobe InDesign
    Credits
    • Aerial rendering credited CEO + XN + MK

    A visual arts and science high school “from grade 9 through 12,” meant “to serve as another landmark for the surrounding neighbourhood.” The atrium is the engine: daylight from the north, solar energy from photovoltaic glass on the south, an operable south face to purge hot air, and rainwater collected at its edges into the green roofs. Community canvases on the south walls carry student and neighbourhood art, a decision that “lead to the choice of GFRC panels.”

    Plates 2 to 5 of NOKX School of Science and Art
    1. Longitudinal section through the atrium with notes on north daylight, south solar glass and rainwater collected at its edges
      Plate 2Section through the atrium: north light in, solar gain on the south, rain to the roofs.
    2. Exploded axonometric of the floors in colour by programme beside a matching circulation diagram
      Plate 3Exploded floors by programme, beside the circulation loop.
    3. Opaque and transparent wall sections through the stepped facade and the library
      Plate 4Wall sections through the stepped facade and the library.
    4. Aerial rendering of the school among white context blocks, solar panels and green roofs on its stepped wings
      Plate 5Aerial view in its North Philadelphia blocks.
  4. Rendering of a red brick garden path through planting beds toward the clinic buildings
    The garden path toward the clinic.

    Fall 2021

    The Eden Sanctuary

    Role
    On a studio team, I used Revit for the clinic design and the renovation of the 1700 N. Broad building, made the Enscape renderings and the axonometric drawings for augmented reality, and curated the final presentation drawings for review.
    Tools
    • Revit
    • Enscape
    Credits
    • A studio team project: the design moves described here are the team’s

    An elective studio brief “to provide a healthcare facility within two existing sites on opposite corners of the intersection of Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue,” where the neighbourhood meets the Temple campus. Our team paired care with gardens: urban farming in the plaza answers food scarcity, and outdoor rooms give patients somewhere calm to wait. Each room vignette carried a code that opened it in augmented reality.

    Plates 2 to 4 of The Eden Sanctuary
    1. Portfolio page with the two level one floor plans, six axonometric vignettes of the clinic rooms and the site sections
      Plate 2Level one plans, the room vignettes and the sections through both clinics.
    2. Axonometric cutaway rendering of the social work space and childcare room
      Plate 3Social work space and childcare, cut open in axonometric.
    3. Axonometric cutaway rendering of the pharmacy module
      Plate 4The pharmacy module.
  5. Interior rendering of the store with glass cylinders dropping from the roof, a garment exploded into its pieces inside
    The cylinders, each holding a garment taken apart into its pieces.

    Spring 2022

    Crafted Archetype

    See also

    Role
    Architecture Design Thesis (ARCH 9996), titled Architecture and Apparel Design: Harmony in the Built Environment and Branded Clothing.
    Tools
    • Hand sketching
    • Rhino 3D

    “The main attraction of my project are the cylinders that drop down from the roof to the base of the second floor.” They hold exploded clothes, the pieces of the garment displayed whole at ground level, and they double as light wells. Around them sit tailor shops, embroidery and screen printing, a digital design room and a materials library. The project “was about an architecture that becomes the ideal place to design and manufacture custom made clothes,” and it is where Custom Archetype began.

    Open the case study
    Plates 2 to 5 of Crafted Archetype
    1. Rendering of a visitor at the patterned glass facade, the CA mark at the bottom of the page
      Plate 2The patterned facade, with the CA mark that became the brand.
    2. Rendering looking up the atrium past the cylinders and the curved stair
      Plate 3Looking up the atrium past the cylinders and the stair.
    3. Thesis board with the original sketch, its Rhino trace, interior views and the four floor plans
      Plate 4From the original sketch to the Rhino trace, and the four floor plans.
    4. The thesis project brief board: facade, the cylinder rendering, programme diagrams and phase sketches
      Plate 5The project brief board.

Room 02, Temple University, Project Delivery Group

Project Delivery

Then the drawings had to get built. On the owner’s side at Temple I measured existing rooms, drew the changes, worked with consultants and contractors, and carried projects from design development into construction documents.

  1. SketchUp massing axonometric of the Johnson and Hardwick superblock, Scheme C, new towers among the existing blocks
    Johnson and Hardwick superblock, Scheme C, in SketchUp massing.

    Spring 2023

    Main Campus Housing Study

    Role
    One of a team of two preparing the study for leadership: I built every massing model in SketchUp and helped draw the site plans in AutoCAD and Illustrator.
    Tools
    • SketchUp
    • AutoCAD
    • Adobe Illustrator

    A long-range study of where new student housing could go on Temple’s main campus, prepared for university leadership in April 2023. I built the massing for every site and scheme in SketchUp, and the plan phases new beds across two superblocks: Johnson and Hardwick from 2027, then Temple Towers from 2034, a site that would need rezoning.

    Plates 2 to 4 of Main Campus Housing Study
    1. Portfolio board with the main campus plan locating seven sites, the massing schemes and the phasing notes
      Plate 2The portfolio board: the campus plan, the sites and the phasing.
    2. Massing axonometric of the Triangle Lot scheme, a stepped residential block beside the playing fields
      Plate 3Triangle Lot scheme beside the playing fields.
    3. Massing axonometric of the Temple Towers superblock, phase two
      Plate 4Temple Towers superblock, phase two.
  2. The finished office's meeting end: a timber table and six grey mesh chairs with orange seats under a wall-mounted TV
    The finished office: the meeting table and chairs in place, the TV relocated to its new wall.

    Summer 2023

    Carnell Hall, Bursar’s Office Expansion

    Role
    I documented the existing rooms and drew the proposed design, then helped the interior designer and the GC with the furniture, from selection through the final drawings to installation.
    Tools
    • AutoCAD
    Credits
    • Drawn by CEO and JH, checked by DA (title block)

    Two small first floor offices in Carnell Hall combined into one larger office for the Bursar. I measured the existing rooms, drew the demolition, proposed, furniture and ceiling plans, and followed the furniture through to installation. The photographs show the finished office, and the plans come from the 2024 print of sheet A100, whose furniture layout is the one installed.

    Plates 2 to 5 of Carnell Hall, Bursar’s Office Expansion
    1. Sheet A100, drawings 2 and 3: the proposed plan of the one combined office and its furniture layout plan, with the meeting table parallel to the TV wall and two lounge chairs by the door
      Plate 2Proposed and furniture layout plans: the wall between the two offices taken out to make one, the furniture laid out as it was installed.
    2. Lounge seating installed in the expanded office, two armchairs with orange cushions and a round side table
      Plate 3Lounge seating, installed.
    3. Sheet A100, drawing 5: the proposed reflected ceiling plan, the existing ceiling grid and fixtures kept across the combined office
      Plate 4Proposed ceiling: the existing grid and tiles kept, with a new 1 inch header where the wall came out.
    4. Sheet A100, drawing 1: the demolition plan of the two existing offices, 0100S and 0100R, with the wall between them marked for removal
      Plate 5Before: the two offices as I documented them, the wall between them marked for demolition.
  3. Proposed 15th Street entrance with one line of red Temple University letters and the T mark running along the storefront to the corner
    Proposed: the 15th Street entrance, one line of red face-lit letters and the T mark running along the storefront to the corner, in place of the stacked letters. Rendering by Cloud Gehshan.

    Summer 2023

    Center City Campus, Exterior Signage

    Role
    One of two project managers on the owner’s side, working with Cloud Gehshan: I applied Temple’s signage standards to the material selection, attended the city council reviews for approval, reviewed the GC’s outlines for the mechanical and electrical installation, and worked with Cloud Gehshan on the final drawings and the project schedule presentation.
    Tools
    • Temple University signage standards
    • City review
    • GC outline review
    Credits
    • Design, drawings and renderings: Cloud Gehshan, regulatory submission of February 20, 2023, revised March 2023 (© 2023 Cloud Gehshan)
    • Existing condition photographs: from the same submission

    Exterior signage for Temple’s Center City Campus at 1515 Market Street, a 20 story tower whose 15th Street entrance looks across at City Hall. The package proposes TEMPLE UNIVERSITY and the T mark on the skyline, in a line of face-lit letters almost 56 feet long at the roof line, and one long line of red channel letters over the 15th Street storefront in place of its stacked letters, repeated on the north plaza with a large dimensional T and a Center City Campus window graphic. Cloud Gehshan designed the signs and drew the regulatory submission (February 2023, revised March 2023), and every drawing, rendering and photograph on this wall comes from it; I worked on the owner’s side as one of two project managers through design development and the city’s review.

    Plates 2 to 8 of Center City Campus, Exterior Signage
    1. Existing 15th Street entrance with stacked white Temple University letters and a red T panel above the corner café
      Plate 2Existing: the 15th Street entrance, with the stacked Temple University letters over the corner café. Photograph from the Cloud Gehshan submission.
    2. Proposed east elevation with the Temple University letters and T mark over the storefront, the flag banners and the Citizens Bank sign
      Plate 3Proposed east elevation on 15th Street: Sign 3, a 33 foot line of letters with a 4 foot 2 inch T mark over the storefront, beside the existing banners. Drawing by Cloud Gehshan.
    3. Renderings of the tower at 1515 Market Street by day and by night, with TEMPLE UNIVERSITY and the T mark in red at the roof line
      Plate 4Proposed: the skyline sign on the 15th Street face of the 20 story tower, by day and by night. Renderings by Cloud Gehshan.
    4. Roof line elevation, the T end of the skyline sign: the T mark, Sign 2, 4 feet square, beside the first letters of TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, Sign 1, with the channel letter callout
      Plate 5The skyline sign at the roof line, its T end: a 4 foot T mark and the start of TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, a line of letters almost 56 feet long; both 4 inch deep, face-lit by LEDs on a dimmer, photocell and timer. Drawing by Cloud Gehshan.
    5. Proposed north entrance with red Temple University letters above the storefront, a Center City Campus window graphic with an owl, and a white T on the black stone beside the doors
      Plate 6Proposed: the north entrance on the plaza, with the storefront letters, the Center City Campus window graphic and a white T on the black stone beside the doors. Rendering by Cloud Gehshan.
    6. Existing north entrance on the plaza walkway, red T flag banners on the storefront and a canopy sign over the doors
      Plate 7Existing: the north entrance on the plaza walkway. Photograph from the Cloud Gehshan submission.
    7. Proposed north elevation, the storefront and the sign band above it: the Temple University letters, the Center City Campus window graphic and the dimensional T beside the entrance, each keyed by sign number, with their callouts
      Plate 8Proposed north elevation on the plaza: Sign 5 repeats the storefront letters, Sign 6 is a 7 foot 9 inch dimensional T and Sign 7 a 13 foot Center City Campus graphic on the glass. Drawing by Cloud Gehshan.
  4. After image of the clinic reception, a teal wall, coloured glass panels and children playing at a low table
    Reception, after. Final rendering by Jai Agrawal, with Adobe Firefly generative fill.

    Winter 2024

    Pearson Hall Clinic, Donor Study

    Role
    One of a team of three on the renderings: I researched the entourage for the team, reported progress to the architect and associate director, and helped with the final presentation to leadership.
    Tools
    • Adobe Photoshop with Adobe Firefly generative fill
    Credits
    • Final renderings: Jai Agrawal (DPM), in Photoshop with Adobe Firefly generative fill

    A donor study for a new College of Public Health clinic in Pearson Hall, to help the fundraising: two plain rooms, the reception and an observation room, shown as a bright pediatric clinic. I was one of three on the visualisation team; the final renderings were produced by Jai Agrawal. Both after images, and the observation room photograph they started from, were edited with Adobe Firefly generative fill.

    Plates 2 to 4 of Pearson Hall Clinic, Donor Study
    1. Before image of the existing reception with a dark desk and black lounge chairs
      Plate 2Reception, before.
    2. After image of the observation room with a coloured wall grid and a clinician working with a child
      Plate 3Observation room, after. Final rendering by Jai Agrawal, with Adobe Firefly generative fill.
    3. Photograph of the plain observation room with a small table, a glider chair and toy shelves, edited with Adobe Firefly generative fill
      Plate 4The observation room photograph behind the after image, edited with Adobe Firefly generative fill.
  5. Photoshop rendering of the lobby with timber laminate panelling around the Gallery of Success display
    Photoshop rendering of the Gallery of Success display in its laminate wall.

    Summer 2024

    Ritter Annex Lobby Renovation, Part II

    Role
    Lead project manager from DD through CD: I drew the existing and proposed plans and ceiling plans in AutoCAD and all the details for the P-Lam installation, made the client renderings in Photoshop and coordinated with CPM on GC pricing.
    Tools
    • AutoCAD
    • Adobe Photoshop

    Finish upgrades to a 750 square foot lobby in a nine story academic building, with no change to its area, exits or use. I led it from design development through construction documents: the laminate panel system, the panelling behind the security desk and a digital display for the Gallery of Success. The lobby image is a Photoshop rendering made for client approval.

    Plates 2 to 4 of Ritter Annex Lobby Renovation, Part II
    1. Sheet A01, demolition and new work plans of the long lobby
      Plate 2Sheet A01: demolition and new work plans.
    2. Elevations of the digital display wall and the laminate panelling behind the security desk, with panel callouts
      Plate 3Elevations of the display wall and the panelling behind the security desk.
    3. Row of plastic laminate details: base, typical panel joint, head, wall panel corner and recess
      Plate 4Laminate details: base, panel joint, head, corner and recess.
  6. The installed fifth floor directory on an orange wall, room listings beside the college mark and a floor plan
    The fifth floor directory, installed.

    2023

    SERC Directory Replacement

    Role
    Drawings, with DO: a signage plan and directory panel for every floor of the building.
    Tools
    • AutoCAD
    Credits
    • Drawn by CEO and DO, checked by DA (title block)

    New floor directories for the Science Education and Research Center, from the basement to the top floor. Each sheet pairs the floor’s signage plan with its directory panel and wayfinding signs, and the photo is the fifth floor directory as installed.

    Plates 2 to 3 of SERC Directory Replacement
    1. Drawing of the fifth floor directory panel with its dimensions
      Plate 2The same directory panel, as drawn.
    2. Sheet SN-6, the fifth floor signage plan, directory and wayfinding signs
      Plate 3Sheet SN-6: the fifth floor signage plan and wayfinding signs.

Room 03, Owner’s side, from drawing to field

On Site

A drawing set ends where the work begins. Here the drawings meet the field: a roof terrace fence repair I drew for Temple, a campus kiosk whose drawing set hangs beside it as built, and a renovation I manage on the owner’s side for a Waltham nonprofit, its new ramp followed from bare framing to the finished rail.

  1. Short clip of the accessibility ramp from bare framing to the finished railed ramp
    The ramp, from framing to finish.

    2026 to present

    Healthy Waltham, Accessibility Ramp

    Role
    Contract project manager and owner’s representative for the renovation of the new building: trade and contractor coordination, city inspections and quote review.
    Tools
    • Contractor and vendor coordination
    • City inspections
    • Quote review and cost control
    Credits
    • Welcome Home photograph: Healthy Waltham

    Healthy Waltham is a Waltham nonprofit that runs food pantries and nutrition education. I manage the renovation of its new building on the owner’s side: I coordinate the trades and the city inspectors, read the drawing set against the field and review the quotes before they are signed. The clip follows the new accessibility ramp from bare framing to the finished, railed ramp.

    Plates 2 to 4 of Healthy Waltham, Accessibility Ramp
    1. The ramp framing going in beside the building, before decking
      Plate 2Framing going in beside the building.
    2. The boarded opening in the brick wall during the work
      Plate 3The boarded opening during the work.
    3. Healthy Waltham staff holding a Welcome Home banner and ribbon at the green door of the new building
      Plate 4Welcome home: the new building’s door.
  2. Sheet A-1 for replacing a section of the roof terrace fence: roof plan, enlarged plan, existing photo, guardrail elevations and sections
    Sheet A-1, the whole repair on one page.

    November 2022

    Charles Library, Roof Terrace Fence

    Role
    Drawn by CEO, checked by DA (title block): the roof plan, an enlarged plan at the parapet, and the guardrail elevations and sections.
    Tools
    • AutoCAD

    A small owner-side repair on the green roof of Temple’s Charles Library: a section of the terrace fence to be replaced to match the existing in kind. One sheet carries it all, from the roof plan and a photo of the existing condition down to the post extensions, clips and edge plate.

    Plate 2 of Charles Library, Roof Terrace Fence
    1. Enlarged roof plan of the new fence against the existing parapet beside a photo of the existing condition
      Plate 2The new fence line against the parapet, and the existing condition.
  3. The dark metal panelled kiosk under its red Bagel Hut sign, open, with a short line at the counter on a sunny day
    Bagel Hut, open on Liacouras Walk, February 2024.

    Drawn 2021, photographed 2024

    Bagel Hut, Liacouras Walk Kiosk

    Role
    From my time at Temple’s Project Delivery Group: the drawing set is the design team’s, and the photographs of the kiosk open are mine.
    Credits
    • Architect: Kelly Maiello Architects; landscape architect: Land Collective (title block)
    • Drawings: the construction documents and their addenda, January to April 2021

    A food kiosk for Temple’s South Liacouras Walk, part of the Liacouras South landscape improvements, and open as Bagel Hut by 2024: a 9 by 15.5 foot box of metal wall panels with a stainless counter and sliding service windows. The set was drawn in 2021 by Kelly Maiello Architects with Land Collective, for Temple’s Project Delivery Group; its sheets hang here beside the kiosk as built and open, in my photographs from 2024.

    Plates 2 to 4 of Bagel Hut, Liacouras Walk Kiosk
    1. Sheet A-003: the east, north, west and south elevations of the kiosk, its metal panels hatched, the service windows and canopy dimensioned
      Plate 2Sheet A-003, the four exterior elevations. Drawing by Kelly Maiello Architects.
    2. Sheet A-004: four interior elevations cut through the kiosk, showing the counter, the equipment and the roof build up
      Plate 3Sheet A-004, the building sections. Drawing by Kelly Maiello Architects.
    3. The kiosk seen from across the street, beside a brick residence hall and bare trees
      Plate 4From the street, January 2024.

Room 04, Digital art, brand and identity

Designer

The same discipline works on screen. I turn my architecture drawings and models into prints, and I build brands as sets of rules, like a drawing set, so that every print, bottle, flyer and page follows them.

  1. Extruding Forms, grey and timber-brown planes pushed out from a single core
    Extruding Forms. The same model stands printed in the Maker room, as Diebenkorn, Medium.

    2020 to present

    Art by CEO

    See also

    Role
    Drawn by me in Adobe Illustrator from my own architecture drawings and Rhino models, and offered as acrylic prints, printed to order through Custom Archetype.
    Tools
    • Adobe Illustrator
    • Rhino 3D for the Extruding Forms model
    • CLO 3D for the puffer

    Architecture became art. Exploded Materials is the Nest We Grow composite drawing from the Graduate Studio, reprinted in new colourways; Halted Explosion holds a burst of planes and grids in place, and Separating and Extruding Forms push single shapes apart into chains and cores. Extruding Forms began as a study of a Richard Diebenkorn painting, rebuilt in Rhino until the flat rhythm became planes and bars, and the same model stands printed in the Maker room as Diebenkorn, Medium. Exploded Materials also became a print pattern, on a puffer I designed in CLO 3D (a 3D render). Exploded Materials, Halted Explosion and Extruding Forms carry my signature.

    Visit the shop
    Plates 2 to 7 of Art by CEO
    1. Exploded Materials in the black colourway, gold and grey members scattered across a black field
      Plate 2Exploded Materials, black.
    2. Exploded Materials in the cream colourway
      Plate 3Exploded Materials, cream.
    3. Halted Explosion 1, a burst of planes and grids held in grey line on white
      Plate 4Halted Explosion 1.
    4. Halted Explosion 2, the same burst with its timber members in gold
      Plate 5Halted Explosion 2.
    5. Separating Forms, a long chain of faceted triangular forms drawn in grey line
      Plate 6Separating Forms.
    6. CLO 3D render of a hooded black puffer jacket printed with Exploded Materials: gold and grey members, grids and outlined planes
      Plate 7Exploded Materials as a print pattern, on a puffer I designed in CLO 3D (a 3D render).
  2. Red Remedy billboard: the script mark and the five flavours in two bottle sizes on a warm gradient
    The billboard: the mark and the flavours in two sizes.

    2025 to present

    Red Remedy

    Role
    Founder. Designed the brand identity system: logo, label, brochure, social media templates and the pitch deck.
    Tools
    • Canva
    • Canva AI generative imagery in the billboard, the benefit bifold, the event poster and the logo artwork
    • Brand book built in Claude Design (AI-assisted)
    • Bottle composites assembled in code

    My own brand, end to end: a hibiscus-based natural mocktail made in Boston. The script mark, the label for each flavour, the bottle line, the benefit bifold, the posters and the brand book all follow one set of rules for colour, type and image. The billboard, bifold and poster were composed in Canva with Canva AI imagery. The whole brand lives on its own site.

    Visit the site
    Plates 2 to 5 of Red Remedy
    1. Berry Blast sixteen ounce bottle with the current label
      Plate 2Berry Blast, sixteen ounces.
    2. Tall Red Remedy event poster: the mark, Non-alcoholic, no added sugar, the five flavours each pictured with its bottle and fruit, Try a sample today, and QR codes for Instagram and the order form
      Plate 3The poster I printed for my May 2026 event booth, twenty-four by forty-eight inches.
    3. Inside of the benefit bifold, each ingredient pictured and described
      Plate 4The benefit bifold, inside: every ingredient pictured and explained.
    4. Scroll through the Red Remedy brand book: the mark, its rules, colour and type
      Plate 5The brand book: the mark, its rules, colour and type.
  3. Presentation page with two RevAmp Nutrition meal-prep sleeves, options A and B, marked sample only
    Sleeve options A and B on the tray.

    2025

    RevAmp Nutrition, Meal-Prep Packaging

    Role
    Led the visual brand expansion into meal prep, carrying the gym’s high-energy identity into a clean, health-conscious look for the new line.
    Tools
    • Canva
    • Adobe InDesign
    Credits
    • Client: RevAmp Training, Dorchester
    • Sleeves developed with the client’s team, in its Canva workspace

    RevAmp Training wanted to grow from a gym into nutrition, with meal prep alongside membership. We developed concept sleeves for the meal-prep trays, sized to the container and folded to show both sides, so the gym could see how a retail-ready programme would sit next to its existing brand. The sleeves are concepts, marked sample only.

    Plates 2 to 3 of RevAmp Nutrition, Meal-Prep Packaging
    1. Sleeve option A2 on a meal-prep tray with its two folded side views
      Plate 2Option A2 with its folded side views.
    2. RevAmp Nutrition marks, a rectangular lockup and a round badge
      Plate 3The RevAmp Nutrition marks the sleeves carry.
  4. All Seasons Crew Halloween sale flyer, fifteen percent off, carved pumpkins below
    Halloween sale flyer.

    2025

    All Seasons Crew

    Role
    Brand and marketing design for All Seasons Crew: a professional visual identity for a company that works all year round.

    A landscaping and seasonal services company, from yard care to holiday installs, that has to read as dependable to homes and businesses alike. Two of its flyers hang here: a Halloween sale, and a services flyer with a panel for each service above a green footer.

    Plate 2 of All Seasons Crew
    1. All Seasons Crew services flyer: holiday decoration, landscaping, spring services, snow and event setup
      Plate 2The services flyer: holiday decoration, landscaping, spring, snow and winter, and event setup.
  5. The Threaded Facade, a field of organic cells outlined in a doubled brown line, with the CA mark at the top right, on white
    Wallpaper Facade: the Threaded Facade beside the CA mark, 2023.

    2022 to 2023

    Custom Archetype, Mark and Threaded Facade

    See also

    Role
    I drew the facade pattern for my thesis, from my own sketch traced in Rhino, and in 2023 set it beside the CA mark for Custom Archetype.
    Tools
    • Hand sketching
    • Rhino 3D

    The pattern began on the entry facade of my thesis, Crafted Archetype: an original sketch, traced in Rhino and then distorted across the facade, with the railing inside drawn from the same pattern “to continue the same language inside the store.” In 2023 I set the distorted trace, the Threaded Facade, beside the CA mark from the thesis for Custom Archetype. The same drawing opens the Custom Archetype shop.

    Visit the shop
    Plates 2 to 4 of Custom Archetype, Mark and Threaded Facade
    1. The facade pattern traced flat as a long rectangle, the outer threads in blue and the inner cells in red, on white
      Plate 2The Rhino trace: the pattern traced flat from my original sketch, the outer threads in blue and the inner cells in red.
    2. Rendering of a visitor at the patterned glass facade, the CA mark at the bottom of the page
      Plate 3Where it began: the pattern on the glass and the railing of my thesis, with the CA mark, Spring 2022.
    3. The CA mark, a brush-weight C looping over an A, in black on white
      Plate 4The CA mark.

Room 05, Garments and printed objects

Maker

My thesis put architecture and clothing in one building, and I have been designing garments since 2016. This room holds what got made: garments drawn, fitted and made with tailors, the attire for two weddings, and a drawing printed in three dimensions.

  1. Annotated iPad sketch of two traditional outfit options with fabric swatches and red handwritten notes
    Two traditional outfit options, with swatches and notes.

    2016 to present

    Custom Apparel, Sketch to Garment

    See also

    Role
    Designed custom-fit garments from concept sketch to final fitting, among them the StanElvis custom-fit line, designed and styled in Nigeria in 2018 and 2019.
    Tools
    • Sketching on iPad, annotated by hand
    • CLO 3D
    • AI-assisted flat (Google), annotated by hand
    • One gown study in the clip uses Adobe Firefly
    • Client measurements, with fabric and trims chosen for each client
    Credits
    • StanElvis line: StanElvis Industries, Utonix Nigeria Limited, as credited in my 2021 research paper

    Most pieces start as a drawing: the cut, the fabric placement and the trim worked out in red ink before anything is sewn. Some looks are tested in CLO 3D first. The black and gold suit began as an AI-generated flat that I annotated by hand for the tailor, and the groomsmen photo is that suit, worn. The StanElvis line, made to build awareness for the StanElvis SkinCare brand and “designed and styled in Nigeria,” took the same path from each client’s measurements to a finished piece: the Shoji design fuses traditional Nigerian attire with Japanese style, and the black and gold piece was made for the UMass Dartmouth commencement in May 2018.

    Visit the site
    Plates 2 to 11 of Custom Apparel, Sketch to Garment
    1. Sketch of a green isi-agu open vest over a cream agbada, with red annotations on print and placement
      Plate 2The green isi-agu vest over a cream agbada.
    2. Black and gold ceremonial suit flat, annotated by hand with piping, embroidery and closure notes
      Plate 3The suit flat: AI-assisted base, annotated by hand.
    3. The finished black and gold suit worn at the centre of a row of groomsmen in black
      Plate 4The same suit, worn.
    4. A man laughing in a light blue two-piece native with white bands down the front, standing before a wall of green leaves
      Plate 5StanElvis: a light blue native with white bands down the front, before a wall of green leaves.
    5. A man in a cream two-piece with a navy, red and white embroidered triangle yoke, standing before a metal screen
      Plate 6StanElvis: the cream two-piece with its embroidered yoke.
    6. Two men side by side: one in dark green with a yellow ladder frame over a white floral panel, one in cream with tan stripes
      Plate 7StanElvis: the Shoji design, in green with its yellow frame, beside a cream piece.
    7. A man in a black native with gold embroidery around the collar and down the chest
      Plate 8StanElvis: black and gold, made for the UMass Dartmouth commencement in May 2018.
    8. A long sleeved black native in a fine dot on a dress form, with a red pocket square
      Plate 9StanElvis: a black native in a fine dot, with a red pocket square.
    9. CLO 3D render of a hooded puffer jacket printed in blue with the Exploded Materials drawing
      Plate 10A puffer printed with my Exploded Materials drawing, in CLO 3D.
    10. Clip moving from sketches and flats to the finished garments, worn
      Plate 11From sketch to garment, in motion.
  2. In a church, the groom in a black double-breasted suit with gold embroidery at the lapels and shoulders, beside the bride in a lace gown and veil
    My white wedding, in the church: the black and gold suit from the front, gold embroidery at the lapels and shoulders.

    2023 to present

    Wedding Attire, White and Traditional

    See also

    Role
    For my own white wedding I designed the black and gold suit. For a client’s wedding I was lead designer, co-managing with the Technical Director: I measured the groom and groomsmen, worked with the makers in Nigeria and Senegal, and fitted and helped dress the party for the ceremony.
    Tools
    • Measurements and fittings
    • Production with makers in Nigeria and Senegal
    Credits
    • Client wedding: co-managed with the Technical Director

    Two weddings, two kinds of dress. At my own white wedding I wore the black and gold suit I designed, the one whose annotated flat hangs in Sketch to Garment. For a client’s wedding party in summer 2023 we made agbada over three months: lavender for the groomsmen, white and purple for the groom. As lead designer I took the measurements of the groom and groomsmen, worked with the manufacturers abroad, and fitted the outfits before the day.

    Visit the site
    Plates 2 to 4 of Wedding Attire, White and Traditional
    1. The first dance: the groom seen from the back in the black and gold suit, the bride in white lace facing him, guests around them
      Plate 2The first dance: the same suit from the back.
    2. The entrance: the groom in a white agbada between groomsmen in lavender
      Plate 3A client’s wedding, the entrance: the groom in a white agbada between groomsmen in lavender.
    3. A groomsman in a lilac agbada with an embroidered chest panel
      Plate 4The client’s groomsmen: lilac agbada with an embroidered chest panel.
  3. A model on the runway in a white embroidered agbada and cap
    The white agbada on the runway.

    Spring 2023

    Africa Fashion Week Seattle

    Role
    I approved the designs shown at the event, arranged the place for the model fittings, helped style the models in their runway outfits and helped curate the catwalk line up.
    Tools
    • Fittings and styling
    Credits
    • Lead project manager for the event: the Technical Director

    A white agbada on the runway in Seattle. The Technical Director led the event; I approved the designs that went on the catwalk, arranged where the fittings happened and helped style the models.

    Plate 2 of Africa Fashion Week Seattle
    1. Men on a hotel staircase in agbada of mint, gold, white, olive and royal blue
      Plate 2Agbada in colour, worn together.
  4. Render of Diebenkorn, Medium without its base: planes and bars in translucent brown at the top, then cocoa and sparkling gold, with olive legs at the foot
    Rendered from my print file, in brown and gold: translucent brown at the crown, then cocoa, sparkling gold and olive in bands down to the feet.

    2025

    Diebenkorn, Medium

    See also

    Role
    Modelled in Rhino, the same model as my Extruding Forms drawing, and printed on my own Bambu Lab P1P in single and combined filaments.
    Tools
    • Rhino 3D for the model and the four-part split
    • Bambu Studio for the colourways
    • Bambu Lab P1P
    • Blender renders made for this gallery with AI assistance (Claude) from the print files in each file’s filament colours
    Credits
    • Study after a painting by Richard Diebenkorn

    Extruding Forms, made physical. The drawing began as my study of a Richard Diebenkorn painting, line weight standing in for colour, rebuilt in 3D until the flat rhythm became planes and bars; this is the same model, trimmed to a cube and standing without its base. In Rhino I split it into four parts, the white, black, wood and acrylic of the drawing, and in Bambu Studio I gave each part a filament or painted the whole piece in colourways, at sizes from 3 to 6 inches. The renders come from those files, in the colours each one assigns, and the last plate is the drawing it all comes from.

    Visit the shop
    Plates 2 to 6 of Diebenkorn, Medium
    1. Render of five painted colourways of the piece, three over two, at their true relative sizes: black and green, brown and gold, translucent orange and olive, blue and brown, plum and gold
      Plate 2Rendered from my print files: the five painted colourways at their true relative sizes, 4 to 6 inches.
    2. Render of the piece painted in fine zigzags of plum, gold, turquoise and metallic green
      Plate 3Rendered from my print file, sized 4.5 inches: plum, gold, turquoise and metallic green, painted in fine zigzags.
    3. Render of the piece in blue and black silk with translucent blue and brown
      Plate 4Rendered from my print file, sized 6 inches: blue and black silk with translucent blue and brown.
    4. Render of five colourways of the four part version, three over two, at their true relative sizes, each part in a single filament
      Plate 5Rendered from my print files: the four-part version, one filament to each part, in five colourways at their true relative sizes, 3 to 6 inches.
    5. Extruding Forms, grey and timber-brown planes pushed out from a single core
      Plate 6Where it comes from: Extruding Forms, Art by CEO, in the Designer room.

Room 06, Sites and tools I built and run

Systems

The brands in this gallery run on systems I built: the sites that show and sell the work, an assistant that answers for it, and the books that keep it honest.

  1. Screen recording of ceokafor.com: the home page with a 3D avatar and the Architecture and Construction panel, then the Portfolio tab opens this gallery, its plan drawn and tilted into the lit floor, and the walk goes into the Graduate Studio room
    ceokafor.com, the portfolio itself: the home page, then this gallery opening and the walk into its first room.

    2026

    The Sites

    Role
    Designed and built: this portfolio, the Red Remedy site and the Custom Archetype shop.
    Tools
    • Next.js
    • React
    • TypeScript
    • Three.js
    • Stripe
    • Built with AI coding assistance (Claude)
    • 3D avatar generated with AI (ChatGPT image, Meshy)
    Credits
    • The shop’s architectural prints include team studio renderings: The Tower of Valhalla (a team of three) and Art and Science High School (CEO + XN + MK)

    This portfolio, the Red Remedy brand site and the Custom Archetype shop run from one codebase, each on its own domain with its own design system. Every layout follows written rules for type, colour and contrast in light and dark, and the shops take payment through Stripe.

    Plates 2 to 3 of The Sites
    1. Screen recording of the Red Remedy site, from the flavour line to a product page
      Plate 2Red Remedy, the brand site.
    2. Screen recording of the Custom Archetype site, the drawn line map and the two collections
      Plate 3Custom Archetype, the art and objects shop.
  2. Screen recording of CEO AI on ceokafor.com: the chat opens, the question "Who makes Red Remedy, and where?" is typed and sent, and its full answer appears: made in Boston, nothing artificial, in two sizes
    CEO AI answering a question about my work: who makes Red Remedy, and where.

    2026

    CEO AI and REX

    Role
    Designed and built both assistants.
    Tools
    • OpenAI GPT-4o
    • Next.js API routes
    • Google Apps Script
    • Built with AI coding assistance (Claude)
    • 3D avatar generated with AI (ChatGPT image, Meshy)

    CEO AI answers questions about my work from the portfolio itself, so a hiring manager can ask instead of search. REX is the assistant inside the Red Remedy operating system: tell it what happened, or ask what is left on the shelf. The numbers shown are demo numbers.

    Plate 2 of CEO AI and REX
    1. REX answering a question about the books, shown with demo numbers
      Plate 2REX, answering about stock (demo numbers).
  3. The Apps Script code that keeps the books
    The Apps Script engine.

    2026

    The Books

    Role
    Built the financial operating system behind Red Remedy and Custom Archetype.
    Tools
    • Google Apps Script
    • Google Sheets
    • Stripe
    • Built with AI coding assistance (Claude)

    The back office behind the brands: an Apps Script engine that keeps the ledger and the customer records in Google Sheets, and a checkout that runs from the shop cart to the Stripe payment page. The checkout shown uses example details.

    Plates 2 to 3 of The Books
    1. The Custom Archetype cart holding one print, Exploded Materials 1, one step before the Stripe checkout
      Plate 2The cart, ready for Stripe.
    2. Screen recording of a checkout from the shop to the Stripe payment page, filled in with example details
      Plate 3A checkout from the cart to the Stripe payment page.