There was a time when I introduced my work as Ododo Arts and Design.
At the time, graphic design was at the centre of what I did. That was how I expressed my ideas, how I approached creative work, and how people came to know me professionally. Ododo Arts and Design was the name attached to that part of my life.
Today, it's Giwa.
The change might look simple from the outside. A different name, a different identity. But there's a reason I no longer use the name I started with, and it has a lot to do with the kind of work I want to do.
When I started out, graphic design was my primary focus. Over time, my interests grew beyond it. I became interested in website design and development, branding, and the thinking that goes into building a coherent digital presence for a business. I wanted to understand more than how to make something look good. I wanted to understand how the different parts of a brand work together, from its visual identity to the experience people have when they visit its website.
That interest changed the way I approached my work.
I began to see connections between things I had previously treated as separate disciplines. A logo, for instance, is one part of a brand's identity. A website is another place where that identity comes to life. The two need to make sense together, and both should reflect what the business is trying to communicate.
I found myself wanting to work across those different areas rather than remain focused on one.
Ododo Arts and Design no longer felt like the right name for the direction I was taking. It had been associated with a particular kind of work, and I needed an identity that could accommodate the wider range of things I was learning, exploring, and building.
So I made the change to Giwa.
What I want Giwa to represent
It gives me the freedom to approach a project based on what it needs rather than what fits within the label of a graphic designer. Depending on the project, that might involve developing a visual identity, designing and building a website, or thinking through how a business presents itself online.
That's the work I want to do.
My approach is also shaped by interests outside design. I studied Human Anatomy, and although it might seem unrelated to what I do now, studying the human body gave me another way to think about structure, function, and how individual parts relate to a larger system. I find myself drawn to those relationships in design and technology, too.
I'm interested in how people interact with the things we create, why certain decisions work better than others, and how thoughtful design can make something easier to understand or use. Those questions matter to me just as much as the visual side of a project.
It's one of the reasons I've never been particularly comfortable limiting myself to a single discipline.
I don't believe creativity belongs in just one box.
That idea has become a central part of how I see my work. I'm still interested in graphic design, but I also want to build websites, explore technology, and find better ways to bring ideas to life. I don't see a need to choose between these interests when they can inform one another.
Ododo is still part of the story
Of course, changing the name doesn't erase what came before it. The work I did as Ododo Arts and Design remains part of my experience. That period contributed to the skills I have today and helped shape the direction I've taken since.
I have no reason to pretend it never happened.
Giwa simply reflects where I am now and gives me room to keep developing. It brings my interests in brand and visual design, web and digital design, and digital strategy under one identity, without making any one of them the limit of what I can do.
For anyone who knew me through Ododo Arts and Design, the name is different, but there's a connection between the two. The work has expanded, and so has the way I think about it.
Where things stand now
Going forward, Giwa is the name you'll see attached to my work.
There's still a lot I want to learn and build. I expect my interests to keep developing, and I want the work to reflect that. For now, I'm focused on creating thoughtful visual identities and digital experiences that help businesses communicate better and establish a stronger presence online.
That's what Giwa represents for me.
And that's where the next part of this story begins.