Vanny sent in the first sketches. Also, Jubril suggested a better name: The J Guide.

On October 16, 2018, I got a DM from a stranger. Considering how long it was, it was probably better as an email. He was a 19-year old designer who was stuck with shallow-thinking bosses and wanted to learn how to get them to think critically and listen to him. I gave him some generic advice but I knew it was largely useless. He was not the problem; they were.

One year later, he sent another DM for me to check out arthistoryproject. A few days later, he asked to borrow my copy of Grid Systems. After this, he continued to share websites he thought I’d like: Color Leap, Braille Institute, Cross Cultural Design, Nomad Radio. He also asked for feedback a lot. The first was a State of Jobs site for Devcenter. Then his portfolio. Then some Corona Relief website. …

Tomiwa and I have designed a sample brochure. We might change it later when we start the comic but we’re going ahead to do test prints.

Next step is to find paper. I’m thinking of making an effect for the type (not sure yet) and also considering perforation.

Random: I just learnt about Facebook’s Analog Research Lab and I can’t help but imagine what life would be like if I had this kind of space and support.

I’m also considering making a small zine before the full format magazine. Zines are lighter to read and easier to distribute (think Awake). They’re also more affordable. I can imagine pricing them at like NGN 200 (or whatever pays for the cost of production). …

I have a day job I still intend to keep for a long time, so my plan is to work on Wuruwuru weekends and direct Eseosa/Tomiwa during the week (at least until that 3-month sabbatical).

After many hours (whew), I’m finally done with the initial company setup: documentation, project management, brand and website.

Here’s what that looks like.

We’re using Basecamp to organise projects, tasks, files and to dump ideas for conversation. Basecamp is the best task management tool for small teams because it’s so intuitively organised. Like, they really thought about the thing.

We can keep using Basecamp for free if we stay under 3 projects and delete the ones we’re not working on. …

I’m reading Understanding Comics to help with directing the illustrations for Bros J’s Guide.

“Comics” is an amazing art form, a medium of juxtaposed sequential images intended to convey meaning to the reader. They tend to be very immersive because they require a lot of participation. With comics, you have to complete the story between the panels with your imagination. He calls this closure.

When you kill a man between panels, he dies a thousand deaths

I’m halfway through and the most exciting thing I’ve learned so far is how to think about transitions. Looking forward to the second half.

Day 1 of Wuruwuru and I spent all day writing and setting up tools. Wuruwuru emails are now set up for Eseosa Belo-Osagie (ebelosagie) and Ajiboye Ayotomiwa (designgod) 🙄. I’ve also set up Notion for documentation, Basecamp for tasks, Airtable for research and Twitter for marketing.

What are you employing this thing to do for you? (EQ)

Wuruwuru is a playground for interesting ideas.

We’re making multimedia stories about design and popular culture in Nigeria with the goal to eventually publish and sell a magazine.

The idea is to take an interesting question or topic and explore it with a visual essay, game, music album, animation, documentary, dataset or whatever best tells the story. The stories will be made with other independent makers and enthusiastic friends. We’ll also work on mini projects to learn how to create and sell high quality digital/printed goods. …

I wake up.

The time is 6 something, which means I slept around midnight. Or maybe it’s 7 something and I only went to bed four hours ago. My devices are within reach, a lazy stretch away perhaps. I’m about to roll over but I stop myself. I take a minute to breathe, to welcome the day. Then I roll over and flip it open.

Is there feedback? Is there a message waiting? Does everything work as expected? Do I have enough time to make some progress on that other thing before I start my day? …

Street addresses are not specific or consistent enough for modern use, so in recent times multiple digital address projects have spun up to close the gap.

Postcode-based systems like GhanaPostGPS improve on existing postal codes by appending a unique string generated using geolocation data. More often than not, these are government-backed projects, a natural evolution of the humble postcode. Nigeria has one such system, named NIPOST DAS.

Nigeria’s Digital Addressing System has a landing page with a short introduction and a marketing site for an Address Verification Service but otherwise, there’s not much about it on the internet. There’s also the Address by NIPOST Android app. …