I attended Early Beginners Private School at Ogba, Lagos State, Nigeria, completed all nuesry and primary education there and earned my First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC)

I spent my early years being very intrested in art and crafts, i used to draw, or buy card boards and wrapping paper to make stuffs like birthday cards and christmas decorations

I got admitted into starfield collage at Fagba, Lagos State, Nigeria. I only spent my first year of high school there (JSS1).

I switched to a boarding school (hostel) which is Assemblies of God High School at Lagos-Ibadan Express way, and spent the next 3 years of my high school there (JSS2 - SSS1). I took my Junior Secondary Certificate Examination (JSCE) here and chose to study science out of the 3 options given, the other 2 being commerce and art.

It was around this period i began to find my love for and became very invested in music, I used memorise the lyrics of popular music while also trying to write and compose some of my own. I also had my first desktop computer around this time running Windows XP Unlimited Load, but I only used it to open my current email and facebook, and also play the free games it came with till it broke down.

I switched to another boarding school (hostel), Baptist Model High School at Agbowa, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was there that I completed the rest of my high school (SSS2 - SSS3) and earned my Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC)

After graduating from high school, I attempted the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and failed. At this point I wanted to study Mechanical Enginering because I liked cars and I could not study the only alternative I knew, which is Medicine.

While I was at home preparing to re-sit for (UTME), I followed and became very invested in tech news, i used to read every Gizmodo and other RSS articles on Snaptu on my Nokia phone before facebook bought the company. I recall stuffs like the Apple vs Samsung battle from then, also when Samsung Galaxy S2 lauched and it was the most amazing phone to rival Blackberry’s reign

My parents decided I learn a skill while I was at home and I chose photography over hair cutting. They registered me to learn photography at BShat Studio at Bogije, Lagos State. However, the studio did not own or train any photographers, rather commercial photographers bring their content there to edit in photoshop and print. So i became the editors assistant and learnt how to use Phtotoshop on the job. I also recall 5x7, matte & glossy prints etc.

I had my first laptop gotten for me by my Uncle. I installed Adobe Phtotoshop of course and played around with it till i could create graphics of my own. I also grew intrest in mobile app development and started learning JAVA programming language, but since i could not build an app yet, I would try to design one in Photoshop. I did not know what I was doing, I just called it an “app idea” then

I got admission late 2013 into Yaba College of Technology to study Mechanical Engineering but did not resume until November 2014 due to Federal Polytechnics going on nationwide strike for 6 months.

I uploaded this UI to facebook in 2014, I had playfully done some other UI design before then, but this is the earliest one I can find because I uploaded this one. https://web.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202333903749169

Also i had on my own decided to design an app for a popular website I used to use a lot, which is Nairaland. This was again me just playing with Photoshop and having no idea where i was going. https://www.nairaland.com/2397272/runzlords-concept-nairaland-app

I wrote the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) one last time in 2015 and gained admission to study a course i really wanted which is Computer Science at the University of Lagos. I resumed my first year in January 2016. Also started learning Android Development on Udacity, using XML and Java.

The University of Lagos went on a 2 month strike late 2017, It was during then I saw a WhatsApp post from my hostel roomate who was looking for an “app designer”. I applied showing my playful UI designs I had made. That was how I got my first Job as a UI Designer at Stargrade Technologies, Lekki, Lagos State. I worked directly with the CEO to design 2 android mobile apps that the startup owned and worked closely with an android developer to build and implement my designs correctly.

I realised I could actually buid a career from UI design, I became more serious and intentional about it. I learnt more about UI/UX on the job, I read the entire Google Material Design Guidelines as a start, read articles, watched Youtube videos, practiced everyday and learnt to use better tools such as Adobe XD and Figma. I became a much more better UI/UX & Graphics Designer and I dropped programming. I also learnt video editing using Adobe Premiere Pro

I applied to and got a remote job as a UI Designer at Linux Jobber, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States of America. I spent my time there working with the CEO to redesign the UI of existing web pages and PWAs such as the courses classroom that LinuxJobber owned. It was at here that i learnt agile methodology and was the scrum master a few times. i was working based on tasks and weekly sprints. I was also doing daily standup and representing my progress on a Kanban board

I voluteered to teach people who were intrested UI/UX for free, It was just one physical class explaining the concepts and how to get started in UI/UX. I also learnt how to build websites in Webflow in 2019, This website you are on right now is a result of that.

I participated in the NativeScript UpLabs Challenge which involved me designing a mobile app that looks great on both iOS and Android, I worked with a NativeScript developer in the United States who developed my designs and we would share ideas and have regular meetings till we were done. We won the challange, as well as a cash prize of $1000. https://www.uplabs.com/challenges/nativescript-uplabs-challenge-ac5fdcca-4e29-4e12-aa3d-0924424bdae7

I got a call and resumed at a startup in Lagos, Nigeria, called Vergly as a Product Designer. There I worked with another designer on the startup’s product called Vergly, which is an operating system than runs on a decentralized server or blockchain and has it’s own wallet & token. Also worked on Vergly Streaming, which is a standalone streaming app from Vergly OS but can also be installed on Android & iOS. I was involved in the product strategy and development as much as I was in the design.

I founded Studio One which is a design agency in Lagos, Nigeria. I became 100% freelance and worked based on short contracts with individual clients from Upwork and direct referrals from past employers and clients. I was also in contract with KWG Softworks which is an agency at the United States of America. I held my first UI/UX design training where i taught about 20 people UI/UX design from ground up over a period of 3 months for free. some work with me at Studio One till date

I worked on muliple projects from different industries. I became really invested in cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and Web 3.0. I created a few non-design streams of income. I started a Google Project Manager Course on Cousera. I hosted another but paid UI/UX design training with about 40 people. I started a design community on Slack called NIgerians Who Design, I designed and built the website http://nigerianswhodesign.com. I graduated from the University of Lagos. I spoke about design and freelance at multiple tech events.

I am Okwe Joshua Oghenekaro. I am the first of 3 children, I was born and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. I am 27.

I’m a multi-disciplined and hands-on Senior Design Professional with extensive experience on designing brands & products for companies, startups and individuals. I have worked individually, and also in and lead teams of designers on different projects.  I have worked in startups and full companies.

I founded Studio One which is a Design Agency in Lagos, Nigeria. I run a design community in Lagos Nigeria. I host paid design trainings where I teach beginners about UI/UX Design.

I studied Compuer Science at the University of Lagos.

I love music and consumer technology with all of my heart. I make music, follow up on tech news or play video games as part of my leisure.

I do not like when people waste my time, and I do not waste mine or other people’s time too. I have mastered being very productive.

I am very curious, I question everything, I am very outspoken and expressive, I keep constant communication, I do not settle for anything less than “the best”, I do not stay in a box.

Skills I have, tools I can use and  some of my other super powers includes:

• Product Design

• Problem Solving

• UI Design

• Prototyping

• Graphics, Brand and Identity Design

• Figma & Adobe XD

• Web Development using Webflow

• Adobe Photoshop

• Project Management

• Slack

• Trello, Miro & Jira

• Notion

• Google Apps such as Gmail, Google docs e.t.c

• Zoho Business Apps

• Zeplin & Protopie

• Video & Audio Editting