Sikemi Bakare - On The Path of Boldness

Interviewed by Munirah Yaqoub

Graphic design is one of the most undervalued professions in Nigeria. Someone is always ready to tell a graphic designer that their work is about ‘adding colours to shapes’ and that they should charge less. It's upsetting to have your work disregarded by people who don't understand how much time and effort you put into developing your art.

In this interview, we speak with Sikemi Bakare, a graphic designer based in Lagos, about her transition from law to design, how she broke the news to her parents, and the challenges of being a graphic designer in Nigeria.

Sikemi Bakare

Munirah: Please introduce yourself to us.

Sikemi: My name is Sikemi. I am a graphic designer; I have been a graphic designer for about four years. And, yeah, I love food, and I hate Law.

M: Let’s start with what we came into the room to do. What did you want to be when you were little?

S:  I didn't have a specific thing I wanted to be when I was little. It was one thing or the other. Law was merely an outcome of the profession's prestige and the fact that, as an art student, Law was your go-to. It had no specific motivation. I wanted to be a nurse, a writer, a singer, and a pianist at some point in my life.

M: You ended up studying Law. How?

S: In secondary school, the natural progression from Art class, or generally the humanities field, was Law. Interestingly, by SS3, I no longer wanted to be a lawyer because I had heard enough stories about how difficult it was. I also realized that my desire to study Law was motivated by the conditions of my class at the time rather than by a desire to become a lawyer. I had no natural pull toward the profession, but being in art class and having a father who is also a lawyer made it seem natural.

I considered other professions such as Mass Communication, Languages like English, and anything but the law. I'm not sure why I eventually decided to pursue law; I guess I didn't want to appear to be quitting before I even started.

M: Aww, so sorry about that. While in university, did you ever consider switching career paths again?

S: Oh yeah, I did. I was more enthusiastic when I started university. I was optimistic and determined not to have a bad experience while taking the course. This optimism grew after I got my JUPEB results. When I got to year two, my optimism faded a little because the year was pretty annoying, but it wasn't as bad as year three. Year three was so bad that I started thinking about changing careers again, but I never really brought it up because I was still holding on and convincing myself that I could do it.

M: Oh, I’m so sorry. It must have been so tough. 

S: Thank you, it was. 

M: But you eventually switched. How easy was it for you to switch from law to design?

S: The decision to switch also began in year three because I realized it would not be a life-long career path. I was struggling with school, and that was the year I did several weeks-long internships with a law firm and got ₦10,000 as payment.

M: I’m screaming.

S: I was so disgusted. That experience sealed it that law could not be my main career. I began learning graphic design using Canva. Then, I started making small posters for organizations in my faculty.

I was determined to find a backup plan. I couldn't return to my parents to say, "Oh, I don't want to do Law, but I also don't know what I want to do" because that would be unacceptable. I needed something solid. I focused on practising and becoming a better graphic designer at university. In 2020, I took a graphic design course that helped me expand my knowledge on a larger scale. I met my current mentor through this course.

I had decided that after school, I would work as a graphic designer, and I did just that. So, when the time came for law school, and my parents asked about it, thankfully, I wasn't eligible that year, so I had more time to work on my craft.

M: Thankfully?

S: I was so excited. I didn't say anything, but my heart was jumping for joy. Since I wasn't eligible to attend law school that year, no one could make me. It saved my life. I got a job as a graphic designer a few weeks after, but my parents insisted that I apply for law school as soon as I was eligible. I disagreed quietly with them. I did NYSC for them because I didn't think I could refuse both law school and NYSC.

I used my NYSC year to build my graphic design portfolio so that when the next law school year began, I would be able to say no because they would see that I had established a stable career for myself that paid well, which is exactly what I did. My parents are not the type of people who would see you doing nothing and assume you have a plan. So it was my actions and my insistence that this was the path I had chosen that eventually convinced them to back down and let me do my thing.

M: I love that. Tell us a bit about your graphic design journey.

S: I started with faculty jobs; anything that would pay me 2k or 3k here and there. I was overjoyed because the money added to my allowance and gave me some independence. I was primarily using Canva and did not experiment with other applications. I once attempted to use Adobe and failed miserably. But Canva was frustrating because it was limited. I then moved on to Adobe Illustrator and YouTube tutorial videos. At first, I was only doing logos and posters because I had no idea there was more to graphic design.

In trying to broaden my skills, I came across an Instagram ad for a brand identity course offered by the Geneza School of Design; the course cost ₦20,000. I took the course and it introduced me to other aspects of graphic design that I had no idea existed, such as motion design, brand identity, etc. I contacted the course instructor, Mrs Bolanle Banwo Osadolo, who is still my mentor to this day.

M: What would a Nigerian client offer to pay you as opposed to a foreign client?

S: Your pay from a typical Nigerian client is determined by your age, exposure, gender, and how they came to know you. It is also dependent on the specific Nigerian client. If you work with a Nigerian client who understands how graphic design works, they may offer you a lot of money or very little. Those who understand the difficulties of graphic design and are willing to work with a co-graphic designer will provide you with a lot. The others have the mentality of "I have done this before and I faced the same struggles, so you must too" and lowball you. It also heavily depends on who recommends you.

A Nigerian will almost certainly object to a rate of $1000, depending on the current exchange rate. International clients, on the other hand, are more likely to pay you your rate because they are likely to budget more than $1000 for the work in the first place. A foreigner is also more willing to pay you $1000 or more than a Nigerian due to the exchange rate. Again, this does not imply that foreign clients are saints, as I have had a foreign client offer to pay me in import-export rather than cash.

M: As per?

S: As per, I will do the design and he will import some goods to me.

M: Scrimmmmm

S: Shey you see the ridiculousness? I was to pay for the goods myself too. In my experience, it has been easier to collect payment at my actual rate with foreigners than with Nigerians.

M: You initially did just logos and posters until you took the design course. Are you still just doing those or have you expanded?

S: I currently do full brand identity, which is a brand’s visual identity. So that’s logos, colours, and the entire package. I also got into motion design and video editing. They’re more like hobbies now but, I plan to incorporate them into my services later this year.

M: Okayyy, go, girl. Brag about yourself a bit. Tell us two projects you’ve worked on that you are extremely proud of.

S: The first one was the first international client that I successfully secured from LinkedIn. It was a full brand identity job for three different products. It makes me proud because I got the job by doing something personal. I didn’t create a portfolio; I simply designed something off the top of my head and it got great responses from the public and a lot of people contacted me to work. I felt proud of that because it was my felt real breakthrough as a designer.

The second one was for a gaming company I used to work for. The CEO had found me on LinkedIn. I really liked what they were doing at his company, so, I reached out and just pitched for a role. They were impressed enough with my work to bring me into the team. My contributions were impressive. Even though I don’t work there anymore, I was proud of the work I was able to do while I was with them.

One thing that makes me proud of my design career is that I don’t exactly have many connections in the design space. I was able to get the job that transformed my design process greatly, on my own. Looking for a job was horrendous but I did it. My friends recommend me for design jobs which I’m eternally grateful for but at the end of the day, it is the work they see that makes them follow through with the recommendation and become my clients.

M: That’s amazing. What has your biggest challenge as a graphic designer been so far?

S: My most difficult challenge is putting myself out there. Putting yourself out there is essential. I got my first international client by posting on LinkedIn. It aided my progress because I did not expect to gain so much momentum at the start of my career, especially from international clients, and I am grateful for that. But, because of its visual nature, design receives a great deal of criticism. When someone sees your work, they immediately tell you whether they like it or not; and people can be quite, for lack of a better word, forthright in telling you that they do not like your work. That isn't an issue for me because I can choose which opinions to consider.

My main issue with putting myself out there stems from my personality. I'm not someone who frequently posts themselves on social media. This makes acquiring new clients difficult. However, the well of working without a portfolio has now dried up. I've realized that if I truly desire more clients, I need to have a portfolio, so I'm currently working on it. It has come down to either posting my work or becoming a lawyer, so I’ll post. Fine! I am currently building my portfolio but, I’m still accepting commissions so, reach out.

M: When you’re not designing, what can we find you doing?

S: I work part-time at my mum’s company when I'm not designing. I’m also watching movies, eating, reading history, and just basically doing my hobbies.

M: Thank you. Lastly, where can we find you?

S: You can find me on LinkedIn at Sike Bakare and on Instagram at @sikemi.bakare. I also have a Behance account – Sike Bakare.

M: Thank you so much for your time.

S: Thank you too. I had a lovely time.