D&AD New Blood Shift: Meet Yewa

With a penchant for words and an eye for design, my creativity knows no bounds. During high school, my love for words turned into a platform to perform. As a spoken word poet, I have performed at the Apollo Theater, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bowery Poetry, and other spaces. In the summer of 2017, my poem “Rule #1” was turned into a poetry film and featured at Lincoln Center, and published on the Poetry Foundation. While spoken word played a big role in navigating my self-expression, digital art is my preferred medium because I don't have to explain myself -- the art speaks on its own.

I am a self-taught graphic designer and I started out making cover art for musical artists as a way to merge my appreciation for music and art. I enjoy spending the bulk of my time on my laptop conceptualizing and bringing to life graphic content. Drawing inspiration from my Nigerian culture, worn-out streets, graffiti, and pop art -- amongst other things, I have been able to create pieces that are representative of the duality in my upbringing and ideas that tend to fall on deaf ears. My goal is to be a graphic designer at a creative agency where I can utilize my multifaceted lens. While working there, I'd like to be able to support my own creative endeavors on the side which include a limited release project called Don't Dull and my own creative agency that focuses on art, clothing, and music-related content.