Demilade Olaleye Design Director Placeholder Portfolio
Demilade’s Placeholder Portfolio
An overview of experience and work by DHQ® — a Nigerian-born Designer, Developer and Artist; living & working in Toronto, CA
Updated Feb. 2025
About
I'm a formally trained Software Engineer turned Artist & self-taught Designer [now formally trained] with over 9 years of experience crafting delight through impactful interfaces, experiences & artefacts
DHQ® Process
My practice focuses on the application of computational techniques as a tool to augment the design & art direction process
I’m a creator at heart & I’m deeply passionate about:
a) Building platforms & systems that enable creation, encourage tinkering while empowering businesses and individual creators
b) Designing novel, effective interactive experiences that challenge the status quo
Ethos
I’ve lived in 4 countries 🌍 (Cameroun, Seychelles, Nigeria & Canada) and visited over 15 more in my short lifetime as I believe exposure to new environments, opinions & cultures is one of the most effective ways to decrease implicit bias while increasing knowledge, understanding & awareness of our world & its varied occupants
2
Expertise
My background, passion and unique experiences have provided me the opportunity to acquire a diverse range of skills spanning a significant number of subject areas
Design
Sound Design
UX & Product Design
Motion Design
Visual Design
3D & CGI
Technology
Web Experiences
Spatial Installations
Mobile Development
Hardware & Sensors
Mixed Reality (AR/VR)
Art
Strategy
Digital Fabrication
Art Direction
Illustration
Creative Direction
This has enabled me to be a very competent contributor across all areas of the ideation & creation process while empowering me to easily collaborate with, manage & direct partners from a multitude of backgrounds with varying experience levels
3
Experience
Jack of all trades, Master of Design... literally
Education
2021 – 2023
OCAD University
Master of Design, Digital Futures
Student Union Rep. Designed a multisensory Experience for the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario)
2012 – 2017
Babcock University
BSc, Computer Science
Member of the Babcock University Computer Club & team that won the 2016 exhibition
Work
2025 – Now
Superfluous
Creative Director
Partnering with next-gen challenger brands to help them go above and beyond the status quo
Fraymer.com
Founder & Head of Product
A tool to create animated content effortlessly. Dobson Entrepreneurial Excellence Prize
2023 – 2024
EQB Inc.
Principal Visual Designer
Contracted to help lead EQ Banks’ product design language & brand expression into a modern era
2018 – 2022
Paystack [Acq.uired by Stripe]
Design Engineer
4 years designing apps, tools & experiences used by millions of Africans. Acquired for over $200M
Other
2023 – Now
Fineline Co-op
Founding Director
Community & co-operative where creatives can sell their work while developing entrepreneurial skills
Artscape Daniels Launchpad
Artist-in-residence (3 mo.nths)
Working alongside collaborators across the fields of Digital Fabrication, Electronics & Photography.
2022 – Now
Sporting Lagos
Founding Member
Football club that has risen from the Nigerian National League to the 1st division
2021 – Now
Awwwards
Jury Member
Judging & critiquing work from the the best web designers, developers & agencies in the world
2020
Red Bull Basement
Judge & Expert Panelist
Selected top idea to represent Nigeria globally & spoke on panel about accessibility in innovation