The story behind the Academy.

The Academy was founded by Abimbola Ashonibare, a product designer and illustrator who believes creative skills can be learned by anyone willing to practise.

Abimbola Ashonibare, founder of Bimbo Oni Studio
Abimbola Ashonibare, smiling

“I want every student to leave knowing they can do this on their own.”

Abimbola Ashonibare, founder
Our founder

From finance to creative education.

Abimbola Ashonibare didn’t start out as an illustrator. That’s exactly why she teaches the way she does.

  1. 2022

    From finance to design

    A finance student and makeup artist, Abimbola found product design during a university strike, and never looked back.

  2. 2025

    Falling for illustration

    She believed illustration was only for born artists, until she taught herself, with AI as her study partner.

  3. Teaching

    A webinar that took off

    A two-day webinar for her mentor’s bootcamp drew so much praise that she turned it into a brand.

  4. 2026

    The Academy

    146 students across four cohorts and eight countries, in its first year.

  5. Today

    Designer, illustrator and engineer

    Abimbola works as a product designer, strategist and engineer, bringing illustration, design and engineering together, and runs the Studio from Lagos, Nigeria.

Highlights

Her teaching, so far.

Academy students
146
Cohorts
4
Countries
8
Students at Dev and Design
300+

Nigeria · Ghana · Kenya · United Kingdom · France · United States · Canada · India

  • Dev and Design

    Speaker on personal branding

    Showing students how to position themselves and build a digital footprint that works for them. A personal brand is what sets you apart from everyone else doing the same work, so it’s worth shaping on purpose.

  • Civic Tech

    Facilitator on branding

    Showing founders building civic tech products that branding is perception. When people are asked to trust a product with public services or their personal data, a clear, consistent voice at every touchpoint, from Instagram to email, is what makes it feel credible.

Creative skills will always be in demand.

Growing up, many of us had to figure out tech and creativity on our own. The Academy exists to be the guide we didn’t have, for as many people as possible.

Choose a courseStart learning