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How 1 Tweet Gave An Undergrad A Shot At Changing The Face Of Nigerian Vehicle Maker Innoson

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 |  October 18, 2019

On Tuesday, October 15, one Osuolale Farouq shared a post on his Twitter account. Now, that post is one that may go on to change his life.

It wasn’t a “Sco pa tu maana” post, or another edition of “O je ke wa eng”, or a “Bomboclaat” post. Yes, those ones tend to go viral but Farouq’s post was not any of those things, and it not only went viral but would go on to put him in the same room as one of Nigeria’s richest self-made businessmen.

Osuolale Farouq
Source: Twitter/@osuolale_farouq

Farouq had, in fact, spent the few days before working on a new logo for Nigeria’s only indigenous automobile manufacturer, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM). He had then posted four images of his finished work with a caption that requested retweets.

It won’t be an overstatement to say that Farouq did one hell of a fantastic job on that logo. Every detail was just exquisite. The logo had the look of elegance and class befitting any automaker in any part of the globe. And the folks at Innoson would have to be very shortsighted to not embrace Farouq’s design.

Actually, Farouq may have been taking a cue from Annabel Ojone who on Thursday, October 10, had taken to Twitter to post some of her new logo designs for Innoson.

But quite frankly, it’s either she didn’t want to put out real stuff for fear of intellectual property theft or she just did a botched job. That’s because her designs were wacky, and that’s to put it nicely.

Ojone’s original Twitter post garnered some 160 Retweets and 435 Likes. And when Innoson Retweeted Ojone’s asking people to “Like for the new logo” or “Retweet for the current logo”, the post scored 4,600 Likes and 1,400 Retweets.

Well, you know what they say about making pancakes and how the first ones probably won’t be the best ones? Turns out it is true in this case.

Farouq dropped his own Innoson logo five days after Ojone’s, complete with illustrations and definitions. Within the first 24 hours, his post had attracted over 35,000 Likes and no less than 25,000 Retweets, including some from top Nigerian celebrities and influencers.

In truth, Innoson had come under criticism lately, however undeserved, due to what many say is poor aesthetics.

The criticisms deteriorated to downright derision after the winner of a recently-concluded popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija (BBN), was gifted with an Innoson vehicle as part of the spoils of victory.

Image result for mercy and her innoson vehicle images
BBN 2019 Winner, Mercy Eke, and the Innoson vehicle prize.
Source: NaijaUto

Word on the street, especially from fans of rival contestants who fell short of the top prize, was that the vehicle is “not pretty enough.” This matter trended on Twitter for days. And perhaps, Ojone, and then Farouq, thought to harp on it.

For what it’s worth, Innoson vehicles do look just as pretty as any vehicle manufactured anywhere. But just like anything else, it can always be better. And Farouq’s logo design is certainly an upgrade on the current IVM logo.

Innoson Retweeted Farouq’s logo post on that same day; October 15. They asked for “Retweets for the new logo” and “Likes for the current logo”. Well, they got over 30,000 Retweets and some 10,000 Likes. Someone said it was the highest volume of activity Innoson has ever seen on its page, and it’s not far from the truth.

The very next day (October 16), Innoson tweeted that its Chairman/CEO, Innocent Chukwuma, was quite impressed with Farouq’s work and was open to a meeting with the brain behind the creative re-design of the IVM logo.

Farouq was asked to provide contact details and the first-year student of Computer Science at the University of Ibadan (UI), has gotten his shot at literally changing the face of a company which prides itself as the “first made-in-Africa automobile brand.” All thanks to Twitter and the legendary art of “shooting your shot.”

Farouq calls himself a Brand Identity Designer and he does have some fine pieces of work on his Instagram and Drive.

His LinkedIn account says he is an “experienced Graphic Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the graphic design industry.”

It also says he is “skilled in Logo Design, Microsoft Word, User Interface Design, Microsoft Office, and Flyer Design.

Having obtained a National Diploma at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, where he grabbed a distinction in Computer Engineering in 2017, he has worked as a graphic/creative designer at AstratechNG, BookYourDesign, and GNT Nigeria.

He is also currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Computer Science at Nigeria’s premier educational institution, having been admitted recently.

Innoson vehicles may soon be getting a facelift, literally, and they will have this creative young lad and Nigerian Twitter to thank.

Featured Image Courtesy: Twitter/@osuolale_farouq

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