Case Study · 2026
KODÉ
African Contemporary Luxury
A jewellery brand redefining the perception of African luxury through contemporary design, craftsmanship, and cultural storytelling.
Prototype-to-production silver jewellery
Successful creation of initial jewellery prototypes through collaboration with specialist silver fabrication workshops, validating both design direction and material execution.
Cross-disciplinary creative collaborations
Established and led collaborations with photographers, product designers, and design studios, ensuring a cohesive visual and product output while maintaining full creative direction.
End-to-end creative ownership
Maintained full authorship across the entire process, from visual identity and art direction through to production, ensuring design integrity across all outputs.
Overview
Named after the Cape Verdean Creole word for “the youngest child.”
Kodé is a different project. Filipe is a co-founder of Kodé, a jewellery brand redefining the perception of African luxury through contemporary design, craftsmanship, and cultural storytelling. Filipe led the creation of Kodé's visual identity, art direction, and jewellery production system, helping shape a design language rooted in authenticity, heritage, and modern expression. The project explored a collaborative approach to design, blending African cultural references with refined contemporary aesthetics to create collectible and timeless objects. Kodé represents a new generation of African creativity that positions African design at the center of global cultural and aesthetic conversations.
Business Needs
Bringing ownership to African cultural influence.
African culture continues to shape global luxury aesthetics, yet African designers and brands remain underrepresented in ownership, visibility, and economic participation within the industry. Kodé was created to build a contemporary luxury brand rooted in African identity, while developing the design systems, creative infrastructure, and cultural ownership needed to compete on a global stage.
The Challenge
How to reshape the way we see African contemporary design and art.
Cultural inspiration without cultural ownership
Kodé builds a luxury brand where African culture is not referenced from the outside, but authored from within — by placing African identity, storytelling, and creative direction at the center of the brand.
Lack of contemporary representation in African luxury
Many global perceptions of African craftsmanship remain tied to traditional or touristic aesthetics, leaving little space for elevated contemporary design. Kodé exists to change that perception.
Limited access to advanced design and production systems
Kodé established a collaborative design and production process combining art direction, visual identity, advanced 3D printing technologies, and access to leading fabrication centers to create a globally competitive luxury brand.
Design Process
From identity to object.
Brand Identity
Clarity, precision, and material presence.
Kodé's brand identity was developed as a system of clarity, precision, and material presence. The visual language balances geometric structure with tactile sensibility, translating the brand's values of cultural ownership and contemporary African luxury into a refined design system. The logotype and identity framework were designed to be minimal, confident, and adaptable across physical and digital applications, ensuring consistency across all brand expressions.
Typography System
Bold, geometric, and enduring.
The typography system is built around a bold, geometric typeface that reflects strength, clarity, and restraint. It supports a communication style that is precise and accessible, prioritizing legibility and editorial control across product, brand, and campaign contexts. Typography becomes a structural element of the brand, reinforcing hierarchy and rhythm while maintaining a timeless visual character.
Colour & Packaging
Considered, restrained, and enduring.
The colour system combines soft tonal bases with deeper accent hues to create contrast, depth, and emotional balance. Packaging extends the identity into the physical world through texture, materiality, and simplicity, reinforcing Kodé's focus on craftsmanship and tactile experience. Every element is designed to feel considered, restrained, and enduring.
Results
A fully integrated luxury design system built from identity to object.
A cohesive brand and production framework that connects visual identity, communication, and physical jewellery outcomes into a single system of authorship and control.
- —Developed a complete brand identity system for a contemporary jewellery house
- —Established a consistent typography and visual language across all touchpoints
- —Extended the identity into packaging and physical product expression
- —Delivered a unified system used across design, photography, and production workflows