Work 05 of 9 · Playbook E
Mara Okafor
Portfolio of a product designer who makes complex tools feel obvious.
- Playbook
- E · Portfolio & studio
- Variant
- E1 · Editorial index
- Loud idea
- Project index with a cursor-following cover
- Type
- Instrument Serif · Inter · Geist Mono
Lagos Available from Nov 2026
Mara Okafor
Independent product designer making complex tools feel obvious.
Selected work
2024–2026
Clearance desk
Kora Freight · 2026 · Lead product designer
Customs filings now take 9 minutes instead of 40, and rejections fell by 62%.
Grid console
Juno Energy · 2025 · Product designer
412 solar mini-grids on one screen; technicians reach faults before customers call.
Payroll runs
Sable · 2025 · Product designer
A payroll for 1,284 people now runs in one sitting instead of three days.
Claims inbox
Brightwater Health · 2024 · Design lead
Nurses triage new claims the same day, down from three.
Index
Every project since 2017, newest first. Hover a row to preview its cover.
| Year | Project | Client | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Clearance deskKora Freight · Product design, research | Kora Freight | Product design, research |
| 2025 | Grid consoleJuno Energy · Product design | Juno Energy | Product design |
| 2025 | Payroll runsSable · Product design, prototyping | Sable | Product design, prototyping |
| 2024 | Claims inboxBrightwater Health · Research, product design | Brightwater Health | Research, product design |
| 2023 | Field reportsDelta Agro Co-op · Service design | Delta Agro Co-op | Service design |
| 2022 | Ops design systemPaylane · Design system | Paylane | Design system |
| 2021 | Merchant onboardingPaylane · Product design | Paylane | Product design |
| 2019 | Lab results portalBrightwater Health · UX design | Brightwater Health | UX design |
| 2017 | Market checkoutOuro Market · Interaction design | Ouro Market | Interaction design |
About
I design software for people whose work doesn’t forgive mistakes: customs brokers, payroll officers, grid technicians and claims nurses. My job is to make the complicated parts feel obvious without hiding them.
I usually join as the first or only designer for three to six months. I sit with the people who use the tool, prototype in the first week and ship alongside engineers.
I work from Lagos with teams in Europe, Africa and North America. Before going independent I led design at Paylane and spent three years at Brightwater Health.
- 2022–now
- Independent product designer
- Lagos
- 2019–2022
- Design lead, Paylane
- Lagos
- 2016–2019
- Product designer, Brightwater Health
- London
Tell me about the tool your team fights with.
mara@okafor.studio
Taking on one new project from November 2026. I reply within two working days.
Brief
What it had to do.
- Subject
- The portfolio of an independent product designer.
- Audience
- Founders and design leads hiring for complex B2B products.
- Job
- Read a case study, then get in touch.
- Proof
- Named projects, roles, years and outcomes.
Token plan
Written before any code.
design.md’s Agent Protocol asks for this table first. Ratios are WCAG 2, measured on the surface each color actually sits on.
| Color | Hex | Role | Contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | #F6F5F1 | Page | — |
| Ink | #151515 | Name, headings | 16.74:1 |
| Ink subtle | #6A6862 | Captions | 5.11:1 |
| Burnt orange | #C23A00 | Links, primary | 4.94:1 on paper |
| International Orange | #FF4F00 | Status dot, covers | — |
Decisions
Why it looks this way.
- 01
The work is the hero: the index table is the loud idea, with covers that follow the cursor on pointer devices only.
- 02
Covers are typographic compositions, not stock photos.
- 03
Local time and availability sit in the header as tabular, live text — no skill bars or percentages.
- 04
The name stays in one style; nothing italicized or colored for effect.