| Client | Dr. Adaeze Okafor |
| Occasion | PhD Celebration Dinner |
| Date | Saturday, 18 April 2026 |
| Time | 18:30 — Dinner to follow |
| Venue | Trinity House, Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DH |
| Guests | 32 — across London, Lagos, Edinburgh, New York |
| Dress Code | Smart Formal |
| RSVP By | 28 March 2026 |
| Field | London School of Economics — Economics |
| Dietary | 4 vegetarian guests · 1 nut allergy noted |
"The Edition"
The visual language of the London Review of Books. Toni Morrison's first edition covers. The quiet authority of serious scholarly publishing. Twelve years of work in the register it deserves.
Adaeze asked for something that understands the weight of what she has done. Not a celebration that looks like every other graduation. A suite that holds the scholarship, the sacrifice, and the thirty-two people who kept her going — in one considered piece of editorial design.
References: LRB long reads, Teju Cole book design, Toni Morrison hardback covers, West African literary publishing, broadsheet arts supplements.
Ink (#2E2A25) on Paper (#F2EDE8) = 14.3 : 1 — passes at all sizes.
Paper / Sand hold 80% of any composition. Cognac is used sparingly — rules, labels, "Dr." only.
Warm sand paper ground with editorial warmth and wide margins — as if the page itself is the material.
A single-family editorial approach. No secondary display face, no decorative script. EB Garamond 400 roman and italic carry every word — from display to body, from envelope front to footnote.
Chilled Avocado and Lime Soup — West African spice oil (VE GF)
"My grandmother's Ankara fabric — the pattern she wore to every important occasion in her life. I am wearing a dress made from it to the dinner." The grid stripe appears on every piece in the suite.
- Pattern CSS repeating-linear-gradient — horizontal rule 2px / 10px period + vertical rule 2px / 6px period. Step geometry only — no curves.
- Colour Cognac #9B7D5A — the same accent token used for rules and "Dr." labels.
- Stripe opacity 55% on paper backgrounds (invitation card). 35% on dark backgrounds.
- Band opacity 45% on horizontal header/footer bands (menu top, welcome sign top + bottom).
- Placement Invitation — left-margin stripe, full height. Menu — horizontal band, top. Welcome Sign — top and bottom bands bookending the piece.
- Rendering Pure CSS — no external image, no SVG file. Renders identically in all modern browsers. No AI imagery in any design piece.
- Animation Welcome sign bands: stripeIn — scaleX(0) → scaleX(1), 0.8s ease-out. Invitation: no animation on stripe — present from render.
The AO monogram appears as a watermark on all three design pieces and in featured form on documents and the brand book. Always EB Garamond roman. Never outlined in the design pieces — that is a document-only treatment.
| Design Pieces | Watermark variant only — centred behind content, 5% opacity (paper) or 3–4% (dark). Never drawn over text. |
| Envelope Seal | Cognac-on-night circle seal on invitation envelope flap. 80px diameter. Present on digital render — decorative seal metaphor only. |
| Documents | Large display treatment on document covers and brand book back cover at 3–4% opacity. |
| Typeface | Always EB Garamond roman. Italic italic variant permitted in Sand watermark treatment only. |
| What to avoid | No outlined stroke in design pieces. No coloured fill in watermark positions. No rotation. No pairing with decorative borders or seals in body copy. |
The welcome sign places Adaeze's exact words from her briefing where her thirty-two guests will read them as they arrive. We did not write this. We recognised it.
"This dinner is for the thirty-two people who kept me going. My mother flew from Lagos. My supervisor came from Edinburgh. My best friend from law school came from New York. That is the room."— Adaeze Okafor · written in her briefing, 12 May 2026 · used verbatim on the Welcome Sign
A note for you: This quote will appear in full at the venue entrance, visible to all thirty-two guests as they arrive. Please let us know if you'd prefer it adjusted or kept private — we're happy to use an alternative line instead.
Every piece shares the same typeface, palette, Ankara motif, and monogram watermark. Each is independent but unmistakably from the same suite.
Envelope entry ritual · QR code · countdown timer · ambient music
West African dinner menu · dietary badges · print mode
Venue entrance · verbatim client quote · print mode
Tent fold · 148 × 105 mm · personalised per guest · 32 total
A5 programme · full evening runsheet · Ankara top + bottom bands
Standing tent · 100 × 200 mm · night ground · large italic Garamond numeral · 6 tables
A6 landscape · sand ground · cocktail list · sits on arrival table
148 × 148 mm square · paper ground · sent to each guest after the dinner
1080 × 1080 px · night ground · Ankara left stripe · designed for Adaeze to share
Send as a file link
Open in Chrome or Safari. The envelope animation plays on click. QR code is client-side generated — no external dependency. Countdown targets 18 April 2026 18:30 BST. Ambient music is user-triggered at 15% volume, never autoplays.
Share via client portal
Upload all three pieces to the CRM designs table for Dr. Okafor's briefing ID (CLok7R2L8T). Share via portal link. Client views on desktop for best experience — welcome sign and menu are optimised for screen.
Browser → PDF
- 1 Open piece in Chrome. Click Print Mode toggle (top right).
- 2 File → Print (⌘P). Destination: Save as PDF.
- 3 More settings: Background graphics ON · Margins: None.
- 4 Save. Menu Card and Welcome Sign are A4/A3 proportioned for print.
If printing physically
Menu Card: 350gsm uncoated stock — warm white (never bright white). Matt finish.
Welcome Sign: 170gsm uncoated A2 or A1 — warm white. No lamination.
Invitation: Digital only — the envelope animation is the experience. Do not print.
Stable Audio · minimal piano, Satie-like · loops · WAV format. User-triggered via ♪ button on invitation. Chrome and Safari compatible. Never autoplays.
Generated client-side via QRCode.js — no server dependency. Links to client portal RSVP form. Update if portal URL differs from la-maison-de-fetes.vercel.app.
The Ankara motif is pure CSS — no external image file. Direction A uses zero AI imagery. Renders in all modern browsers without dependency on external CDN beyond Google Fonts.
Dr. Adaeze Okafor · PhD Celebration Dinner · 18 April 2026
Trinity House · Tower Hill · London EC3N 4DH
Direction A — "The Edition"
Design suite: 9 pieces · Support documents: 8 · Total files: 18
Typography: EB Garamond 400 Roman / Italic · Single-family
Colour: #F2EDE8 · #D6CEC5 · #9B7D5A · #2E2A25 · #1C1714
Ankara motif: CSS repeating-linear-gradient · No AI imagery in design pieces
Ambient music: Minimal piano · User-triggered · 15% volume
La Maison de Fêtes · MMXXVI