Frammed by Jawwad

Rooted in Culture. Framed for the World.

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Framed by Jawwad - A Cultural E-Commerce Experience

What Inspired Me

I've always wanted to build a brand that celebrates Nigerian identity - not in a novelty way, but in a deeply intentional way. Eyewear is one of the most personal accessories a person can wear. It sits on your face. It frames how the world sees you. So I asked myself: What if the frames themselves carried culture?

Nigeria is home to some of the richest visual traditions on earth - Adire indigo dyeing, Aso-Oke gold threading, Benin bronze casting, the bold geometry of Ankara fabric. Yet most eyewear brands sold here are imported with zero connection to who we are.

Framed by Jawwad was born to change that. This hackathon gave me the push to finally build the storefront I've been imagining - a place where shopping for glasses also feels like experiencing Nigerian heritage.

What I Built

A fully functional e-commerce website for Framed by Jawwad, a premium Nigerian eyewear brand featuring four product lines:

  • 🕶️ Prescription Frames
  • ☀️ Sunglasses & Photochromic Lenses
  • 💻 Blue Light Blocking Glasses
  • 👗 Fashion Frames

Key Features

  • Full product catalogue with filtering by category and gender
  • Product detail pages — each frame has a Cultural Story explaining the Nigerian heritage element it draws from (e.g., The Queen Amina frame — inspired by the legendary warrior queen of Zazzau)
  • Add to Cart & Wishlist functionality
  • Checkout flow with Nigerian Naira (₦) pricing
  • WhatsApp integration — a floating button that opens a direct chat with the brand
  • Mobile-first design — optimised for how most Nigerians shop (on their phones)
  • Cultural easter eggs — Yoruba translation in the footer, an Adire-pattern loader, and a custom 404 page with a Nigerian flavour

The Design Language

The aesthetic direction was Afro-Luxury Editorial — think Lagos Fashion Week meets ancient Yoruba royalty. The palette was drawn directly from Nigerian materials and landscapes:

Colour Inspiration
Kohl Black Nigerian kohl eye makeup
Saffron Gold Aso-Oke gold threading
Terracotta Rust Benin Kingdom bronze/clay
Ivory Cream Hand-woven Aso-Oke fabric

Typography uses Cormorant Garamond for its regal, editorial weight — a nod to the grandeur of Nigerian royal courts — paired with clean modern body text.

How I Built It

I built this using MeDo, describing the full product vision, design system, cultural direction, and feature set through a detailed prompt. MeDo translated that vision into a working, styled, interactive web application — handling the layout, component logic, product data, cart functionality, and responsive design.

The prompt-to-product workflow pushed me to think like both a founder and a designer: I had to articulate not just what to build, but why every colour, every font, every product name mattered culturally.

Challenges I Faced

  • Translating culture into UI — It's one thing to say "make it Nigerian," it's another to specify which cultural elements, from which ethnic traditions, and how they map to visual design decisions. I had to do real research and be very intentional.

  • Time pressure — Building a complete e-commerce brand in under 3 hours meant prioritising ruthlessly. I focused on the shopping experience first, brand storytelling second.

  • Naming the products — Every frame needed a name rooted in Nigerian history or geography. Getting that right — The Osun Shade, The Zaria Frame, The Queen Amina — took thought. Names carry meaning. They had to earn their place.

What I Learned

Building a brand is an act of identity. When your product carries culture, every design decision becomes a statement about who you are and who you're building for.

I learned that specificity is everything in both brand-building and in AI-assisted development. The more precisely I could describe the vision — the colours of Aso-Oke, the geometry of Adire, the pride of Lagos — the more powerfully MeDo could bring it to life.

What's Next for Framed by Jawwad

  • Launch with a real inventory
  • Integrate Paystack for Nigerian payment processing
  • Add a Virtual Try-On feature using AR
  • Build a lookbook featuring Nigerian creatives wearing the frames
  • Partner with opticians across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt

"Ti a bí sí Àṣà. A fi ṣe Àgbáyé." Rooted in Culture. Framed for the World.

Built With

  • css3
  • dm-sans
  • google-fonts-(cormorant-garamond
  • html5
  • javascript
  • localstorage-api
  • medo
  • react
  • responsive-design
  • svg
  • syne)
  • whatsapp-api
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