Ini Archibong

Inimfon "Ini" Joshua Archibong (born 23 June 1983) is an American-born Nigerian artist and designer. His work reflects an interest in master-craftsmanship and its relationship to technology, as well as mathematics, philosophy, and world religions. He has said about the relationship between art and design, "[t]he idea that something has to be useless in order to be art is something I reject."

Born to Nigerian parents who emigrated to the United States as academic scholars, Archibong was born and raised in Pasadena, California. He graduated from the Polytechnic School, then briefly attended the University of Southern California's business school before dropping out. He subsequently enrolled at ArtCenter College of Design where he was both an Edwards Entrance Scholar and an Art Center Outreach Grant recipient, was also named the 2010 Student Designer of the Year, and from which he received a degree in Environmental Design.

After graduation, he joined Tim Kobe's Eight Inc. [de] in Singapore, before continuing his studies at the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ÉCAL), where he earned a master's of advanced studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship.

Archibong began exhibiting his work at the Milan Furniture Fair in the mid-2010s. His 2016 furniture collection titled The Secret Garden was produced with the support of the actor Terry Crews. This was followed by several exhibitions of his furniture designs for Sé Collections at the Rossana Orlandi gallery. He began an ongoing collaboration with the Knoll furniture company in 2018 creating designs such as the "Iquo Cafe Collection". In 2019 Hermès began marketing Archibong's "Galop d'Hermès" wristwatch. In 2020, Archibong started working on the creation of sculptural pieces for a solo exhibition at the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York.

In addition to his artwork and design practice, Archibong has taught at several design institutions and is a visiting professor at his alma mater ÉCAL, and has also taught at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne and the National University of Singapore in Singapore. He has also lectured and spoken internationally including at the College Art Association conference, USC School of Architecture, and in Dubai and Design Indaba in Cape Town.

In 2019, along with business development collaborations with Benjamin de Haan, Archibong founded L.M.N.O. CREATIVE, a multi-disciplinary design collective. The collective includes fellow graduates from Pasadena's ArtCenter, Jori Brown and Maxwell Engelmann, as well as designer Ebony Lerandy, who studied under Archibong at ÉCAL.

In 2023, Archibong began working with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg on the concept, packaging, and graphic identity for a new brand to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1993 single Gin and Juice. The resulting products include a canned alcoholic drink brand called Gin & Juice that was released in 2024. The design features an "explicit content" Parental Advisory logo and illustrations by the artist Wayne Johnson. A Venetian glass bottle design for a gin called "Still G.I.N.", a reference to Dr Dre's 1999 single Still D.R.E., was released later in the same year. In 2025, Archibong was named creative director of Gin & Juice, "where he'll oversee graphic identity, design language, future packaging concepts and visual presentation for the brand." Other clients include companies such as de Sede [de], Bernhardt Design, Port Ellen, and Logitech.

He is the recipient of the ICFF Studio Award, Best of NeoCon Silver, International Woodworking Fair's Design Emphasis Award, ICFF's American Student Designer of the Year Award, and the 2019 Elle Deco American Design Award. In 2019, he received Distinguished Alumni awards from both ArtCenter and Polytechnic in his hometown of Pasadena.