Serious about Fraud

Saba Ghani graduated from BA GMD in 2022 and has worked for several organisations before arriving at her current employment with the Serious Fraud Office, where she recently won a commendation award. We asked Saba to reflect on her LCC experience, career journey so far and how she is now using design to fight crime!

During my time at UAL, my design style focused on process, experimentation, mixed media, and generative design. One first-year project that still influences my practice is Design Machine by Paul McNeil, where we generated pixel patterns from lottery numbers. It taught me that structure and randomness can work together, showing how rules can inspire creativity.

During my DPS year in lockdown, I became interested in branding. I worked on real briefs and freelance projects that taught me that it’s more than just logos and colours. It’s about how a brand communicates with its audiences, and how all the elements work together. Since graduating, I have focused on building and refreshing brands for a range of organisations, from charities to working as a designer at a design agency, learning how design, strategy, and audience engagement works together to create strong, effective brand identity.

I am currently working as a graphic designer at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), a Civil Service Government department that investigates and prosecutes complex financial crime, delivers justice for victims, and protects the UK’s reputation. My role within the team is to develop and refresh the organisation’s brand identity and take it further, introducing new brand elements, layouts and colour palettes across print and digital platforms. This includes designing reports, information guides, social media and presentations for different teams and divisions, such as communications, case teams, and the director’s office, while exploring ways to refresh the brand consistently across digital and print platforms.

I am currently leading the creative direction for the recently launched SFO Instagram page, designing social media content such as awareness posts, case-related carousels, and stories to encourage audience engagement with current cases. Over the past year, I’ve grown my skills in motion and video, learning After Effects and Premiere Pro to make the SFO’s social media more engaging. For example, I created an animation that explains cryptocurrency in a way that’s easy to understand, helping audiences learn while boosting engagement and visibility. Inspired by the recent Gov.uk rebrand, I have been experimenting with animation and sound to support storytelling, using moving images to illustrate information and increase interaction on social media, all while following government accessibility and design guidelines to strengthen the SFO’s work across other departments.

In November 2025, I was thrilled to receive a Commendation Award with the SFO Graphics Team for creative excellence and collaboration in delivering visual materials that support investigations, trials, and office-wide initiatives. Alongside my design work, I’m learning how law enforcement builds and presents cases in court, which is helping me develop the skills to design more effectively for the justice system.”

Instagram: @designwithsaba
Website: www.designwithsaba.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/designwithsaba