Afrika Design: Creative Tour of Africa

30 🇰🇪 Make It Circular! ♻️ feat. Esther Kute

This is a bonus episode of Afrika Design about circular design. It's in partnership with What Design Can Do and their 'make it circular' challenge. We discuss examples of design from all over the world and some specific ones from Kenya and Africa. There are examples of culture, nature, materials, storytelling, and even water preservation. We also discussed that sometimes the best design thinking comes from experts in fields other than design.

Thank you to Esther Kute who joined us for the episode. You might recall Esther was our very first guest on the podcast and you can actually check out that conversation to hear her talk more in detail about her experience as a breakthrough product development manager at Bata.

Happy Holidays! See you in 2023:)

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

Website: https://makeitcircular.whatdesigncando.com

Music by: Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/make-it-circular

29 🇺🇬 Mistakes Make Us | David Ogutu

In this episode, we're off to Uganda. We have a conversation with the co-founder of Kafunda Kreative, which is a platform that connects creatives with markets to further their creative career. We discuss the challenges that creatives in Africa face and the possible solutions/steps that can be taken to elevate freelancers and those in the creative industry. He shares his life experiences and how they shaped the company and opened doors for not just him but others around him. He talks further about his main goal, which is to provide what he lacked as a creative to make it easier for those who come after him.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamogutudaudi

Website: https://www.kafundakreative.com

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/david-ogutu

28 🇿🇼 Don’t Forget About Yourself | Dillion S. Phiri

Welcome back to Afrika Design!

We begin the next leg of our journey in Zimbabwe. This will be our first episode under the Shifting Narratives program supported by the British Council and in partnership with Kampala Design Week. In this episode, we talk with Dillion who is a social sculptor and the founder of Creative Nestlings; a design community comprised of Afrikans from across the continent. We discuss community, self, and what can and needs to be done for creatives to thrive in Afrika. Join us as we unpack what it means to a build community and grow the self.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillionsphiri

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/dillion-phiri

27 🇰🇪 Why Afrika With a ’K’ | Mugendi M’Rithaa

Our next stop: Kenya. This episode took us in a nice full circle, with Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa, who has been mentioned by several guests on the podcast. Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa is a transdisciplinary industrial designer, consultant, educator, and researcher currently teaching at Machakos University, Kenya. He’s also the President Emeritus and Convenor of the Senate of the World Design Organization (WDO). He has a special interest in the pivotal role of design thinking in advancing the developmental agenda on the African continent. In this episode, he expounds on the co-creation of a new narrative of an emerging Africa. We talk about everything design from AI, Industrial Design, traditions, Afrika with a ‘K’, and how we can move away from a Euro-Centric view of Africa to finally embrace our identities and our uniqueness through a sense of ownership in our designs, culture, and traditions.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mugendi-kanampiu

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/mugendi-mrithaa

26 🇳🇬 How Artists Get Spotted | Ifeoma Dike

Choo chooooo, all aboard! Next stop is Nigeria with Ifeoma Dike, an art advisor and curator as well as the founder and CEO of IDDUK. Ifeoma intensively travels across Africa and the world to identify new talents, underrepresented artists, and spot collecting and investment opportunities. In this episode, we talk about pricing art for artists on different levels, digitization of art and emerging art tech, diversity in art, distribution, and collection, and more!

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ifeoma-dike

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/ifeoma-dike

25 🇲🇬 Sensible, Expressive, Unexpected | Fenoson Zafimahova

Welcome to Episode 25 of Afrika Design: a creative tour of Afrika.

Our next stop: Madagascar. Fenoson Zafimahova, a Lead Concept Designer, led the design of JBL portable speakers such as JBL Xtreme, Flip3 and Pulse 2. We discuss the creative process, AI in design, Malagasy culture, and the knowledge locals have about design. We also discuss the future of design and the biggest challenge facing designers, sustainability.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fenoson-zafimahova

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/fenoson-zafimahova

24 🇿🇼 Afrika - Love Letters | Osmond Tshuma

Welcome to Episode 24 of Afrika Design: a creative tour of Afrika.

Our next stop: Zimbabwe. Osmond Tshuma takes us on a journey into language and how it can influence art within a culture. We also explore the 'Afrika - Love letters' project that celebrates African independence and uniqueness through typography. We dive deep into Zimbabwean languages and their connection with art and technology, and how design mistakes can become a tradition and even part of the culture. We also look at 'Nyami Nyami', part of Zimbabwean folklore, how it came about, and its influence on the local people. 

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/osmond-tshuma

Website: https://mamgobozidesign.com

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/osmond-tshuma

23 🇹🇿 Design For The Human Being | Juliet Kavishe

Welcome to Episode 23 of Afrika Design: a creative tour of Afrika. Our next stop: Tanzania. Juliet Kavishe brings with her a wealth of experience as a professional Interior Architect born in Tanzania and raised in four countries on two continents. Her personal Design Motto is that impactful design is achieved once you consider the complexities and interrelationships of human beings and their surroundings. In this episode, she walks us through interior and architectural design and the changes that resulted from pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial influence.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://za.linkedin.com/in/julietkavishe

Website: herartfelt.com

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/juliet-kavishe

22 🇳🇦 Indigenous Knowledge In Design | Omagano Kankondi

In this episode, we head off to Namibia to dive deep into its culture and indigenous knowledge. We examine how different communities approach life, done through a series of boot camps in the informal sector facilitated by UNDP and the Namibian Government. Omagano talks about the UNDP accelerator lab and how they work with market vendors to connect them to buyers through a digitized system during the pandemic. She further expands on some of the unique cultural differences found only in Namibia. Join us on this stop of our creative tour of Afrika to find out what they are.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3bmMkNW

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/omagano-kankondi

21 🇸🇿 We Are Fulfilled | Senetisiwe Ginindza

In this episode, our creative tour takes us to Eswatini through the lens of Senetisiwe's poem "Casted Silhouettes". A story of love expressed through poetry and performance art. Along the way, we'll discover the beauty of Eswatini and its culture, and uncover what it's like to be queer. We'll battle challenges associated with LGBTQ+ and queer love. Join us on this journey of expression.

*For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones.

IG: @senetisiwe

Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (@ngalah_oreyo) and Mercy Barno (@merc.b_)

For the full episode transcript: https://www.afrika.design/senetisiwe-ginindza