Afrika Design: Creative Tour of Africa

20 🇧🇼 Culture Through Ergonomics | Richie Moalosi

Welcome to Season 2 of the Afrika Design Podcast.

In this episode, Richie Moalosi, a professor in the Department of Industrial Design and Technology at the University of Botswana, takes us through the connection between culture and ergonomics in the design of products and services.

We look at the impact that indigenous communities have in the creation process. Furthermore, we look at how cultural differences inform the design process and how ownership of projects impacts the long-term sustainability of the solutions proposed.

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

IG: @richie.moalosi

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

For the full episode transcript : https://www.afrika.design/richie-moalosi

19 🇰🇪 Into the Forest | Mutana Gakuru

Mutana Gakuru is a Kenyan creative based between Paris and Nairobi, and is the founder and creative producer of the African Fiction Academy; a hub for artistic innovation inspired by African cultural heritage.

In this podcast he talks about the 'Sounds of Freedom', an audio film series that captures the lives and personal experiences of the young men and women who chose to fight for Kenya's independence.

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

IG: @soundsoffreedom_africa

IG: @africadheritage

Sounds Of Freedom Audio-Film :

Producer - Victor Ndisya

Executive producers - Mutana Wanjira & Chao Tayiana

For the full episode transcript : https://www.afrika.design/mutana-gakuru

18 🇿🇼 Journey into Textiles | Fungi Dube

Fungi Dube is a scientist by training (BSc. Human Anatomy and Physiology & Biochemistry) and a Creative Solopreneur by calling. She is a strategic, intentional, calculated, and self-taught brand and visual identity graphic designer from Harare, Zimbabwe with 6 years of experience.

In this podcast episode, she talks about one of her projects, Threads.  Threads is a visual journey through the writing and graphic systems embedded in African textiles. Check out her Behance page to learn more about the project: https://www.behance.net/gallery/123641221/THREADS

IG: @fungidubegraphics

Find the full transcript here: https://www.afrika.design/fungi-dube

17 🇰🇪 Unboxing Africa | Gerald Gichuhi

When I started out as an artist, I had zero clue on how to exhibit my work and connect with clients. It is through a caring community of creatives, and my persistence to discover art spaces that I was able to get to know more.

This is a common issue faced by majority of emerging artists. After all the hard work that goes into making these amazing creations, what next?

Unboxed Africa Offers that solution . Gerald Gichuhi, founder and CEO, expounds on how they focus on discovering different artists, and working with them hand-in- hand to showcase, market and sell their creations.

In this conversation, We delve into past and future projects. Including a blockchain system for artists that will help reduce plagiarism of artworks. 

'That small opportunity that you give someone might just be the stepping stone they need to get somewhere...'

Welcome to Afrika Design podcast; where we document stories from those making a difference in Africa. 

 

16 🇰🇪 Art of Tech | Nyambura M. Waruingi

Nyambura M. Waruingi creates, curates, and collaborates through various artistic expressions, bringing audiences unique ways to imagine new worlds. She's a filmmaker and curator passionate about combining art, design and technology. She pushes the frontier of what is possible through her creative enterprise Akoia & Co. by producing and curating projects, which merge cinema, visual arts, gaming, and immersive technologies.

Nyambura joins us on Afrika Design to talk disruptive technologies, digital blackness, interdisciplinary processes and inclusivity for women. 

"What I've been able to do is create on the edge of things, and that's what feels disruptive for people."

"How do we include Africanness as part of the conversation on Digital Blackness?"

"Women are not a monolith...you have to commit to the work of including women."

Learn more about Nyambura and her work to "imagine radically" at: @nyambura_mw and @akoiaco.

15 🇰🇪 Being Heard | Samantha Weya

"Skiza na Skika"–Skika Afrika is a platform for African creatives to boost their careers. "It's about being heard," says Founder Samantha Weya, which is why she created a meeting point where Africa's creatives can connect, find work, increase their visibility & upskill.

For her, Skika pursues a balance between recognizing the narratives behind African stories, but also giving creatives the infrastructure to build sustainable creative careers. From portfolio curation to fan support, brand consulting and mental wellness, Skika Afrika is all-encompassing in its mission to amplify the voices of African creatives, allowing them to bring to the world a broader understanding of who Africans are.

"The reason parents don't want you to go into creative industries is: Where is the money going to come from? How will you eat? How will you pay the bills?... But that's just a lack of there being enough sustainable industry."

"How can you get connected and plugged into a creative community that enables you to create what you want?"

"Our market needs to value our talent."

"The creative industry needs to leverage financial security, and vice versa."

By profession, Samantha Weya is an Actuarial Analyst. She brings her understanding of risk, insurance and financial security to the creative industry to emphasize how creatives can take care of each other and their work. Learn more about Samantha and Skika Africa here: https://beta.skikaafrika.com/ and follow the platform on instagram, facebook & twitter!

14 🇲🇿 World Class | Guidione Machava

What makes a World Class Designer?

There are designers who make things look better. There are designers who make things work better. Guidione Machava @guidione_machava is the designer who makes teams collaborate better.

Guidione brings his experience as a Product Designer, Creative Leader, and Community Builder to this episode. From World Bank projects, scrappy startups, and non-profits across the continent, Guidione commits his time to systems, products and services that have a positive impact on people's lives.

"Design is like sex... no one taught me, but I've learned."

"Communication, community and collaboration...the first comes naturally to me, so the rest becomes easy."

"When I say 'best designer' I'm not talking about craft...I'm talking about mindset."

He is the author of “Design Sutra”, a collection of design principles for designers in the early stages of their careers. He founded the World-Class Designer School, home to the brightest design minds in Africa, supported by companies like Webflow, Framer, & Shopify; he also organised the World-Class Designer Conference, Africa's most diverse and inclusive design conference. Notable speakers included Debbie Millman, Marty Cagan, Randy Hunts and designers from Google, Facebook, Boeing, Visa & 40+ more.

Guidione holds a degree in Economics from St. Thomas University in Mozambique and an ongoing Honours in Interaction Design by Open Window in South Africa.

Learn more about Guidione and his work at https://guidionemachava.com/

13 🇰🇪 Nairobi By Ear | Jesse Itemere

Jesse Itemere @jesseitemere is the visual designer and illustrator behind the album artwork for Nairobi Yetu, a digital composition that memorializes and celebrates our city under the sun with typically "Nairobian" elements and symbols. In this episode, we discuss Jesse's background in Law & Development Studies, and passion for human-centered design, which brought to bear on the collective, creative process and style behind the resulting album cover. 

"What makes Nairobi Nairobi?" 

"The idea was... the roots of hip hop go back to New York, 1980s etc. What can we do to show that and how that could have influenced hip hop culture in Nairobi?"

Nairobi Yetu is a debut album by producer and rapper Blocka Beats @blochains_blocka, and was the soundtrack to the NDW2021 online festival.

12 🇿🇼 Appropriation to appreciate | Batsirai Madzonga

If all designers globally aspire to create the same aesthetic, how can our designs represent the cultures they come from?

Batsirai Madzonga @batsimadz , designer of Sankofa Design System shares his inspirations & experiences. We discuss the process of creating, re-appropriating typography, iconography and color palettes and he talks about his mentor @sakimaf.

“I took inspiration from nature, for example, fractals, and it was interesting to explore and create patterns and geometry in UI design.”

“I’m trying to create digital experiences that users can easily connect with, because they seem familiar.”

We used the Sankofa font as the display font for this year's Nairobi Design Week theme 'Together' 💚

Find more of his work at madzonga.com 

11 🇷🇼 Positive Actions | Venuste Kubwimana

Venuste Kubwimana is the President and Secretary General of the International Transformation Foundation (ITF), based in Kenya and Rwanda. The formation of ITF was inspired by his troubled youth during the Rwanda Genocide in 1994. He strives to make the world a better place for the youth through ITF. 

He won Global Innovator of the Year Award 2018 at the 10th Anniversary AIDF Global Summit in Washington DC and his project ‘A Water Kiosk at School’ was named among the top 50 innovations at the Africa Innovation Summit 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda.

This episode is part 5 of a 5 part series, in partnership with Open Design Afrika festival.

Check out our new visual identity and website at www.afrika.design !