Lecture
Wednesday 19 October 2022
Nifemi Marcus-Bello
Africa - A Designer’s Utopia
From a contemporary viewpoint, a good number of West African cities have a vast array of indigenous products that create socioeconomic solutions. These products are a necessity towards the daily function of the city and in most cases, are designed and crafted around readily available materials and craftsmanship, cementing themselves into the landscape of cities and in some cases, countries.
This lecture will share recent and past investigations by Nifemi and his team, looking into the ecosystem around these products and understanding the impact urban planning has on communities coming together to design, create, build and distribute products through their network. The talk will highlight how these products have inspired outputs within Nifemi’s practice, spotlighting how indigenous design thinking is used to create and cater to stakeholders across a unique supply chain.
All of this to show, how a design revolution continues to happen in Africa, without the “design” label attached to it.
This lecture will share recent and past investigations by Nifemi and his team, looking into the ecosystem around these products and understanding the impact urban planning has on communities coming together to design, create, build and distribute products through their network. The talk will highlight how these products have inspired outputs within Nifemi’s practice, spotlighting how indigenous design thinking is used to create and cater to stakeholders across a unique supply chain.
All of this to show, how a design revolution continues to happen in Africa, without the “design” label attached to it.
About Nifemi
Nifemi is a designer known for his community-led and ethnographic conscious design approach. As a designer, Nifemi’s strength lies in the exploitation of materials and his fearlessness to pursue new forms and typologies to create truly unique products and experiences.
In 2021, Nifemi was awarded the “Life Enhancer of the Year” Award by Wallpaper* Magazine and was part of the Dazed100 2021 list of next-generation names leading change in their communities and across their fields.
Nifemi is a graduate of the University of Leeds with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Product Design with a “Potential for Social Change” Award.
