DESIGN AND CULTURE. (reflect and research)

Everyday Objects, Everyday Rituals, Everyday life.

From a very young age I have always been fascinated about everyday objects that we interact with on a daily basis, their use and how these objects were created, how they enhance our daily lives like a toothbrush, this is an object that is used every single day (how did this object come to be, who was the first person to design this object are the questions I ask myself) Design is a fundamental part of our lives and I believe it is quite underrated but I guess thats the beauty of design, its not in your face, good design blends in quite well with daily life and the flow of existence. In my journey as a designer, my curiosity and thirst for knowledge made me to realise one very important aspect of design which is “culture” I will not talk much about the details as I have discussed this in my previous post but I came to understand that I needed to connect with my cultural identity to stand out as a designer/creative/artist. As an African I also realize the struggles and challenges we face, design is the tool I use to fight the good fight. Design and Culture became my purpose and I particularly focused on African culture and one of the good things about the Applied Imagination program is that it has guided me and lead me to focus on my very own culture as Africa is such a vast continent with over 3000 tribes and 2000 languages, I also realised through research that the Yoruba culture is one of the most popular cultures in the world, the Yoruba people are among the most urbanized people in Africa, an ethnic group that inhabits Western Africa, they constitute about 44 million people in total. This culture is rich in tradition and knowledge. In this case the Yoruba people are well known for their Arts and Crafts, Folklore, Mythology and Religion. I decided to create a unique modernist design language following the basic principles of the Yoruba culture from language, fashion to food, one thing that struck me in this culture is the Minimalist approach but dynamic way of life, combining minimalism, design skills, intuition and research. My next post talks a bit more of my intervention.

YORÙBÁ culture featuring “IBEJI” (twins) sculpture.
Culture + Future.
Culture to create.

A design language.
Yoruba people celebrating music and culture with talking drums.
“IRO + BUBA” a traditional attire which has evolved over the years.
Sculpture of a Yoruba woman offering a traditional bowl.
A traditional stool crafted by an Artisan from the Yoruba tribe.

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