Design Week Lagos (DWL) 2021, founded by African design advocate Titi Ogufere, is the leading design week on the African continent, conceived to present and celebrate the best in contemporary African design across categories while bringing international field leaders and visitors to experience the most exciting work from the region. The citywide celebration-themed Design Revolution, took place in various venues across the city of Lagos from October 21st to 31st, 2021, promoting creativity, and innovation across disciplines, including architecture, industrial design, interior design, furniture design, graphics design, and technology. This year’s celebration included activities such as a central exhibition showcasing new work from across the continent, an awards program, a series of talks and lectures, and the DWL Student Competition.
The 10-day event wrapped up on the 31st of October, 2021, with the 10-day exhibition at A Whitespace Creative Agency.
THE AFRICAN TRADE ROUNDTABLE
The roundtable was themed, ”Developing the Interior Design Trade and Services Market through the AFCFTA”, and the aim was to create a platform for learning, debating, and identifying collaborative solutions to the current challenges in the furniture, fixtures, and design ecosystem and to further encourage intra-Africa trade. “It’s a growing celebration of excellence”, Titi said.
INTERIOR DESIGN BUYERS GUIDE APP LAUNCH
The ID Buyers Guide App is a new and innovative platform introduced to Africa’s home décor market. The IDBG App is an all-in-one online marketplace for products and services and a social network for trade and consumers to search, discover and buy interior design products and services within Africa.
Titi Ogufure, also emphasized why innovation is important in the interior design industry. She said, “We need to look at design holistically and make sure that the conversation is robust”.
IFI AFRICAN REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE
In collaboration with Design Week Lagos, the International Federation of Interior Architects / Designers (IFI) hosted the IFI African Regional Roundtable on October 21st, 2021 at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The interactive virtual event allowed the diverse design community in Africa to discuss the IFI Education Policy. The roundtable brought together over 5,000 African designers, including practitioners, academic institutions, educators, professional associations, policymakers, governments, and students.
Additionally, The Interior Design Professional Guide for Africa and the Middle East was launched as part of the African Regional Roundtable. The book, authored by an interior design expert, Titi Ogufere, is an essential resource and guide to managing and sourcing for interior projects in the region, with practical guidance, a directory of vendors, and advice from 25 leading interior designers in Africa and the Middle East on how to run an interior project successfully and profitably from start to finish.
THE STUDENT COMPETITION PROJECT
The ‘African Museum of Design’, serves as an introduction to the education of design history in Africa. Students were asked to design a museum borne out of recognizing the need to honor the efforts and works of Pan-African individuals and teams who have made a social impact and substantial contributions to society through design. For this competition, the task was to design a museum with localized vernacular- a design language that is true to our history, location, and future sustainable goals.
MADE BY DESIGN
Made by Design is an original documentary series highlighting architects, interior, and product designers in Africa. The series was created by Titi Ogufere, CEO of Essential Media Group (EMG).
The Made by Design documentary will offer a glimpse into Africans’ architectural, interior design, and product design landscape. It features interviews and peeks at the outstanding projects of some of the best architects and designers in Africa.
Speaking on the importance of the documentary, Founder, DWL, Titi Ogufure, said, “We have a rich heritage and we feel like it’s important for us to begin to tell our story from our own perspective”.
For more information, visit the website here.
