Overview

African Design Matters directory (Est. June 2020) is a timely and relevant global partnership initiative cataloguing the works of underrepresented creative people, comprising Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), African descent and Africa-born. The African Design Matters’ initiative underpins earlier works by Black, BIPOC and African designers, and of their relevant design history that escaped our design and art schools’ textbooks. These designers includes Charles Dawson (1889 - 1981); Aaron Douglas (1899 - 1979); Elmer Simms Campbell (1906 - 1971); Louise E. Jefferson (1908 - 2002); Leroy Winbush (1915 - 2007); Eugene Winslow (1919 - 2001); Georg Olden (1920 - 1975); Thomas Miller (1920 - 2012); Charles “Chuck” Harrison (1931-2018); Emmett McBain (1935 - 2012); Dorothy E. Hayes (1935 - 2015); Archie Boston (born 1943); Emory Douglas (born 1943); Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller (born 1952); Sylvia Harris (1953 - 2011); Art Sims (born 1954); Kerry James Marshall (born 1955); Gail Anderson (born 1962), among others. We pay homage to their persevering spirit and enduring stories. The African design matters directory aims to represent Design in a context that acknowledges that other cultures have their own design sensibilities and ways of doing things. Design is a cultural response. A culture of creativity sees creativity in all cultures. Design has a heterogeneous cultural past but only a homogeneous cultural history. This narrative is changing but there is more work to be done. We are confident that this directory, and as a design system, would inspire many design educators, creatives and students to see their respective cultures as statements of creativity that need to be explored, mined and worked with. We believe this would also accelerate decolonising design education towards expanding the Design canon, globally. The ADM directory aims to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in Design; to see diversity in design, design for diversity.