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Icograda: Saki Mafundikwa and Ravi Naidoo
BY
TAXI
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Icograda Design Week in Seattle was an international design forum which took place in Seattle, USA last 9th July till 15th July 2006.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Saki Mafundikwa
Before New York, I pursued my studies in the States where I got a BA in Fine Arts and Telecommunications from Indiana University and an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale School of Art. My country got its independence in 1980. I returned home 18 years after that but unfortunately, the glory years of design in an independent Zimbabwe were starting to fade as the country began its out-of-control spiral into economic and political mayhem. The first decade and a half in independent Zimbabwe saw the proliferation of small and large design studios with some pretty incredible work being produced. There was even a vibrant graphic design association GRAZI (Graphic Design Association of Zimbabwe) with a large membership of both professionals and students.
They put out a catalogue listing all design professionals in Zimbabwe and a couple of annual newsletters. Those were heady days indeed. I used to come home every other year and I remember one such visit when I was asked, along with a designer from Zambia, to judge the graphic design component of the annual Advertising and Design awards. The work was edgy with an overt attempt not to ape trends in the West; it has been the case since the colonial era. The Harare Polytechnic was the only school offering a design education and pretty much almost ALL of the designers in the country went through their 3-year program.
Today, most of the country's designers have migrated to other countries (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and North America - Canada and the US) in search of greener pastures. The few studios that are left compete for their share of an ever-dwindling pie. Most of the design work is now being handled by advertising agencies whose numbers seems to keep growing, defying all logic given the tattered economy. The Polytechnic program is a mere shadow of its former glory as the government run college has seen its funding being slashed to unbearable levels creating a decline in students and faculty. The creation of ZIVA has assured that the country has at least one dynamic design-training institute and all of our students are snapped up by agencies desperate to replace the ever growing numbers of the departing workforce.
In conclusion, I think that the work being produced in Zimbabwe still has a long way to go towards the creation of work that has a distinct "Zimbabwean" look and feel, it's changed somewhat over the years and I think that ZIVA has had a role in bringing about that change. We instil in our students the need to look inward rather than outward for inspiration and they take that message with them wherever they end up practicing design.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Saki Mafundikwa>> Yes, and that is resilience. I started the college at the exact moment my country was self-destructing and we have succeeded in weathering the storm despite the great odds stacked against us. We survive simply because we BELIEVE in what we are doing. We are not in it for the money. We really would like to see more young Zimbabweans become good designers without the need to go abroad for their studies. And we are doing all this WITHOUT a penny in funding proving that good design does not depend on great resources, of course we would love to have access to them, but in their absence, we continue to work hard and to produce powerful work.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Ravi Naidoo
skill set includes project and media management and creative services.
TAXI >> You initiated International Design Indaba, a very insightful initiative. Business Design Innovation describe it as, “If design forms the world we live in, the International Design Indaba is a glimpse of tomorrow.” How influential do you see this initiative on the impact in the West?
Ravi Naidoo>> It starts by presenting an alternative view of Africa – its not what you expect from the stuff you have seen on National Geographic and CNN.
The Design Indaba® gathers the world's brightest talent across the creative industries. We've become a broad church for the graphic design, advertising, film, music, fashion design, industrial design, architecture, craft, visual art, new media, publishing, radio & television and performing arts sectors. This institution, which incorporates events, media, education, training and business development, celebrated its tenth year in 2005.
And we have a different tack on design conferences. You see, Design Indaba is a celebration of design in a country that has come to represent the triumph of the human spirit. Resurgent South Africa is a beacon to the world, and is proof that even the most intractable problems can be neutralized by the will of people. This spirit is palpable, and Design Week in London reported recently that many find their experience at the foothills of Table Mountain, at the end of February each year, somewhat life-changing! All of this tumultuous change has made South Africa one of the creative hotspots in the world.
The Design Indaba event typifies this optimism and can-do spirit. It starts with the unselfish premise: how can design help solve the problems of an emerging country? It takes the view that we can create a better future, by design. It asserts that design is one of the most pervasive forces on the earth - and that which separates man from other species is the ability to consciously create products that become a determinant of the quality of life. And judging by the reports in ICON, ID, Axis, Creative Review, Frames, etc – it’s starting to make the point.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Ravi Naidoo>> I would like to share experiences from South Africa – and present progress made in the creative sphere since democracy.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Saki Mafundikwa
 | TAXI >> You came back home after teaching in New York City to establish Zimbabwe's first graphic design and new media college, the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA). Please define VIGITAL ARTS.
Saki Mafundikwa>> "Vigital" is a word I coined (and trademarked) to best describe the institute I had in mind: teaching visual arts using digital tools, "vigital" is really visual and digital morphing to form a whole new word. TAXI >> Having 12 years of working experience in New York City and coming back home after such a long period of time, how has the design scene in Zimbabwe changed after a decade of your absence? Saki Mafundikwa>> I was away for more than a decade! Two decades to be precise. I left my country in 1978 during the war and came back in 1998. |
Before New York, I pursued my studies in the States where I got a BA in Fine Arts and Telecommunications from Indiana University and an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale School of Art. My country got its independence in 1980. I returned home 18 years after that but unfortunately, the glory years of design in an independent Zimbabwe were starting to fade as the country began its out-of-control spiral into economic and political mayhem. The first decade and a half in independent Zimbabwe saw the proliferation of small and large design studios with some pretty incredible work being produced. There was even a vibrant graphic design association GRAZI (Graphic Design Association of Zimbabwe) with a large membership of both professionals and students.
They put out a catalogue listing all design professionals in Zimbabwe and a couple of annual newsletters. Those were heady days indeed. I used to come home every other year and I remember one such visit when I was asked, along with a designer from Zambia, to judge the graphic design component of the annual Advertising and Design awards. The work was edgy with an overt attempt not to ape trends in the West; it has been the case since the colonial era. The Harare Polytechnic was the only school offering a design education and pretty much almost ALL of the designers in the country went through their 3-year program.
Today, most of the country's designers have migrated to other countries (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and North America - Canada and the US) in search of greener pastures. The few studios that are left compete for their share of an ever-dwindling pie. Most of the design work is now being handled by advertising agencies whose numbers seems to keep growing, defying all logic given the tattered economy. The Polytechnic program is a mere shadow of its former glory as the government run college has seen its funding being slashed to unbearable levels creating a decline in students and faculty. The creation of ZIVA has assured that the country has at least one dynamic design-training institute and all of our students are snapped up by agencies desperate to replace the ever growing numbers of the departing workforce.
In conclusion, I think that the work being produced in Zimbabwe still has a long way to go towards the creation of work that has a distinct "Zimbabwean" look and feel, it's changed somewhat over the years and I think that ZIVA has had a role in bringing about that change. We instil in our students the need to look inward rather than outward for inspiration and they take that message with them wherever they end up practicing design.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Saki Mafundikwa>> Yes, and that is resilience. I started the college at the exact moment my country was self-destructing and we have succeeded in weathering the storm despite the great odds stacked against us. We survive simply because we BELIEVE in what we are doing. We are not in it for the money. We really would like to see more young Zimbabweans become good designers without the need to go abroad for their studies. And we are doing all this WITHOUT a penny in funding proving that good design does not depend on great resources, of course we would love to have access to them, but in their absence, we continue to work hard and to produce powerful work.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Ravi Naidoo
| TAXI >>You were an Account Director at Young and Rubicam in 1990-1993 but your main business focus has always been on media, marketing and project management. Soon after, you founded Interactive Africa, a marketing and communications company, focusing on sports. How far do you see sports in the economical stream?
Ravi Naidoo>> Well, we focus on 3 sectors actually: sports, high tech and creative industries – and have a 13-year track record in all three. We telegraphed the economic impact of sport early on and saw its importance to an emerging economy like South Africa, and have helped in our country’s bids to bring major sporting events to our shores – which has the added benefits of nation building and helping in giving our country an image makeover. The 2010 Soccer World Cup will add 2% to our GDP and create a 160 000 permanent jobs according to a research survey by Grant Thornton – so its a great way to bring our talents to bear on a changing country. Our |  |
TAXI >> You initiated International Design Indaba, a very insightful initiative. Business Design Innovation describe it as, “If design forms the world we live in, the International Design Indaba is a glimpse of tomorrow.” How influential do you see this initiative on the impact in the West?
Ravi Naidoo>> It starts by presenting an alternative view of Africa – its not what you expect from the stuff you have seen on National Geographic and CNN.
The Design Indaba® gathers the world's brightest talent across the creative industries. We've become a broad church for the graphic design, advertising, film, music, fashion design, industrial design, architecture, craft, visual art, new media, publishing, radio & television and performing arts sectors. This institution, which incorporates events, media, education, training and business development, celebrated its tenth year in 2005.
And we have a different tack on design conferences. You see, Design Indaba is a celebration of design in a country that has come to represent the triumph of the human spirit. Resurgent South Africa is a beacon to the world, and is proof that even the most intractable problems can be neutralized by the will of people. This spirit is palpable, and Design Week in London reported recently that many find their experience at the foothills of Table Mountain, at the end of February each year, somewhat life-changing! All of this tumultuous change has made South Africa one of the creative hotspots in the world.
The Design Indaba event typifies this optimism and can-do spirit. It starts with the unselfish premise: how can design help solve the problems of an emerging country? It takes the view that we can create a better future, by design. It asserts that design is one of the most pervasive forces on the earth - and that which separates man from other species is the ability to consciously create products that become a determinant of the quality of life. And judging by the reports in ICON, ID, Axis, Creative Review, Frames, etc – it’s starting to make the point.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Ravi Naidoo>> I would like to share experiences from South Africa – and present progress made in the creative sphere since democracy.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.