AFRICA DESIGN DAY 2021

Adams Namayi

Deputy Director – Research, Kenya Building Research Centre, with a demonstrated history of working in the Communication Sector, Education Sector, Building Sector and the Design Industry.

Work Experience: Kenya Building Research Centre (KBRC) under the State Department for Public Works, Co-operative College of Kenya (CCK), Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Maseno University, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Creative Art Centre.

PhD. Candidate, Maseno University, Kenya

Beatrice Mwasi

Beatrice Mwasi is an innovation and management specialist with over 20 years of hands-on and professional experience in management and execution of Business Development projects; Value Chain Development; Business Process Reengineering (BPR); Research; Export Trade Capacity Building; Establishment of Export Production Villages and Manufacturing Value Addition.

She is the team lead at the Center for Business Innovation & Training (CBiT); Chairperson - Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI)’s Regional Design Studio (RDS); Secretary-general - Leather Apex Society of Kenya, an umbrella organization that covers Kenya’s leather associations across the value chain; Patron Leather Articles Entrepreneurs Association, and a member of the Africa Women Entrepreneurship Project (AWEP) – Kenya board.

Esther Kute

Esther Kute is a keynote speaker and award winning Design, Manufacturing and Education professional with over 14 years experience in fashion, textile, footwear, accessories, product and industrial Design https://youtu.be/VGDLOPzGQP8. She has overseen product development in senior management, mid level and consultant positions with Kenyan and global organizations. Products she has designed are selling globally, have featured in New York fashion week, Vogue magazine and other media, are realizing millions of USD in turnover and are changing lives and communities.

In 2017, Esther was the youngest, first female, first Kenyan, first Black Designer to be appointed Product Development Manager, in charge of Design, for Bata Kenya, the largest footwear manufacturing and retail company, making her the youngest member of the senior management team in the organization at the time. This was after working in the company for only 6 years and just 8 years after graduating from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelors of Arts in Design (Honors). Esther has footwear design training from Italian ARSUTORIA School - Shoe and bag Design University, a Masters of Arts in Design, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Design.

Richard Moalosi

Richie Moalosi is a Professor of Industrial Design at the Department of Industrial Design and Technology at the University of Botswana. He holds a PhD in Industrial Design (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), MA Design (University of Wolverhampton, UK), B.Ed Design and Technology (University of Botswana). He has over 20 years teaching experience at university level. He works with small micro enterprises, community-based organizations and creative communities to uplift their brands and products or service innovation capabilities as these are considered to be the next engine of economic growth in Africa.

His specialization and research interest areas include the following: design and culture, design education, sustainable design, social innovation, additive manufacturing, and post-graduate students supervision. He has also published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals, contributed book chapters, published books and presented at many international peer-reviewed conferences.

Vikki Erickson

Vikki is an educator focusing on design evolution and theories that influence modern design practice. She is a tenured staff member at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and a director of the IDEA Collective. Vikki believes that creative exploration is a powerful tool in the learning experience and she is passionate about establishing a holistic learning culture.

Her interest in the humanising of technology, user experience and service design fields, has resulted in her participation in several research projects. Vikki has collaborated on two design textbooks, has presented at numerous design and education conferences and has published on the human experience of design.

Ciiru Waithaka

Wanjiru Waweru Waithaka is a graduated of Interior Architecture from the Glasgow School of Art, University of Glasgow. She successfully founded and run an interior architecture consultancy called Amber Africa for 10 years. Her clients were individuals, hotels and multinationals within East Africa. After 10 years of running Amber Africa and her passion for design and manufacturing Wanjiru realized the need to create the first global children's brand from Africa.

Funkidz Limited is an exciting, innovative children's brand that designs and manufactures products targeting children from age 0-16 years. Funkidz has several brands to it all , geared to creating world class products . Funkidz Tech through Kidz Go Tech is focused on Transforming and leap frogging education on the African continent experientially using 21st century learning by way of using storytelling, tech sensory learning and animation. What gets Wanjiru up every morning is a burning fire and desire to make a positive difference in the society she lives in and in the world at large.

Juliet Kavishe

Juliet Kavishe is a Professional Interior Architect and alumna of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her education was further bolstered by a traineeship focusing on bridging the gap between spatial design and curatorship of artworks at New York's Guggenheim Museum. Over the course of a career spanning 13 years and two continents, Juliet has worked as an Interior Architect on projects with a focus on high-end residential homes and commercial and corporate workspaces.

Her keen interest in education has afforded her the privilege to invigilate and moderate design exams from undergraduate to postgraduate level at various design institutions in South Africa for the past decade. Her passion for the promotion of her profession, particularly within a broader African context has led to various opportunities for Juliet to share her expertise in Interior Architecture, including a lecture in 2013 on sustainable design and traditional African building practices at the World Policy Institute in New York and her call-up as Juror for the Caesarstone Student Design competition in 2019.

Shaohua Han

Dr.Shaohua HAN is an associate professor and Postgraduate supervisor in School of art and design, Wuhan University of technology. he focuses on promoting service transformation and experience innovation for commercial companies in the context of sustainable development. As the director LeNSLab-WUT, he led the research team to preside over the projects of the Ministry of education, Ministry of science and technology, Provincial Social Sciences, provincial teaching and research and other national ministries and commissions;

Regarded as the Distinguished Teacher of WUT, he is giving lectures on China-MOOC, Dozens of articles on journals, two monographs and one national planning teaching textbook have been published; With the design company he founded, he has completed more than ten design projects of CSSC, CRRC, Dongfeng Motor, Huawei, Haier Group and other leading enterprises in China;

Srini Srinivasan

Srini Srinivasan is a highly accomplished designer & entrepreneur in creative design and technology development, with over 30 years of work experience in the Silicon Valley, United States and India. Presently, Srini is the President of WDO (World Design Organization, formerly Icsid), working with its global members to promote design for a better world. In this role, he interacts with UN Agencies, Foundations as well as City Governments across the globe to initiate and execute design led programs to create an impact for global challenges.

Srini is the Chairman & CEO of LUMIUM DESIGN, Inc., a Silicon Valley based, world class, award-winning product Design Company that has developed 300+ products in the Consumer Electronics, Medical, Industrial Goods, Security and Surveillance domains. Lumium has design studios in San Jose, (USA), Ahmedabad & Kochi (India) and in Tokyo, Japan to execute creative design projects for global clients.

Kanyi Ohawa

Kanyi is the CEO of All & Sundry Limited, a Bespoke design house specialising in Graphic design, branding, custom gifting solutions and custom invitations for weddings and corporate events. The company was founded 17 years ago and has grown to have a reputation in excellence.

She holds a BA in Fine Art from Kenyatta University and has participated in several entrepreneurial workshops and projects like the Goldman Sachs 10,000 women program; and is passionate about all things design, mentorship, and excellence. Additionally, Kanyi is a certified Competent Communicator from Toastmasters International. Under her watch, the growth experienced in the graphic design and branding sector has been phenomenal, with the company moving from just creating nice logos to building brands that have staying power.

Being first an artist, Kanyi is also proud of the bespoke stationery the company has gained a reputation for. She enjoys taking creative lead in the custom invitations they create which are the perfect way to set the tone for any event.

Kyeti Mwanza

Charles Kyeti Mwanza is the founder and Managing Director of Aplus Interiors Ltd an award winning interior design firm that has been in operation for 5 years. We are Interior designers of the year 2020 according to CORE AWARDS (https://core.ke/wp/core-official-site/) We were also voted the Fastest Growing interior design frrm in Kenya in 2019 during the 2nd Annual Real excellence awards. Since January 2019 I have also been teaching as a Tutorial fellow at the Technical University of Kenya.

Omari Souza

Omari Souza is a design researcher whose work explores the intersections between African American History, Culture, and Western Advertising. The purpose of this investigation is to explore how the visual images we consume influence racial bias.

Omari Received his BFA at Cleveland Institute of Art and his MFA at Kent State University.

Teresa Lubano

Teresa is the creative mind that drives shopnanjala.com; an online shop for Brand Design, Gifting and Gardening. The hybrid design + e-commerce platform based in Nairobi, curates creativity, urban gardening and supports small-medium artisan/crafts enterprises.

Teresa is also the Creative Director for Seven Brands Kenya. She leads the Seven team in crafting compelling strategies for brands in the African market. Having worked for over a decade in Kenya’s leading agencies, she brings a wealth of expertise in creative design, experiential marketing and consumer engagement ideation for Seven’s clients.