African design has entered a new era of visibility. Across major fairs, museums, biennales, and design festivals, designers from the continent and its diaspora are increasingly shaping global conversations around materiality, innovation, craftsmanship, and culture. Yet behind this growing momentum are individuals who have spent decades building the institutions, platforms, and systems necessary for African design to be seen not as a trend, but as a serious contributor to the global creative economy. Few have played a more significant role in this transformation than Titi Ogufere.
An interior designer, publisher, entrepreneur, filmmaker, and cultural advocate, Ogufere has dedicated much of her career to advancing the design profession across Africa. She is the founder of the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN), founder of the African Culture and Design Festival, founder of Design Week Lagos, founder of the Interior Design Excellence Awards, and creator of the Netflix documentary series Made by Design. She also made history as the first African and the 21st President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), where she championed policy reform, education, and greater continental representation within global design discourse. Through her publishing platforms, exhibitions, films, and institutional leadership, Ogufere has consistently worked to document, professionalize, and elevate African design on the world stage.
Perhaps her most influential initiative is Design Week Lagos, which has evolved into one of Africa’s leading design platforms. More than a festival, it serves as a growing ecosystem connecting designers to education, manufacturing, mentorship, exhibition opportunities, and international markets. Following Design Week Lagos’ presentation at SaloneSatellite during Milan Design Week 2026 and ahead of the festival’s return to Lagos later this year, Africans Column sat down with Titi Ogufere to discuss ecosystem-building, production, education, market access, and her vision for the future of African design.
Africans Column: Design Week Lagos launched in 2019, but clearly emerged from a much longer trajectory of building design structures in Nigeria. What gap were you responding to at the time—and what did you feel was missing in how African design was being presented or understood globally?
Titi Ogufere: Design Week Lagos did not begin in 2019. It is the result of over a decade of building structures for design in Nigeria and across Africa. My foundation is in interior design, and through practice I became increasingly aware that the issue was never a lack of creativity. There were strong voices across interiors, architecture, and product design, but there was no system connecting them to each other, to industry, or to global markets.
That realisation led me into institutional work. In 2007, I established the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria to begin structuring the profession locally. Years later, around 2019 to 2020, I became President of the International Federation of Interior Architects Designers, the first president of African descent. At that global level, I saw very clearly how underrepresented Africa was. At the time, only two African countries were active within the federation. One of my first actions was to bring together 28 African countries for a regional roundtable, which led to the creation of the African Council for Interior Architects Designers. That moment was about building a unified continental voice.
Parallel to this, in 2017, I launched the African Culture and Design Festival. That was a defining moment. We brought the world to Lagos and brought Africa to Lagos, creating a space where designers across disciplines could engage at a global level. That convergence is what gave birth to Design Week Lagos.
The gap was never visibility alone. It was the absence of a system that could support African design from idea through to production and into global markets.
Africans Column: Over the past editions, Design Week Lagos has evolved beyond a festival into a multi-layered platform connecting designers to education, production, and market access. How intentional was this shift from exhibition-making to ecosystem-building, and what have been the biggest challenges in developing that structure?
Titi Ogufere: The ecosystem came before the festival, and that is critical to understanding what we are building.
Before Design Week Lagos became visible, there was already work happening across multiple layers. Through associations, we were building professional standards. Through education, we were developing curriculum. Through publishing, we were documenting African design. Through advocacy, we were shaping perception.
The festival did not create these things. It brought them together into one coherent platform.
So the move from exhibition to ecosystem building was not a shift. It was a formalisation of what had already been built.
We structured the pipeline more clearly. Training, incubation, exhibition, and now global market access. Each layer responds to a real gap.
The challenge has been building this within a system that does not naturally support it. It requires alignment across education, industry, and policy. It requires patience. But it is the only way design can move from moments into a functioning industry.
Africans Column: You often speak about Lagos not just as a city, but as a site of energy and production. What does it mean, in practical terms, to position Lagos as a global design capital—and what still needs to be built to fully realize that vision?
Titi Ogufere: When I speak about Lagos, I am speaking about Lagos as a point of convergence.
All Roads Lead to Lagos is about Africa.
It is not about asking people to come and see Lagos alone. It is about bringing together what is happening across the continent. From interior design to architecture to product and industrial design, there is a depth of work being produced across Africa.
What has been missing is a platform that connects that work, frames it, and positions it globally.
Lagos provides the energy, the audience, and the structure. But the vision is continental. It is about Africa being seen and engaged with as a serious contributor to global design.
Africans Column: The presentation at SaloneSatellite during Milan Design Week 2026 marks a significant moment of global visibility. How do you see this intervention—not just as representation—but as a strategic repositioning of African design within the global design landscape?
Titi Ogufere: Our presentation at SaloneSatellite was about creating market access.
Today, because of social media and increased visibility, people are already beginning to see what Africans have been doing. The work exists. The creativity has always been there.
But visibility alone is not enough.
What we went to Milan to do was to position designers within the global market. To begin creating pathways into production, into collaboration, and into manufacturing systems.
Historically, many designers were producing one-off pieces or working within the art space. But for a region that consumes design at the scale that Africa does, we have to begin to think about production. We have to be part of the conversation not just in design, but in design and production. That is the shift. Moving from being seen to being engaged with commercially.
Africans Column: With the exhibition traveling to Paris and London before returning to Lagos, there’s a clear shift in how African design is circulating internationally. How important is it for you that this journey ultimately leads back to Lagos, and what does that return represent?
Titi Ogufere: The return to Lagos is essential.
The global tour—Milan, Paris, London—is about opening doors. But those doors must lead back into the continent. Bringing the work back to Lagos ensures that global exposure translates into local opportunity. It connects visibility to production and production to growth.
Lagos becomes the point where that exchange is grounded and sustained.
Africans Column: The designers presented in Milan reflect a generation working between craftsmanship, technology, and cultural memory. What defines this new wave of African designers, and how do they differ from previous generations in terms of approach and ambition?
Titi Ogufere: This new generation of designers is emerging within a more structured environment.
I started working with young designers from around 2016, and from 2019 it became more visible as we began to formalise programmes. What defines this generation is clarity. They understand their cultural context, but they are also thinking about materials, process, and how their work can exist within global systems. They are not just designing for recognition. They are designing to participate.
Africans Column: Alongside Design Week Lagos, your work spans interior architecture, publishing, film, and institutional leadership—including your tenure as President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers. How have these different roles informed the way you think about design—not just as practice, but as policy, education, and industry?
Titi Ogufere: My work across interior design, publishing, film, and institutional leadership is all connected.
Through publishing, I have focused on documenting African design. Books like This Is Africa, Interior Design Professional Guide for Africa and the Middle East, and In Conversation with Demas Nwoko contribute to building a body of knowledge around the continent.
Through film, projects like Made by Design, which went on Netflix, and Mama Nike: Queen of Adire extend that narrative into storytelling, capturing culture, process, and identity while positioning African creativity globally.
Across all of this, the intention has been consistent: to build visibility, structure, and continuity for African design.
Africans Column: One of the recurring challenges across the continent is the gap between design and manufacturing. How is Design Week Lagos addressing this disconnect, and what needs to happen for African design to move more consistently from concept to large-scale production?
Titi Ogufere: The gap between design and manufacturing remains one of the most critical challenges.
At Design Week Lagos, we are addressing this through training, incubation, and engagement with industry. Designers are encouraged to think about production from the outset.
But this requires broader investment in infrastructure, access to technology, and stronger collaboration between designers and manufacturers. Without that alignment, scale remains limited.
Africans Column: You’ve been deeply involved in shaping design education and professional standards across Africa. What are the most urgent changes needed in how design is taught and supported on the continent today?
Titi Ogufere: I have been involved in design education for many years, and this is an area that requires urgent change.
When I returned to Nigeria, I realised there was no formal structure for interior design education. Around 2012, I worked on developing curriculum at the University of Lagos.
Later, as President of the International Federation of Interior Architects Designers, I co-chaired the global education policy, working with educators across regions to define standards.
The biggest issue is the disconnect between education and practice. Globally, institutions are struggling because traditional models of education are no longer sufficient. Technology is evolving rapidly, and design across interiors, architecture, and product is evolving with it.
In Africa, we have a natural strength in creativity. But we must shift towards learning by doing. The designers who succeed are those who engage directly with materials, processes, and real-world application.
Education must move beyond theory and connect directly with industry.
Africans Column: This year’s edition is framed around the theme “Making A New Africa: From Material to Market. Designing for Scale.” What does designing for scale mean in the context of African design today, and how is this theme shaping the structure and programming of the 2026 edition?
Titi Ogufere: Designing for scale is about shifting how we think about design in Africa.
Africa consumes design at a very high level, yet we are not proportionately represented in global production. Research by Jomo Tariku highlighted that out of nearly 5,000 global furniture brands, only about 14 represented Black designers, including those in the diaspora. That number is extremely telling.
Following that, there was increased interest. International brands began reaching out, asking for recommendations. But the reality was clear. We have a wealth of raw creative talent across Africa, but not enough qualified designers positioned within systems of production.
For me, that pointed to the need for a paradigm shift.
Designers must begin to think beyond discipline. From interiors to furniture, from product to spatial thinking. I have personally worked across these areas, moving from interiors into product and furniture design, and into broader spatial work.
Designing for scale means building the capacity to move ideas into production. To create work that can exist within global manufacturing systems.
It is a call to designers across Africa and the diaspora to think about how they can design not just for expression, but for industry.
Africans Column: Design Week Lagos 2026 brings together exhibitions, talks, installations, workshops, and citywide experiences. How are you thinking about the relationship between the built environment, infrastructure, and design production within this year’s edition—and what should audiences be paying close attention to on the ground in Lagos?
Titi Ogufere: Design Week Lagos 2026 builds directly on the momentum of Milan and the global tour. We move from Milan to London to Paris and then return to Lagos.
When we return, the programme expands significantly. We have multiple curators working on the Design and Innovation Exhibition, bringing forward new ideas. We have the Made by Design show as a key industry platform.
We have installations across the city, including contributions from architects working across Africa. And importantly, Design Week Lagos is a citywide celebration. Since inception, we have hosted over 350 events.
There will be energy across the city. Lagos becomes part of the experience.
Africans Column: When you think about the next decade, what would success look like—not just for Design Week Lagos, but for African design as a whole within the global context?
Titi Ogufere: Success over the next decade is about impact.
We are living in a technological world, and African designers must be part of shaping it. I always say we are not just African designers. We are designers. The standard must be global.
Success means seeing more African designers producing at scale, operating internationally, and contributing meaningfully to the global design industry. It also means recognition.
Africa has always inspired the world, and continues to do so. That influence must be acknowledged and built into systems that allow it to grow.
For me, it is about stronger education, greater visibility, and building an industry that allows African design to serve humanity at scale.
Conclusion
Throughout this conversation, one idea emerges repeatedly: the future of African design will not be determined by creativity alone. For Titi Ogufere, the continent has never suffered from a lack of talent. The challenge has been building the structures that allow creativity to move from concept to production, from visibility to market access, and from isolated success stories to a sustainable industry.
That philosophy sits at the heart of Design Week Lagos and the wider ecosystem Ogufere has spent years constructing through education, publishing, advocacy, film, institutional leadership, and international partnerships. Whether through the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria, the African Culture and Design Festival, the African Council for Interior Architects/Designers, or Design Week Lagos itself, her work has consistently focused on creating pathways for designers to participate more meaningfully in global systems while remaining rooted in African realities.
As Design Week Lagos 2026 prepares to return home after presentations in Milan, London, and Paris, Ogufere’s vision remains clear. The goal is not simply to place African design on international stages, but to build an industry capable of producing, manufacturing, exporting, and influencing at scale. In her view, success over the next decade will be measured not only by visibility, but by the number of African designers shaping the future of global design from positions of strength, infrastructure, and opportunity. It is a vision that extends beyond Lagos and beyond design itself—a vision for a continent increasingly designing its own future.
