Design Indaba

NEW Talk: Named by @time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2019, @jeanne_gang delivered and inspired and compelling talk at the @designindaba Conference's 25 edition. Founder of @studiogang , @jeanne_gang shared how architecture is in service to building better cities by strengthening relationships between people, communities, ecosystems and the built environment. Jeanne highlighted @studiogang ’s research-driven and socially conscious approach to architecture, emphasising projects that prioritise public life, ecological restoration and collective wellbeing over spectacle and grandeur. Referencing developments such as the iconic Aqua Tower in Chicago and the studio’s environmentally focused river and urban planning initiatives, she demonstrated how architecture can actively respond to climate change, biodiversity loss and social fragmentation. @jeanne_gang shared her guiding belief “actionable idealism”, the belief that ambitious architectural thinking must also produce practical social and environmental impact. She discussed how Studio Gang integrates scientific research, material experimentation and community participation into its design process, often collaborating with ecologists, engineers and local stakeholders to rethink how cities function, reflecting on several of the studio’s landmark project as a testament to the process. A central theme to the talk and her practice, @jeanne_gang framed cities as living systems shaped by relationships and shared responsibility underscoring design as a critical force in building more resilient, equitable and ecologically sensitive futures. Visit the @designindaba YouTube channel to watch the full talk #Architecture #SustainableDesign #UrbanPlanning #EcoArchitecture #DesignIndaba #StudioGang #ClimateAction #PublicSpaces #ResilientCities #SocialImpact

NEW Talk: At the Design Indaba’s 25th Anniversary, Manu Prakash a physical biologist, engineer and MacArthur Fellow delivered a compelling talk on his pioneering concept ‘”frugal science”. The concept positions science not as an exclusive discipline but as something that should be radically accessible to all. His vision is realized through a design approach that focuses on creating low-cost, highly functional tools for use in resource-limited environments. His talk shared a simple but urgent problem: there are not enough scientists in the world, especially in regions where scientific tools and infrastructure are scarce. His response is to design tools that are inexpensive, portable and easy to use, enabling anyone, anywhere, to participate in scientific discovery. One of Prakash’s most celebrated inventions, the Foldscope, exemplifies this philosophy. Made from paper and a tiny lens, the origami-style microscope costs less than a dollar yet can magnify specimens up to 2,000 times. Lightweight, portable and durable, it allows for what Prakash calls “science in the field” or even “diagnostics under a tree” , bringing powerful tools directly to communities rather than requiring access to formal laboratories. Prakash’s approach activates inclusion in scientific fields. By lowering the barriers to entry, he envisions a world where amateur and professional scientists collaborate, expanding both knowledge and participation. Through his work Manu Prakash is reframing design as a means of unlocking curiosity at scale, turning science into a shared, global endeavour. Visit the @designindaba YouTube channel to watch the full talk #FrugalScience #DesignIndaba #ManuPrakash #Foldscope #AccessibleScience #ScienceForAll #InnovativeDesign #LowCostTech #ScienceInTheField #GlobalScience

NEW Talk:Returning to the Design Indaba stage, Zimbabwean filmmaker Sunu Gonera’s talk is a powerful call to action for African creatives to reclaim authorship over their own stories. Known for his work across Hollywood and the African continent, Gonera shares how the power of film can be both a cultural and political tool capable of shaping how Africa is seen and experienced. Gonera’s advocates for film and African storytelling as a powerful counterpoint to the external stereotypes that are often applied to the continent. Gonera’s shares how film can be used to restore nuance, complexity and authenticity to African stories when told by creatives from the continent. Drawing on his own career, Gonera highlights the importance of building local ecosystems that support storytelling from within, from production infrastructure to talent development that ensures that African creatives are represented in global cultural landscape. A compelling motivating factor, is the democratisation of filmmaking as a result of the streaming platforms now available which are encouraging new voices and an expansive range of stories. Through his career and work, Gonera is challenging African creatives to take agency of the future of cultural production on the continent. By reclaiming narrative power, Gonera suggests that African filmmakers can reshape global perceptions and contribute to a more honest, expansive understanding of Africa one story at a time. Visit the @designindaba YouTube channel to watch the full talk #AfricanFilm #Storytelling #AfricanCreatives #FilmMaking #CulturalNarrative #AfricanCinema #CreativeAgency #NarrativePower #FilmForChange #AfricanStories

NEW Talk: At Design Indaba’s 25th edition, Fashion designer @bas.timmer delivered one of the conference’s most emotionally charged talks, a presentation that demonstrated how design can provide warmth, dignity and shelter for the vulnerable. His project, the @sheltersuit.foundation , is a wearable shelter designed for people experiencing homelessness: a waterproof, windproof jacket that transforms into a sleeping bag, offering protection against extreme conditions. After experiencing the death of a friend’s father from hypothermia while living on the streets, @bas.timmer redirected his fashion career towards creating something purposeful, a design that could prevent such loss from happening again. Sheltersuit has become a comforting lifeline. What makes the Sheltersuit powerful is both its functionality and system. Produced from upcycled materials and manufactured in social workshops employing refugees and vulnerable communities, the project embeds dignity and opportunity into every stage of its lifecycle. At the Design Indaba Conference, Timmer extended this thinking to a local context with the launch of the Shelterbag, a lighter, climate-appropriate version developed specifically for South Africa’s conditions. Bas Timmer’s heartwarming presentation saw him revealing 250 Sheltersuits for South Africa – the presentation was all the more touching because @designindaba flew his mother out from Holland to see her son’s dream (in which she had a hand) become a reality. “Great design can make the world a little warmer,” he said, celebrating the seed-funding from Design Indaba that enabled him to take this philanthropic step in South Africa. After the 2020 edition of the conference, the @designindaba distributed the Sheltersuits to the homeless in Cape Town, via The Haven Night Shelter Welfare Organisation. The initiative mobilised sponsors and audiences alike, resulting in the funding and distribution of Shelterbags to people living on the streets. Visit the @designindaba YouTube channel to watch the full talk #Sheltersuit #UpcycledFashion #HomelessnessSupport #WearableShelter #DignityThroughDesign #RefugeeEmpowerment #ClimateAppropriate #Purpos

NEW Talk: Design Indaba Global Graduate, Kathryn Larsen aka @theseaweedgirl presented a quietly radical proposition: The future of sustainable architecture may already exist in the past. During her talk at the @designindaba ’s 25th anniversary, Larsen shared her work that centres on reviving eelgrass, a form of seaweed as a viable building material, drawing from centuries-old techniques once used on the Danish island of Læsø. Larsen’s approach is rooted in rediscovery. Historically, eelgrass was used for roofing, insulation and construction due to its durability, rot resistance and natural insulating properties. Today, however, it is largely discarded as waste with thousands of tonnes thrown away each year. Her project, Seaweed Thatch Reimagined, translates this vernacular method into a contemporary system. By developing prefabricated thatch seaweed panels for roofs and facades, she demonstrates how ancient knowledge can be adapted for modern construction processes merging craft with industrial scalability. Her work extends beyond architecture into product design, including experiments with kelp-based materials for furniture and fashion, reinforcing a circular, bio-based approach to design. Larsen’s talk provides a shift in perspective: the future of design may lie in remembering rather than inventing. Visit the @designindaba YouTube channel to watch this full talk and many more #SustainableArchitecture #SeaweedBuilding #BioBasedDesign #CircularDesign #GreenBuilding #EcoInnovation #TraditionalCrafts #RenewableMaterials #ModernCraft #Kathryn Larsen

NEW Talk: Rick Brim, Chief Creative Officer of adam&eveDDB, built a reputation for bold, emotionally resonant campaigns. For the 25th Anniversary of @designindaba , Brim delivered a candid talk on the realities of creativity in an oversaturated world. Brim shared a sobering statistic: £18.3 billion is spent on advertising each year, yet only 4% of ads are remembered positively, 7% negatively, and a staggering 89% are barely noticed at all. The question, then, is simple: how do you make people care? For Brim, as he shared with audiences, the answer lies in understanding human emotion at a fundamental level. Whether tapping into a cultural trend, finding a unique angle or redefining the zeitgeist entirely, the goal is to create work that connects instantly and meaningfully. It’s a high bar but one that adam&eveDDB consistently meets through bold, unexpected ideas that often push beyond conventional boundaries. Central to Brim’s approach is simplicity. The most effective campaigns are not overloaded with messages, but distilled to a clear, human truth something audiences can feel rather than decode. At the same time, he emphasised the importance of creative risk, safe ideas may fill space, but they rarely leave an impression. In a landscape dominated by noise, the ideas that endure are those that evoke emotion humour, empathy, surprise and stay with people long after the moment has passed. Brim’s creative process calls for bravery and precision in equal measure and underscores the importance of understanding people deeply, saying something real and saying it in a way that no one else can. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full talk. #DesignIndaba #design #creativity #CreativeLeadership #AdvertisingInsights #BoldIdeas #EmotionalMarketing #CreativeRisk #DesignIndaba #HumanConnection #MarketingStrategy #BrandStorytelling #RickBrim #creativeOfficer #adamandeveDDB #advertising #branding

Nhlanhla Mahlangu (@hlangus164 ), a vocalist, dancer, and theatre-maker, whose work is rooted in what he describes as a “chanting biography”, a method of storytelling that uses the body, voice and rhythm to carry memory, took to the @designindaba stage to deliver a deeply embodied performance that was part art, history and research. Born in Phola Park during apartheid, Mahlangu’s personal history is inseparable from his practice. His performance traced how lived experience, from political violence to cultural displacement, informs a body of work that confronts South Africa’s past while imagining paths toward healing. Central to his practice is isicathamiya, a traditional Zulu singing form often associated with migrant labour communities. Mahlangu reinterpreted this genre through contemporary theatre, layering it with movement, protest traditions like toyi-toyi and experimental staging. The result is a richly choreographed performance that transforms the body into an archive capable of holding history, processing trauma and reimagining identity in a fractured world. Visit our YouTube channel to watch this talk and many more. #NhlanhlaMahlangu #Isicathamiya #SouthAfricanTheatre #ChantingBiography #DesignIndaba #ContemporaryTheatre #ZuluCulture #TheatrePerformance #BodyStorytelling #CulturalHealing

NEW Talk: In Bangladesh, where population numbers are over 160 million, many live in remote rural villages where accessibility is difficult. Emergency services can often take over an hour to reach some parts of the country. @designindaba Global Graduate and UX designer Mazbahul Islam (@mazbah_man ), alongside three friends decided to set out on a mission to solve for this. Islam , presentented their project, Safewheel, which was designed to address a critical gap in rural healthcare in Banglasdesh, limited access to medical care when needed the most . In regions where ambulances are scarce or unaffordable, delays in reaching medical care can be fatal. With Rickshaws being widely available in most of rural Banglasdesh, they decided to merge the design of a rickshaw with the facilities of an ambulance. Safewheel reimagines the ambulance as a lightweight, three-wheeled vehicle capable of navigating narrow, uneven rural roads. Affordable, locally operated and fast, it brings emergency response directly to communities often excluded from formal healthcare systems. Safewheels is able to deliver medical supplies to remote areas as well as transport people to hospitals when needed. Safewheels’ impact earned international recognition: Safewheel won the UNDP Youth Co:Lab Award in 2019, Asia’s largest youth social entrepreneurship platform, supported by the United Nations Development Programme and Citi Foundation. During his @designindaba talk, Islam shares the personal drive and purpose behind this award-winning innovation. As a business graduate, he dreamt of making a lot of money, but then had to make a hard decision. As the only son in a middle-class family, did he have the right to quit a stable job to pursue a career as an entrepreneur? His ideals won out and a medical emergency close to home persuaded him to focus his attentions on providing low-cost emergency medical care in rural areas in his native country. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full talk #Safewheel #RuralHealthcare #MedicalInnovation #EmergencyResponse #HealthcareAccess #SocialEntrepreneurship #DesignIndaba #BangladeshHealth #YouthInnovation #UNDPYouth

NEW Talk: Dutch designer, and co-founder of @studio.drift , @lonneke.gordijn , presented a poetic vision of how technology can reawaken awe during her @designindaba talk in Cape Town, South Africa. @studio.drift ’s work exists at the intersection of technology, nature and humanity, creating kinetic installations inspired by natural phenomena that are immersive, emotional experiences. Gordijn’s shares the idea that technology should not dominate nature but rather borrow from its underlying intelligence. Design must move beyond function to create moments of wonder, stillness, and reflection nature rather than distance us from it Drawing inspiration from the movement of birds, the opening of flowers and the rhythms of ecosystems, Studio Drift’s works use light, motion and algorithms to mirror these behaviours creating poetic installations. The result is a body of work that feels both futuristic yet deeply organic. Gordijn describes their process as one of careful observation and collaboration, not only with engineers and scientists, but with nature itself. By studying patterns and systems found in the natural world, the studio creates installations that behave almost like living organisms, responding to their environment and to human presence. A recurring theme in @studio.drift ’s work and her talk, Gordijn emphasized the power of emotional connection, in an age of rapid technological advancement, Gordijn underscored how their installations often evoke a sense of calm and introspection, inviting audiences to slow down and reconnect with something larger than themselves. A practice that employs innovation as a bridge to nature and humanity demonstrating that when technology is guided by sensitivity and curiosity, it can bring us closer to the natural world. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full talk #StudioDrift #LonnekeGordijn #KineticArt #TechAndNature #PoeticDesign #NatureInspired #EmotionalDesign #InnovativeArt #ArtAndTechnology #OrganicDesign

NEW Talk: At the 25th @designindaba Conference, structural engineer @hanif.kara reframed engineering as an essential creative force within architecture — one that shapes not only how buildings stand, but how they respond to society, environment, and context. As co-founder of @akt_ii , Kara has collaborated on some of the world’s most ambitious projects, yet his talk focused less on spectacle and more on responsibility. Central to his message was the idea that engineering is not a technical afterthought, but a generative discipline that should be embedded from the earliest stages of design. By working collaboratively across architecture, engineering, and construction, Kara argued, teams can unlock more intelligent, efficient, and expressive solutions. 🏗️ He also addressed the environmental impact of the built environment, calling for a more conscious approach to materials, resources, and construction processes. For @hanif.kara , sustainability is not a constraint but an opportunity — a driver for innovation that can reshape how and what we build. A recurring theme in his talk was equity. Kara emphasised that design decisions carry social consequences, influencing who has access to space, resources, and opportunity. Engineers, therefore, play a critical role in shaping more inclusive and resilient cities. Ultimately, his @designindaba presentation positioned engineering as a bridge — between vision and reality, creativity and pragmatism, ambition and accountability. By elevating the role of engineering within the design process. Kara challenged audiences to rethink how the built environment is conceived, and who is responsible for its impact. 🌍 The full talk is now live, visit @designindaba YouTube channel to watch. #StructuralEngineering #SustainableDesign #CreativeEngineering #ArchitectureAndEngineering #BuiltEnvironment #InnovativeDesign #EngineeringForChange #SustainableArchitecture #InclusiveDesign

NEW Talk: Architecture Social Club founder (@architecturesocialclub ), Satyajit Das (@satyajitdasc ) offers a dynamic and immersive perspective on the storytelling power of architecture. As a practice, Das approaches design as an experiential and emotional medium rather than a purely functional one. Das’ frames design as a tool that enables us to do things we never imagined possible and approach that is carried through the work of @architecturesocialclub which focuses on creating interactive environments that respond to human presence, translating invisible systems such as data, movement, proximity into sensory experiences. Sharing their project Cloud Ensemble, a digital orchestra, reacting in real time to audience interaction and making the invisible infrastructures of technology tangible, Das showcased how the studio applies the approach to their creative work. @satyajitdasc explained that @architecturesocialclub leans into fluid processes where outcomes evolve through interaction and collaboration, a process he describes as leaning into the “beautiful chaos”, a willingness to work with complexity, unpredictability and experimentation. This philosophy extends to how they engage audiences. Their installations are not static objects but living systems, inviting participation and co-creation. In doing so, they transform design into a shared, collective experience. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full talk #ArchitectureSocialClub #ExperientialDesign #InteractiveArchitecture #DigitalOrchestra #SatyajitDas #ImmersiveDesign #DesignThinking #CreativeCollaboration #SensoryExperience #ArchitectureInnovation

NEW Talk: Italian illustrator @olimpiazagnoli ’s Design Indaba talk brought a joyful sense of optimism to the stage, using colour, playfulness and intuition as tools for both expression and subtle activism. Known for her bold, graphic style and vibrant palettes, Zagnoli’s work stands out for its ability to communicate complex ideas through simplicity and joy. Zagnoli’s @designindaba talk centred on the emotional power of colour as a language. Zagnoli described how hues can shift atmosphere, evoke feeling and shape perception. Her use of colour is often guided by instinct rather than rigid rules, this intuitive approach allows her illustrations to feel human and personal. Beneath the surface of her cheerful aesthetic lies a more deliberate message, As she shared during the talk, her work carries a form of “quiet activism” using design to engage with themes of identity, representation and inclusivity. @olimpiazagnoli ’s illustrations whether for global brands or cultural platforms often celebrate diversity and challenge normative narratives, proving that lightness and depth can coexist. Influenced by movements such as Art Deco and Futurism, as well as everyday observations, Zagnoli continues to expand her practice beyond illustration into objects, installations and spatial design. Her evolution as an evolution reflects how images move beyond the page to interact with people and environments, reminding the audience that creativity need not be heavy to be meaningful. Visit @designindaba YouTube channel to watch her full talk and many more #OlimpiaZagnoli #IllustrationArt #ColourInDesign #GraphicStyle #VisualActivism #InclusiveDesign #ArtAndDesign