How Titi Ogufere and Jomo Tariku are reclaiming African creativity
Nigerian Titi Ogufere, and Kenyan-born Ethiopian Jomo Tariku, are redefining global design by weaving African heritage into contemporary innovation. In a recent episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Larry Madowo spotlighted these two trailblazing African designers.
Titi Ogufere, a pioneering interior designer and founder of Design Week Lagos, has long been a force in transforming how African design is perceived. As the first African to lead the International Federation of Interior Architects and Designers, she’s not just creating spaces. She’s telling cultural stories through them.
“Interior design was almost unheard of when I started,” Ogufere recalled during an interview in Lagos. “People didn’t even know what it was. I had to go to Dublin to study and get certified. We don’t replace architects, we design the soul and spirit of the space.”
Her journey began in childhood, sparked by a fascination with raw materials and a vivid imagination. “I used to visualize homes like Lego structures,” she said. “I loved steel, rattan, metal, anything I could craft with. That’s how I began, just making things.”
For Ogufere, design is inseparable from culture. Each project she undertakes must speak to identity and purpose. “African creators have always told stories through design. I gravitate to projects with depth. If someone comes to me just with money, that’s not enough. I want to build something meaningful.”
In 2019, she launched Design Week Lagos to showcase Africa’s dynamic design community. “When I moved back to Nigeria, I helped start the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria to create an ecosystem and promote standards,” she explained. “We’ve done so much to educate and elevate the industry, but there’s still more to be done.”
Her recent design pop-up during Lagos’ homecoming weekend was a celebration of African craftsmanship and innovation. “For me, it’s about reconnecting with identity and reimagining traditional techniques. I want people to rethink, reuse, and rediscover the power of local materials.”
Madowo also sat down with Jomo Tariku, a furniture designer whose sculptural pieces challenge the dominance of Eurocentric aesthetics. Tariku’s work, featured in Marvel’s Wakanda Forever and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, has become symbolic of Black excellence in design.
“For me, it’s never just been about beauty,” Tariku said. “It’s about representation. I found that only 0.3% of major licensed designs came from Black creators. That lack of visibility pushed me to build my own brand.”
His journey has been both solitary and revolutionary. “At trade shows, I was often the only Black designer in the room,” he added. “That’s why I started tracking the numbers and why I co-founded the Black Artists and Designers Guild, to ensure we’re not just included during trends, but embedded in the foundation of design history.”
Seeing his work displayed in national institutions has been humbling. “The museum is sacred to me,” he said. “It holds our collective history. I’m only here because of the sacrifices of so many before me.”
As he looks to the future, Tariku hopes Black design becomes standard in galleries and museums around the world. “This industry can be self-centered, but my legacy, I hope, is that I made space for others. That I helped make it bigger than just myself.”
Written by Kweku Sampson
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