Chanetsa Mukahanana – The foreword
Renaissance painters studied each other’s’ work right down to the brushstroke; great writers read works of past and current greats. Even medical doctors learn from their colleagues, looking over their shoulder to observe them applying their art. As humans we learn from our environment and from other people, feed off one another’s creations in order to be inspired, encouraged and stimulated to excel in our own right. As visual artists we study each other’s work, our eyes feed on other designers’ work to nourish our creative minds. Our principles guide our fellow designers; our opinions build them while our experiences educate them. This book carries opinions, thoughts and experiences for the reader to see, read and nourish his mind and soul.
Saki Mafundikwa – Typography
The story of Afrikan alphabets is little known both within and outside of Africa. For the last twenty years, I travelled across the Afrikan continent and the Diaspora researching the alphabets’ history and usage. Few people realise that some Afrikan societies were writing before the arrival of Europeans, in fact at the time Europeans “discovered” the Vai script of Liberia in the early 19th century, literacy was more widespread among the Vai people than in certain parts of America and Britain. This reality is completely at odds with the popular “Dark Continent” theory. The purpose of my book is to provide an introduction to information in uncharted places about Afrikan alphabets – which are a way of expressing ideas, systems of thought, cultural imperatives, aesthetic preferences and spirit. They are one of the important keys to help unlock what has been kept hidden from so many for so long: that these alphabets with their deeply meaningful graphic construction show the intelligence and ingenuity of Afrikan people. In Afrika the harmony of art, nature and spirit is the rule, not the exception. In terms of the graphic arts, Afrikan alphabets show that the spiritual line is free and unencumbered by the rule of the grid. It relies on a natural freedom and fluidity. Among the alphabets that are analyzed and illustrated are scripts such as Mende, Vai, Nsibidi, Shu-mom, Tifinagh, the Somali and Ethiopian scripts. Other alphabets, syllabaries, paintings, pictographs, ideographs, and symbols are also compared and contrasted.
Micheal Danes – Identity
> my life is design >> design is objective development >> development is progress >> progress demands attention >> attention we must pay >> pay for good design >> design is life >> life is design >> design is life >> life is too short to live in constantly oppressed misery; in a world that is full of visual garbage, don’t fall for ignorant instruction and add to it >> negative or positive >> black or white >> left or right >> we all share a common background >> we all exist on the same substrate >> we all use the same tools >> breath in the same environment >> love for the same reasons >> share passion in design >>
Jacob Ngandu – Graphics Association of Zimbabwe (GRAZI) – Against all odds.
There is no association apart from its people- an association is inseparable from its membership. The absence of dedicated loyal members has ravished what could have been a body that would have lifted the quality of graphic arts design in Zimbabwe and contributed to the exodus of talented designers in search of greener pastures. When the Graphics Association of Zimbabwe (GRAZI) was formed in the early 90’s its influence in the design arena of Zimbabwe was evident. Often, designers came together to share ideas and also the GRAZI awards were held annually to recognize work from graphic artists at various colleges in the country. The crowning moment for the association was participation at the ICOGRADA world conference in 2001 in South Africa. However, things soon took a negative turn as the Zimbabwean economy collapsed and forced designers to become more individualistic to make ends meet in a tough operating environment. This saw the membership of GRAZI diminish and eventually, the organization was suspended. There was no input from the design community in terms of support as such, GRAZI faced certain premature death. However as human beings, there is always the spirit of holding onto something which we strongly believe in. Thus, a new breed of passionate people got together to revive the association through a number of events which included a web development workshop, being successfully held. However, within a few months the negative forces of the economy and pressures of work soon consumed the members’ newly found vigor and the association collapsed once again. Yet another opportunity to revive GRAZI presented itself. The Icograda had offered to admit the association within its membership without members having to pay annual subscriptions. A group of members took advantage of this to revive operations of the association, albeit on a low key note for the past year. Individuals still receive and pass on e-mails on what‘s happening in the design community locally and internationally. The fire still burns; one day it shall burn brighter.
Jane Shepherd – The extra in the ordinary – Introducing cultural context into design education in Zimbabwe.
Advertising bill boards line the road from Harare International Airport to the city center. ‘To prosper in Africa first put yourself in its shoes’, reads one billboard from the African Corporation Bank, accompanied by an image of a very uncomfortable looking pair of carved stone sandals. The image is a reference to the Zimbabwean tradition of stone sculpture but is unintentionally accurate in conveying the difficulties ordinary Zimbabweans face on a daily basis. Unlike tradition, which only allows for evolution over long periods of time, design can change an artifact immediately to transform a problematic reality into a desirable one. But the process is often seen as a one-way communication ignoring the mediating role of the artifact between designer and audience. In the Zimbabwean context, where an economy and political structure favors the elite, people’s needs and responses are rarely investigated. Design solutions can transcend the narrow remit of commercial briefs and address problems within the community. Examples of small-scale design solutions include Trevor Bayliss’s clockwork radio for African communities and Chilean designers, Angelo Garay and Andrea Humeres, packaging for light bulbs that could be adapted as light shades in poor households where bare lights bulbs are the norm. These projects impact not only on local problems but also shape the potential role of design on a global platform. The process of moving towards greater understanding of what could be a humanizing and transforming practice involves connectivity to cultural contexts, starting with what is known and yet unknown.
David Brazier – Photography
I want to investigate the rapidly expanding African informal sector both in the city and rural contexts. I am interested in the constant flow of people, goods, conversations and ideas in the market place. I watch evolving human ecosystems where people have to adapt to a precarious environment moulded by rapid political, social and economic change. Niches are established using recycled materials alongside traditional methods. Climatic extremities are dealt with in ingenious ways. The decay and disintegration of materials allows for a constant replacement and renewal. In this climate, the way the light filters through dust and smoke gives everything a warming golden glow and for me the quality of light makes the image. During the past four years it has become increasingly difficult to work as a photographer in the city both in the commercial world and as an artist. The atmosphere of fear and suspicion as well as the clampdown on freedom of expression has meant that I have had to find new ways to explore my urban themes. The idea of doing a sound installation came out of this. As a photographer I have always been more visually oriented but without my camera I became more aware of the sounds around me – the increasingly pervasive sound of human frustration, anger, suffering as well as the usual urban sounds of everyday life.
Young Chimaye – Relationship between Design and Printing in Zimbabwe
It’s always good to associate design and printing (Design 4 print). In my own opinion I feel the two are brothers, twin brothers to be precise. When the design comes to me for print, I have to put myself in the designer’s shoes. I want to print what the designer wants to see. Printing is stressful sometime, especially when you have problems with register or even colour. The best way to get through this is to go away from the machine for ten to fifteen minutes. That’s why I feel present day designers especially those who design for print should work with printers, get to understand the printing process, while the printer gets the analysis of the original design. It’s always good to work with designers like Baynham Goredema, Walter Murray, Chanetsa Mukahanana. As a printer, I would like to share a little secret with my fellows. Pray first before you go on the machine and trust me you will see what will happen. Printing is a very mobile and interesting trade as the saying goes ‘ printing makes the world colourful’. As much as printing is associated with our day to day lives, for one to identify what sort of groceries he wants in a supermarket he has to read the label, when one takes a bath the soap he/she is using is wrapped and the name of that soap is printed so that one can identify the type of soap they want, when they brush their teeth the tooth paste, in the kitchen, the coffee, the sugar, milk, thanks to the printer.Though in all this the printer in Zimbabwe has had his shortcomings. Setting up a print shop, the high cost of machinery and importing/duty costs, confidence, there are some people who run around town calling themselves printers or brokers, who do not even know anything about printing, because of that, genuine printers find it difficult because the clients then opt to go to those old established companies even though the price might be high, because of these so called brokers. The other factor is that, because Zimbabwe has a history of coloniasm, most of those company owners are well established in the concept that they know each other and can do anything that can pull back the emerging indigenous printer.
Valerie Murray – Visual art
An artist’s ability to tell a story in pictures is the key to communicating their thoughts. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ literally translates to how different viewers would interpret a pictorial composition. For thousands of years this communication has enabled artists from different, cultural, religious and educational backgrounds to visually capture the very essence of the world’s existence. My Angel series has been inspired by different women, their physical and characteristic attributes. Not “Angel” in its biblical sense but in the way each individual represents a unique mythical life form full of mystery, enchanting in their every gesture and facial expression. Young and old, rich or poor a woman never ceases to fascinate and entice, giving life to everything that surrounds her. My chosen media is a combination of photography and Photoshop manipulation, creating compositions based on what my mind’s eyes sees as I work. Each woman’s posture, facial expression and demeanor communicates a different mood and character. Vibrant colour creates for me a burst of life in each piece, whilst nature water, the sky and flora create an infinite surreal world of pure beauty and tranquility. Being a visual communicator allows me to use pictures as a poet would use words, though at the same time leaving the viewer with the option to “see” for themselves.
Martin Stewart – Communication
I believe that all physical, emotional, mental or spiritual interaction between beings is communication. Sound plays a very important role in communication, combined sounds such as words intellectually make sense and every tone evokes an emotion. Vision is also very powerful in the sense that it can be in such illuminating clarity that it shows a situation for what it is. Yet blinding distorted vision can make a deluded picture of the world. Vision also converts letters to sounds which is very useful in communication. Touch is less commonly used yet physical interaction is very important in our day to day lives. Yet in braille, the blind use touch to communicate, translating touch into sound.Communication is so diverse from smoke signals to a drum beating and more recently satellite and internet. Whales use ultrasonic sound to communicate over long distances under water. Bats use infrared radio wave to communicate and navigate with the outside world. All pictures still or moving communicate something to us conscious or subconscious.Feeling perhaps is the most important factor in communication. Feelings such as trust, respect etc. play a very important role in all forms of communication.
