ROUTE TO ARTLANTIQUE: DESIGN FOR THE 90%

“THERE IS ALSO A BIG PART OF DESIGN THAT IS USEFUL FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD, OUTSIDE OUR EUROPEAN CENTRED URBAN LIFE - AND ACTUALLY THAT IS… MOST OF THE WORLD”

Design is a broad term, but somehow it usually ends up being associated with iPhones, runway fashion brands and advertising campaigns, to name a few. However, by definition design is the “purpose or planning that exists behind an action, fact, or object” (Lexico Online Dictionary). Indeed, there is a lot of design process involved in the creation of iPhones, garments for high end brands and ads we use in our daily life, but there is also a big part of design that is useful for the rest of the world, outside our European centered urban life - and actually that is… most of the world. 

Route to Artlantique is a project where a small group of design students and professionals travel to an exciting destination to broaden their subject knowledge.  Combining tradition and innovation; traditional know-how and collaborative inspiration between local craftspeople, designers, artists and artisans, facilitated by the Route team. Activities include following the steps of artisanal craft from product design, fashion, jewelry, ebony sculpture to upcycling, alongside unique travel moments, discovering the beauty of Africa’s natural heritage. This year is the project’s 5th year and the third in which LCC is participating, including DPS students, in which the destination was Senegal. 

One of the organisations visited during the design exploration was Proplast, a company that took on a challenging task – to clean up Senegal from waste plastic. The circular economy  company originally begun as a group of women cleaning up their neighborhood. Today, the company specialises in the collection and recycling of plastic waste in Senegal. 

As an organization, Proplast engage with the public regularly to create awareness towards the growing problem with plastic and have created multiple campaigns to inspire people to recycle. They have also attempted tackling the problem at its source by collecting plastic from households.In their mission to recover plastics, Proplast are always on the lookout for additional design talent to help support in the designing of school chairs, water jugs, etc, as another way to recycle the plastic. Deeply invested in the local community, Proplast are working towards creating a better future for the continent.

Another place where design was implemented is in Nguindir, where the students saw and took part in the process of creating pottery. The workshop was led by the women collective of the village. Every so often, they go to the river and dig out clay. After doing so, they take it back to the workplace where they grind up broken pottery into dust to help make the clay more moldable. After finishing up this process every woman starts making the base for a bowl, a plate, a vase even, and more. They consider the needs of the village, but also use their own imagination and create unique pottery that can be used by any household.

The women collective in Nguindir and Proplast are just a few examples of how design is present in every aspect of creation in human life, and also how versatile it can be. They are design applications that complete the role of aiding communities in their own specific needs, considering the environment and the involving the people, the designers.

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Words: Catarina Bernardi and Katerina Boyadjieva

Photography: Katerina Boyadjieva