Nigeria has a lot of untold stories in the design space. Some may have been lost because they were not documented, while others are inking on the sands of time and are one article, podcast or video away.
It is not uncommon to see designers and other professionals consume information from experts from around the world. And for a space that is still developing in the country, most of the materials we work with or learn from are from international authors. While this is not a problem, it is important that the design space in Nigeria ignites a candle lighting moment, to ensure sustainable growth and help other people up the ladder, with experiences that they can relate with.
We have experiences relevant to our local context and we believe the community in Nigeria is old enough, mature enough to feed itself—the younger professionals who are just navigating their way into the field should have enough information to consume from those that have gone ahead.
This, among many more reasons, is why DearDesigner started—to document the Nigerian Design and Designer story and maximize the resource, knowledge, and insight within the community to ensure sustainable growth of everyone in it.
With conversations, articles, profiles, case studies and physical events; we have worked over the past 13 months to bridge the information gap in the space and beam the spotlight on the experiences of other designers in the country with raving reviews from the community and other stakeholders.
Cross-section of attendees at the First Meeting of Abuja Designer Discourse in February 2020
Cross-section of attendees at Social Media Week 2020 DearDesigner Panel session – Design for The Nigerian
As part of efforts to bridge the experience gap in the industry, we just launched our mentorship program to connect budding talents with more experienced hands in the space. We want to engender a hands-on experience that will help more people master the basics that will help them along in their career journey. “This is something you have read… but would it be nicer to have someone available to answer your questions when you are trying to execute what you saw on the tutorials?” This is what the mentorship programme we want to achieve with the mentorship programme—take people beyond the normal tutorial knowledge to answer relevant questions around career, business growth, challenges, etc.
Beyond the fact that this could be a “pass the torch moment”, we want to create a safe space for young designers to express their fears and learnings as they navigate the industry. Our mentors enlisted for this first cohort are leading professionals with years of practise and portfolios of amazing impact.
We’re receiving applications from Designers (in any of Branding, Product, Digital Arts & Illustration, Graphic Design & Art Direction, Motion, Industrial Design fields) in Nigeria with less than 2 years professional experience with a relatively compelling portfolio and interest to be mentored.
It is a virtual mentorship programme and mentees will have one-on-one access to their respective mentors weekly for 3 months (August – October).
Application closes by July 20. Kindly apply here
For inquiries, contact via [email protected]
