Design Week Lagos 2022: 5 Striking Debuts Spotted at the Fair 

Celebrating its third annual edition, Design Week Lagos 2022 kicked off last week to unite design creatives and enthusiasts within Nigeria and beyond. The four-day event reflected the theme of “Beyond the Box,” figuratively rending the traditional principles of design and encouraging exhibiting architects and designers to be explorative.

As a result of the coaxing, the presented products at Design Week Lagos 2022, especially in the fair’s series of Exhibit Rooms, were incredibly inspiring in their experimental structure and detailing. Here are 5 product designs we loved at the show.

7Eight Pieces by Osaru Alile, Wrap chair with Dricky painted edit  

Osaru Alile, creative director at CC Interiors Studio, is known for her modern lens on traditional African design. For Design Week Lagos, Alile exhibited her 7Eight pieces, a pair of bubblegum pink and cerulean seats hand-painted in symbolic African motifs translated in zigzag-y, circular, and spiral forms. The designs continue on a fringe-trimmed fabric that drapes along the back of the chair to add lovely material contrast and intrigue.

Hat, Via, and Bukan accessories by Charles O. Job

Simple in form yet loud in color and shape, the works of architect and designer Charles O. Job introduced visitors at the Design Week Lagos to a sense of minimalism and improvisation. His jovial debuts include Hat, a metal coat hanger shaped like a hat that nudges at the idea of occupying unnecessary space in homes; Via, a compact metal umbrella stand that folds like origami to create both tiered storage and an appealing design; and Bukan, with which O. Job turns the letter X into magazine and book storage using a Pop art–like approach.

Anwuli chair by Myles Igwe

Designer Myles Igwe wanted to explore the interplay of simplicity and sophistication. Thus, it was with “unsullied emotions,” Igwe tells AD PRO, that he designed the Anwuli chair, a canary yellow-drenched seat with built-in storage reminiscent of old-school chrome desk chairs. “The chair manifests the impact of simple but intentional design,” says Igwe of the Anwuli, which translates to “joy” in the Igbo language.

RawUrban kitchen and tableware by Olubunmi Adeyemi for The Då Brand

Kitchenware makes its Design Week Lagos debut thanks to designer Olubunmi Adeyemi, who created a series of contemporary wood utensils color-dipped in hues of green, red, and black for The Då Brand. Adeyemi—who also created Afrominima, a design movement that strives to expand the narrative of African design—adds wood and ceramic cutleries carved with spiral motifs to the assortment.

Sculptural works by Tomide Atelier

One way to attract attention at a design show? Coat every inch of the piece in fluorescent yellow. The approach worked for Tomide Atelier, which presented a storage console and sculpture in the eccentric hue in the show’s Young Designers section. The latter work of art takes shape as a human head with a skull-piercing wheel, as though the mind is metaphorically spinning. A fluorescently bright idea indeed.