11 October 2024

Black History Month UK 2024 – Reclaiming Narratives with Interior Design

It’s October, so not only are we well into autumn, but we’re also celebrating the UK’s Black History Month 2024. This year’s theme, ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, is focussing our minds on Black histories and success stories, whilst correcting historical inaccuracies.    

So, without further ado, mustard ID is shining a spotlight on Black designers within the interior design industry. For your pleasure, we present two brilliant Black ID pros who are creating brand new narratives of their own.  

 

The first of these, who’s made a BIG name for himself, is Yinka Ilori. 

Yinka’s British Nigerian heritage is the foundation of his creative outlook, and if you take a look at his work, you’ll immediately see how this is taking form. Bold, bright colours, and a unique, futuristic spin on the traditional, all fuse together into exceptional, standout products.  

Inspired by Nigerian parables and verbal traditions, and a deep belief that art and design should be accessible to all, Yinka’s work is in equal parts humorous, provocative and playful.   

His aim is to have an impact on society by evoking a sense of joy and optimism.   

Yinka is spreading his message in the worlds of architecture, sculpture, furniture, ID, and graphic design, and has bagged clients as diverse as Courvoisier, the Lego Group, ITV, and Universal Music. To date, we’d say that Yinka isn’t just reclaiming a narrative, but simultaneously forging a new one.  

 

Our second star of the moment is London-based Nigerian designer Omotunwase Osinaike

Omotunwase moved from Lagos to London at the age of 15, and blasted onto the furniture design scene in 2023. This was only one year after completing his Master’s at Central Saint Martins. Yep, you read that correctly! 

His talent shone so brightly at his graduate showcase, that he was hand-picked to curate Natural Synthesis, the Nigerian pavilion at the London Design Biennale. 

The pavilion took the form of a traditional Nigerian courtyard and featured Omotunwase’s hand-moulded fibreglass lounge chairs at its centre. The overarching effect was to reflect the relationship between the Sahara and the Amazon. 

“I want people to walk away with the desire to be stewards of themselves, their environments and the planet itself. I think that will be the best legacy this could have,” he said at the time. 

It would be extremely negligent of us if we didn’t mention that Omotunwase is not only a designer and artist, but also an engineer – yes, he’s also got a BSc in Architectural Engineering & Design Management. There’s no doubt about it, he’s one cool cat with the world at his feet. 

And if you’d like to take a good look at his head-turning designs, take yourself down a creative rabbit hole by clicking here! 

 

Have these ID pros inspired you to aim high? 

Great! Then give the magnificent team at mustardID a call. We hear about all the best jobs in the ID industry before you’ve got out of bed in the morning, and we have the cream of candidates on our books too. We’re waiting to hear from you, so dial this number now: 0117 929 6060 

 


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