decolonisingdesign.org
the author
Carl harrison has been involved in the development of small scale craft businesses for the past 25 years in many countries around the world. He has also been a senior University lecturer in design and is the author of Distant Voices: design and development from an alternative perspective.
Philippines
Working for Tradecraft UK, I was involved in product development work for a number of producers:
Obra Negrense Inc. House ware, home décor and
garden ware. Uswag arts. House ware and tabletop.
Special crafts collection Inc. House wares and gifts
Tumandok Industries. House wares and home office.
Hacienda Inc. House wares.
Ukraine
Sebastopol Ceramics. Design and manufacturing consultant.
Thailand
Working with Oxfam, UK.
Sang Arun Ceramics. Lampang. Design and development
consultant.
Nigeria
Dajo Pottery Ltd. Makardi. Design and manufacturing
Consultant.
Malawi
Malindi Potteries. Mangochi. Design and development
manager. Training development manager. New product
development.
Worked with Malawi Government running workshops for
traditional potters
Zimbabwe
Willsgrove ware. Bulawayo. Design manager.
Mzilikazi pottery. Design and manufacturing consultant with Oxfam UK.
Design consultant. Pottery Industries. Bulawayo.
Syria
Cham ceramics, Damascus. Wall and floor tile design.
The Gambia
Design contributions to a new eco tourist centre. Design
training for small scale enterprises. Lighting Design
concepts for local palm tree grower.
Nepal
Working with Fair Trade Nepal in Kathmandu.
Designed and implemented creative workshops with ten producer communities from a broad range of design
specialisms such as paper products, ceramics, small scale furniture manufacture. Fabrics and Fashion accessories.
Ghana
Working with APT International in Oxford developing new products for traditional potters in the Lake Volta region of Ghana. Introduced new appropriate technologies and improved quality assurance procedures.
Research and publications
o “De–colonising design” published article in the South
African Indaba magazine. Article stresses the importance of indigenous cultures developing their own solutions to
design problems. 2004.
o“Urban expansion, rural decay” published article in the South African Indaba magazine. Article discussing ways of encouraging people to stay in rural areas by developing small scale enterprises. 2005.
o“The role of the artist in rural African communities”.
Department of colonial and post colonial studies
international conference paper. Nottingham Trent
University. 2005.
oAn alternative future for Industrial design in Southern Africa.
Conference Paper. Institute of Engineers. Gaborone.
Botswana.October 2009.
o“Distant voices” Article on the effects of the western creative
vocabulary on indigenous creativity in Southern Africa.
Blueprint Magazine. South Africa. 2010.
o“Design for Culture” Paper presented at the Common Ground
Conference in February 2012. Rome. Italy.
o Distant Voices: Design and development from an alternative
perspective. Published by Common Ground publishing. USA.
June 2016.
Synopsis.
The contemporary globalised nature of design and design aesthetics can be found all around us in the must have branded goods sold in London, New Delhi and Lagos. Although much of this modern vocabulary can be traced back to even older creative narratives that still exist in many parts of the developing world, they themselves are often unable to compete on an equal playing field with this internationalist language.
This book hopes to stimulate a much needed debate on the nature of product development in the developing world, to identify the reasons for this present situation and to review the potential of alternative approaches to creativity in a non-western context. It suggests a number of alternative creative strategies to help those in the developing world initiate innovative product directions of their own in order to challenge this all-pervasive internationalist model and to act as a catalyst for change.
