The Journey

During her final year studying fashion design at the Tshwane University of Technology, Lethabo took up part-time work at the Arts Campus computer lab. There, she encountered the pioneering work of the designers and artists from the Bauhaus movement through the assignments she printed for students from different departments. Needless to say, she was blown away by what she encountered and this marked the beginning of an ever-expanding curiosity in exploring the multifaceted concept of design and more especially African design, as she soon came to realise a huge gap in understanding, education and accessible knowledge of its essence and history. 

​

A few years later she was privileged to take up a role as a Trend Forecaster for a leading South African homeware retailer which further helped give her the vocabulary she needed to articulate all the things all her observations and experiences as a creative person. 

​

Fast forward to the present day, she seeks to engage with other thinkers, makers, designers, creators, educators, policymakers and everyone in between, to hopefully get a better grasp of what it means to not only be an African designer but what impact can African design have on society.

​

Lethabo is invigorated by the work her generation is doing to pass the African design baton to the next generation and the generation after that. 

 

This African Design Archive is dedicated to her Folks, who always taught her to carry her mind with her, to her husband and children, who are her biggest supporters and to God, the Designer in whom all things find their meaning.