By: Ivanine Silva
The literary project by Angolan designer Délcio Caiaia, “African matrix of graphic design”, has reached its third edition, scheduled for release on May 25th, focusing on the deconstruction and/or adaptation of African ideograms, symbols and pictograms for the creation of layouts.
Using various artistic visual expressions of peoples/cultures and civilizations such as: Baulé and Korhogo cloths, from Ivory Coast, Gonja fabric, from Ghana, Akwete fabric, Batik/Sadza fabric, and Ukara fabric, from Nigeria and Cameroon. And a chapter dedicated to Black figures with global prominence in Graphic Design.
This is a commitment that boils down to seeking, appreciating and finding ourselves as Africans in the true history of the continent that gave much and almost everything to the progress of other nations.
It is the first Angolan literary project that talks specifically about African graphic design and the second in Africa, with an indigenous vision, after Afrikan Alphabets by Saki Mafundikwa published in 2004.
The vision is to reach the world. All editions will be translated into English and French, without ruling out the possibility and need to be translated into languages characteristic of African ethnicities. The literary project involves launching 7 editions in digital format and a final one in physical format, which will be the compilation of all editions.
The first Edition, launched on May 25, 2020, focuses on the deconstruction and/or adaptation of African ideograms, symbols and pictograms to create layouts. The second, was released on September 29, 2020, focuses on deconstruction and/or adaptation
of African ideograms, symbols and pictograms for creating layouts.
The project arose from the need to awaken to the reorganization of the artistic fabric of Africa, its emancipation and real visual expressiveness.