Afro-Techno-History

Albert Hodo

MDes 2023

A framework for designing for African colonized regions by exploring pre-colonial practices and cultural heritage.

Introduction

Afro-techno-history is a science that studies the history, cultural heritage, social norms and designs of pre-colonial African regions to make predictions and visualize their solutions to 21st- century African problems to influence design and engineering practices of the continent.

Designs must be tested in two ways to ensure authenticity. First, it is tested by finding linkages between the cultural references used and the design decisions. The second test is done when a few people from the said community interact with the artifact and if they can easily make connections between the interactions, visual designs and their culture, it passes the test.

A new framework was explored in this project while thinking of designing with cultural heritage and seeking answers to the various questions:

– What does it mean to design for the African continent?

– What would indigenous technology look like in Ghana and neighboring countries had colonization not taken place?

In a bid to attempt to analyze these inquiries, Afro-techno-history was developed while prototyping a series of devices from the ground up involving cultural heritage, indigenous experiences and pre-colonial artifacts as references that are inspired by West Africa.

Final Design

Meet OLU-wise lamp

Olu is a smart device that resides in the living room of a Ghanaian home. Its ambient light gets activated when in close proximity to a person. It also promotes traditions and culture through storytelling and folklore.

It is inspired by the practice of having someone who can be consulted by the Chiefs and leaders of the kingdoms over customs and specific details of rites that are performed. Their roles di€er slightly among various regions. In some parts of Ghana they are referred to as the Omankrado (the town padlock) or the Afetor. They are in-charge of knowing the traditions of the ethnic group by heart and it’s their job to pass them down to the next generations through parables, proverbs and folklore.

It is designed with the framework and elements of the shape, aesthetic and interactions are based on cultural references and research using the scientific method. Elements such as Sankofa, and Akoko Nnan form the Adinkra as well as other references were used in designing Olu.

Meet ABA-sleepy angel

Aba is another interactive smart device concept that also lives in the context of the bedroom in a Ghanaian home. It has a flipped sleep schedule and needs to be put to sleep in the morning and woken up at night. It is a concept that helps young people get out of bed in the morning.

It is a thought exercise about how the pre-colonial region would have solved a common problem of today where many young people have poor sleep schedules and cannot rely on alarms to get out of bed. Inspired by the Nsa ko ns aba Adinra which represents “a reciprocated lending hand” and the interactions informed by contextual gestures.

Both concepts were designed similarly and the process was documented and refined to generate the framework.

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