{"id":832512,"date":"2024-01-31T10:21:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=832512"},"modified":"2026-03-11T17:37:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:37:22","slug":"is-design-a-universal-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/people-planet\/is-design-a-universal-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Design a Universal Language?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethiopian-American furniture designer Jomo Tariku\u2019s story reads like a Hollywood tale \u2013 literally. You\u2019ve likely seen his work in \u201cBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.\u201d His bold and intriguing African-inspired designs are featured in the film<\/a> and are set to appear in other productions. Two of Jomo’s works have furnished US Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 residence<\/a> (the Naval Observatory), are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum<\/a> in New York and he\u2019s appeared in dozens of publications<\/a>. Despite it all, Tariku says he feels \u201chuge disappointment\u201d toward an industry that\u2019s widely embraced him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started realizing, even in college, the lack of representation [of Black designers]. As my career evolved, I was almost always the only or one of the few Black individuals at major design events,\u201d says Tariku. \u201cI didn\u2019t see or interact with anyone like me. I began to wonder how many Black designers there were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tariku began doing research<\/a> to answer his own question. Surveying more than 150 of the world\u2019s most prominent design and furniture brands, he learned Black designers made up less than one percent of all the designers affiliated with these firms. Tariku\u2019s findings are reinforced by hard data<\/a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: art and design are among the least diverse professions across a field of hundreds. Steelcase recognizes the role our industry plays in changing these realities. In honor of Black History Month, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team at Steelcase organized a learning and development session, called Curious Minds<\/em>, to learn more about the issue, discuss it with Tariku, and accelerate our own strategies on talent in design.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all heard the phrase, design is a universal language. But if that universal language doesn\u2019t represent our culture, design thinking and design theory \u2013 if that is missing \u2013 you can\u2019t keep arguing the point that design is a universal language,\u201d Tariku says.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tariku\u2019s African-inspired design synthesizes his experience of the continent\u2019s diverse landscape, indigenous cultures, architecture, colors, artifacts, dresses, and hair styles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He believes the root of the issue lies in Eurocentric design dominance in global furniture design. African and African American perspectives are rarely amplified in the western canon \u2013 and when they are, they often feature stereotypical animal prints or icons while lacking the diverse depth of true African design concepts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been missing in the canon” argues Tariku. \u201cWhen I say canon \u2013 it\u2019s where our influence is preserved as long as humans exist. The libraries, museums, galleries \u2013 this is where our work will be recognized forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because the work of Black designers isn\u2019t prominent, people don\u2019t find the representation that signals their unique perspective is valued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t think or see that there are things your culture has contributed you\u2019re not going to base your entire career on it. If they don\u2019t see it, they won\u2019t aspire to it and carry the culture forward.\u201d <\/p>Jomo TarikuEthiopian-American designer<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n

Born in Kenya and raised in Ethiopia, his cultural background brings a fresh perspective and expands the creative landscape overall. In essence, the importance of embracing diversity in design not only fosters inclusivity, but enriches the creative dialogue that ensures a wider representation of ideas.<\/p>\n

Tariku acknowledges the dearth of Black designers is a long-range problem with no simple solution. One place to start is through advocacy on behalf of the Black design community. Recently, various Black creative collectives like the Black Artist Designers Guild (BADG) have increased pressure on design industry magazines to change their type of coverage, retailers to collaborate with Black creatives, and museums to broaden their curation of cultural art and design. These groups are also creating new media content and raising social awareness of the issue. BADG also awards grant money for projects connected to amplifying and archiving the Black experience \u2013 fostering investment that sustains Black artists and designers.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, Tariku believes organizations must do more to intentionally engage and support Black designers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes funding and intentional investment,\u201d Tariku says. \u201cPeople like me donate our stools and chairs for fundraisers for scholarships and things \u2013 but again, it\u2019s back on us. We need Corporate America to be serious about licensing, hiring and engaging with Black artists and designers consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jomo Tariku is the co-founder of Black Artist Designers Guild (BADG<\/a>), weASPiRE<\/a> and has recently founded ARTiculate Design Lab<\/a>. Over the years he has mentored many up-and-coming designers from Africa as well as the U.S. He lives in Springfield, Virginia with his wife and two sons.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrated Ethiopian-American creative says more advocacy, awareness and investment are needed to ensure representation of Black designers \u2013 and he collects the data to back it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37261,"featured_media":832530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[47663],"class_list":["post-832512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-people-planet"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImproving Black Representation in Furniture Design - Steelcase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prominent Ethiopian-American furniture designer, Jomo Tariku, discusses improving advocacy for and investment in Black designers and artists.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/people-planet\/is-design-a-universal-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Improving Black Representation in Furniture Design - 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