Abstract The framing of design in sub-Saharan Africa is problematic due to Africa’s colonial past. This paper, therefore, constructs a broad perspective of the development of design in Africa, with the aim of challenging the dominance of Western design paradigms on the continent. By exploring the disparities between Western conventions and pre-colonial African design, the paper lays the groundwork for critiquing the current use of neoliberal design paradigms in postcolonial Africa. The paper argues that there is a need for decentering Western design in order to decolonize African design. To do this, there is need for a stronger appreciation of Africa’s sociocultural specificities. The paper contributes to that appreciation by discussing exemplary design from around the continent in order to articulate attributes of African design. Those attributes are aimed at promoting a stronger African design identity that can inform relevant solutions for African societies.

中文翻译：

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重新思考非洲的设计制作和设计思维

摘要 由于非洲的殖民历史，撒哈拉以南非洲的设计框架存在问题。因此，本文构建了非洲设计发展的广阔视角，旨在挑战西方设计范式在非洲大陆的主导地位。通过探索西方传统与前殖民非洲设计之间的差异，本文为批判当前在后殖民非洲使用新自由主义设计范式奠定了基础。该论文认为，为了使非洲设计非殖民化，需要使西方设计去中心化。为此，需要更深入地了解非洲的社会文化特点。该论文通过讨论来自整个非洲大陆的模范设计以阐明非洲设计的属性，为这种欣赏做出了贡献。