Collection Inspired by Dozie Kanu

Dozie Kanu is an American artist that focuses on sculptural objects and installations that emphasis on limits of form, materiality, functionality and utilitarianism.

The concept of the design is to see the beauty in used materials and to give those a new life. With this concept we communicate the need for an improved waste management and the importance of eco friendly materials, as well as sustainable and durable production processes. Whilst being inspired by the hip hop culture and art, the focus is also on reusable materials in industrial designs mixed with metallic elements and marble. On a business point of view we are producing exclusive garments that will only be available in limited quantity.

Understanding the Dozie Kanu Brand.

Brand DNA
Conducting a brand DNA analysis on Dozie Kanu offered profound insights into the intricate layers that define his artistic identity. The analysis revealed that his designs transcend mere functionality, serving as expressions of cultural influences, personal experiences, and a commitment to sustainability. Delving into the core values and motivations shaping his brand provided a comprehensive understanding of the emotional and thought-provoking connection he forges with his audience. It also uncovers a consistent visual language and shedding light on his brand's broader societal impact. This comprehensive exploration highlighted the nuanced interplay of personal expression, cultural resonance, and design innovation within Dozie Kanu's creative journey.

SWOT Analysis
Conducting a SWOT analysis on Dozie Kanu's brand was instrumental in comprehending its current standing and strategic outlook. The analysis unveiled the brand's distinctive strengths, including a unique design philosophy and a commitment to sustainability, contributing to a strong and recognizable identity. This comprehensive analysis serves as a strategic guide, informing decisions and enhancing Dozie Kanu's brand positioning in a dynamic and competitive market. This model is also useful for our group to have a better overview on what makes Dozie Kanu's brand special and how will our collection be able to help in supporting his messages.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)
The BMC served as a dynamic framework to analyze and visualize key components of Dozie Kanu's business. By systematically dissecting each element, I gained a profound understanding of the intricacies that drive the success of Dozie Kanu's brand. This analytical process not only provided clarity on the existing business model but also identified potential areas for innovation and growth for my group.

Lifestyle Moodboard
In our proposal, our distribution focuses on the business to business (B2B) channel. Just as Dozie Kanu is currently doing, we will be working together with galleries and museums, as well as their shops. Furthermore, we are continuing the collaborating with Salon 94 Design – New York. With how Dozie Kanu's brand functions, his website is only used for showcasing the products, not as a web shop. To order products, clients have to actually reach out to us via phone or email. We would like to keep the approach so that a close and strong customer relationship can be built with the new collection we design.

As a group, we went to a nearby recycling center to look for inspiration and materials that we could use. We ended up taking a bag's worth of materials where we discussed and begun our ideation of what we could do. This is done to reflect and experience the design process of Dozie Kanu.

Used Materials Collage
We challenged ourselves to see the beauty in used materials to experience the design process of Dozie Kanu.

Sketching With Materials
We begun sketching out different ideas based on the materials that we have found. We wanted to experience and emphasis on the idea of taking in material that people discarded and transforming it into art/design. Overall, repurposing materials/items into fashion.

Sketches
Some quick sketches inspired by the materials around us.

Sketching With Materials
We decided to create a shoe collection since our initial inspiration from all the materials that we have gathered led to creating a shoe as the final product. Along with creating this shoe collection, we thought that it would be more interesting to create an outfit that could go with the collection. Therefore, we came up with this design for a simple dress so that when the user wears it, it won’t take away the attention from the shoe.

After experimenting with materials, we turned the focus back onto our own skillsets and being part of different education backgrounds. We moved towards conceptualizing the idea of if Dozie Kanu created a fashion collection line, what would it look like? Below is what we came up with.

Design Brief
We have gathered all our findings into a structured design brief to allow for an easy overview of the project direction. This also help solidify and align as a group of our project and creative goals.

Color Scheme
The colors chosen were inspired by the materials collected at the recycling center, as well as Dozie Kanu’s liking of keeping design minimalistic.

Material Card
The materials that will be used for creating the final product are mainly composed by the items gathered from the recycling center.

Typography
Adobe Interstate as the font family chosen because we see it communicates balance and structure with a sense of streetstyle. The font itself was designed as an reinterpretation of the official typeface for the American highway.

Packaging
Dozie Kanu is driven by street culture, so I decided to color the outside of the box with spray paint, in order to reflect the feeling of graffiti. I chose the color black for it, because it symbolizes elegance, power, mystery and confidence. Inside of the box we placed a red material (100% cotton) which inflames passion and energy. When you open the box, on the inside of the cover, I placed an authentication card. This certificate of authenticity showcased that this is a limited product. My intention with it was to create a realistic high fashion shoe box which verifies that the product is real.

Going beyond idea generating from our collected materials, we had narrowed down our sketches to formulate into a collection as well as started brainstorming how it would be displayed in the launch party exhibition.

Digital Sketches
Narrowing down our ideas into a collection line of 4 shoes and 1 dress.

Exhibition Sketch with Material Card
Creating the layout of the exhibition for our collection whilst highlighting Dozie Kanu's style of exhibitions. With the material card, it helps visualize the main texture and elements that will be present.

Exhibition Sketch with Color Scheme
Creating the layout of the exhibition for our collection whilst highlighting Dozie Kanu's style of exhibitions. With the color card, it helps remind us that the art pieces on display should be the things that grabs the attention from the viewers to be able to help express our story behind the collection.

After finalising everything digitally, we created prototypes of our final products. This step is critical due to the fact that it aided us to figure out flaws and improvements for our final products.

Prototype of Shoe
Shoe prototype created utilizing cardboard and tin foil.

Prototype of Dress
Dress prototype created utilizing some left over cheap materials which allowed us to create motifications easily before utilizing the textile that we had found.

Technical Drawing of Collection Item 1: Dress
After coming up with the sketches, we decided to make technical drawings in order to showcase our collection better. Each of the design takes inspiration from the materials that we have gathered and through these drawings, the design of it is made a lot clearer for manufacturing.

Technical Drawing of Collection Item 2: Shoe
These technical drawings help displaying what kind of materials will be used in creating each of the shoe. Although, they are all unique individually, the link between all of them is the core value of Dozie Kanu’s DNA; the idea of taking trash and transforming it into a functional design.

Technical Drawing of Collection Item 3: Shoe
Since the target group is very narrow, and with the nature of Dozie Kanu’s work being very limited and sometimes one-off, our collection is no different. We highlighted the amount of each product from the collection on the technical drawings, since the collection as a whole is a limited edition collection. Each product has a different amount due to the fact that we believe some materials and manufacturing process are less complex than others.

Technical Drawing of Collection Item 4: Shoe

Technical Drawing of Collection Item 5: Shoe

Scaled Model of Launch party Exhibition

We had created a small scale physical model of how we envision the exhibition display to be: our ambition was to create Dozie Kanu’s art gallery exhibition in New York with the new collection. To showcase this we created a window with the view of New York. On the other side of the wall, we put Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work to create a street culture atmosphere.

In the middle of Basquiat’s art, we placed Dozie Kanu’s art pieces made from pine wood and stainless steel, which we printed out and placed on white styrofoam. Additionally, we decided to incorporate more of his art/furniture using other materials. We made his bench, chair and table that are made from merging concrete with steel in real life. To replicate it in our exhibition stand, we used white styrofoam, metal sticks and silver paint to make it as realistic as possible. We also made a bookcase which is one of the most vibrant of Kanu’s studio art pieces. To create it, we cut white styrofoam into the unique shape and painted it with red, yellow, green and blue colors. Lastly, we made mini versions of a pair of heels from our collection and the dress we made for this project and combined it into the studio. Thus, we believe that looking at this exhibition, we render Dozie Kanu’s design and art pieces expressly.

Embarking on this project provided an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the creative process of Dozie Kanu, particularly the hands-on approach of gathering materials from a recycling center. I gained firsthand experience in the tactile exploration of materials, fostering a deeper connection between the creative process and the sourced elements. As well as collaboratively iterating and discussing of what ifs to bounce from each teammates to form a collection. This approach, where the physicality of materials precedes the design concept, proved to be a transformative aspect of the project, instilling a tangible and authentic quality into the creative journey in a collaborative manner.

However, some difficulty we were facing when designing and producing garments is finding identical parts to make garments that come in pairs e.g. shoes, earrings, socks. Besides finding fitting material, it was also challenging to stick to Dozie Kanu’s design DNA. Striking the right balance demanded meticulous attention to detail and artistic ingenuity to ensure that the final products are not only visually compelling but also practical and usable in line with Dozie Kanu's distinctive design philosophy. So that the design demands an artistic and sculptural product design yet still is functional and useable.

Collection Inspired by Dozie Kanu

A group ideation project of a "launch party" exhibition featuring products highlighting the message of "see the beauty in used materials" inspired by Dozie Kanu.

Brand Analysis

Collecting Materials

Conceptualizing

Iterations

Prototypes

Learnings