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hello, my name is

sara biatchinyi.

I'm a graphic designer and a creative researcher.
I'm all about observing, understanding, and applying - cultural studies and research are at the core of what I do.

Fashion for Good: What Goes Around Comes Around

event visual identity; branding; graphic design; exhibition design layout

2024

The Amsterdam based exhibition hosted by Fashion for Good: What Goes Around Comes Around on the basis of a care structure, with the intent to help visitors understand their power in the climate crisis. The exhibition explored circular practices in fashion and the shift from sustainability to circularity.Alongside the event identity, my responsibilities included designing the physical space in terms of graphic work. Identifying the key elements of the exhibition in order to showcase the young talent.

Fashion For Good: News from the Future

event visual identity; branding; graphic design; exhibition design layout

2023

The Amsterdam based exhibition hosted by Fashion for Good: News From the Future highlights the creative works of up and coming fashion students and designers working with cotton. Alongside the event identity, my responsibilities included designing the physical space in terms of graphic work. Identifying the key elements of the exhibition in order to showcase the young talent.

Omek x Nike

campaign development; visual identity; copywriting

2023

The Omek Talent Lab x Nike online event aims to empower African diaspora and bicultural students in pursuing Nike internships in the EMEA region. The visuals captured the essence of this online workshop, highlighting the diverse cultural backgrounds of panel speakers and students attending. These visuals are a cross-point between Nike’s iconic branding and Omek’s clean identity.

GOODEEDS Archive

front-end website design; UI design; social media content creation; visual identity development

2021

Alongside Aika Cherdabayeva, we developed a visionary platform concept with the purpose of overcoming boundaries that often alienate young artists and designers from non-white, cis, male environments. This platform serves as a space to create a directory of talented creatives from underrepresented communities, promoting inclusivity and providing them with greater visibility.

front-end website design; UI design; social media content creation; visual identity development

Black Employee Networking Event

event identity; copywriting; digital branding; print design

2023

The Black ERG Employee Networking Night at the Felix Meritis in Amsterdam, the Netherlands hosted by Omek with participation from several companies, this event centered around topics such as Diversity & Inclusion, Blackness in the corporate space, and networking amongst the Black community in the work force.

sara's research space*

Afrikan Attitude: The Case for Decolonising Design

BFA Thesis

Paris College of Art

Introduction: Contextualising Decolonisation

In 2020, a global dialogue and introspection about structural racism, lack of equality, and limited diversity and inclusion in society were ushered by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. In many ways, it has been a revolutionary year for persons of African descent and those who support their plight. It has given people the power to demand for what they need. Decolonisation is a necessary element of true integration. Decolonisation as a term is defined as “the process in which a country that was previously a colony (controlled by another country) becomes politically independent”. Based on this definition, decolonisation has already been achieved. Unfortunately, the 1 implications of colonisation are so deeply ingrained in today’s societies that it is difficult to believe that political independence can be equivalent to total independence for many countries. Decolonisation must extend beyond geography to mindset, aesthetics, and what is valued (and what is not).

This thesis focuses on decolonising design in Africa. It will examine the challenges faced and how decolonising design is essential to integrating and validating Africa’s design on a global scale. The importance of decolonising design is essential for African designers to develop, while simultaneously not being held at a western standard. For this thesis, the concept of decolonisation will heavily focus on the role of western society and the suppression it exerts on African designers to succeed. The lack of space and equity for African designers in the design world is deafening. The political climate of 2020 pressurised institutions and private industries to evaluate their status and discuss decolonisation publicly. But what does decolonisation mean for them? The interpretation of this word can lead to performative action: employing more Persons Of Color (POC); making public statements in support of BLM on social media, or claiming that their mission statement has been adjusted to promote anti-racism. These actions can easily lead to empty promises, with no actual implementation of decolonisation.

Yet the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 highlighted the urgency of decolonising within institutions and companies. Evidently, though, the line between true and real decolonisation, with the intention of ameliorating our society and taking appropriate steps to truly include BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] in the design world, and performative action is paper-thin. Many companies indulged in the latter during the surge of Black Lives Matter all over the world. Glossier, a successful beauty brand, is a prime example. Although the brand prides itself on its inclusivity and promotion of natural beauty, a collective of former employees of colour came forward about the way they had been treated in the workplace. In response to this complaint, their managers had told that they were lucky enough to be hired, and rather than complaining, they should be more grateful. The case of Glossier illustrates clearly that decolonisation requires a thorough analysis of why and how POC suffer so much in terms of representation, treatment, and equity.

Performative action, however, does little to alleviate this suffering. It is therefore important to recognise performative action as such and, more generally, question whether decolonisation efforts are benevolent. For, too often, companies feel the societal pressure of participating in Black Lives Matter in order to simply maintain their clientele, showing and proving that they are on the “right” side of history. Alas, the foundation that upholds some of these companies is deep-rooted in colonialism and slavery.

If we focus on the design world, the reason as to why there is a lack of representation of BIPOC is quite clear: access to resources. The system that we are all born into highlights the scarcity of access points for these groups. If one pertains to these groups, the lens through which society views them is already tainted by prejudices due to their historical context. The impact of colonisation in design, then, matters. It follows that the term decolonisation must be understood in all of its contexts; most notably, perhaps, the African context, given the continent’s fairly recent memory of European colonialism.

How has colonisation affected the growth (or lack of) design in Africa, and how does acknowledging decolonisation impact the meaning of African design?

uomini che uccidono le donne.

Research Project

Paris College of Art

The design of this annual report centres around femicides and violence against women in Italy, compiling crucial data from 2014 to 2019. This visually engaging report not only raises awareness about the issue but also provides valuable hotline support and resources to empower women in need.

editorial design; print and digital design

Methods Magazine

Paris College of Art

This magazine is carefully curated compliation of articles and resources shedding light on the significance of Black creators across various artistic disciplines. This publication highlights the challenges the African diaspora encounters, alongside an exploration of their future prospects and their creative identity in a western context.