2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

42 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM

HADEELOSMAN,29,SUDAN

CREATIVEDIRECTOR,STYLIST, FOUNDER, DAVU STUDIO

INDUSTRY:ARTS

HadeelOsmanhasoversevenyearsofexperienceinthemediaand

fashionindustries.

HercreativeinspirationstemsfromheryearsraisedintheUnited

ArabEmiratesandlivinginMalaysia.

ButwhenshedecidedtoreturntoSudanin2016,hercareerpainted a

complicatedbutoptimisticpicture.

“Sudanis a veryinterestinganda difficultnationtocreatein.

Cominghere,it washardtofindrawinspirationfromthestreets.Witha

verycontrollingregime,limitedresourcesanda never-endingeconomic

crisis,lifewasverydim and colors were nowhere in sight,” she tells

FORBES AFRICA.

Sudanis a veryinterestingand

a difficultnationto createin.

Cominghere,it washardto find raw

inspiration from the streets.

O’PLÉROUGREBET,22,IVORYCOAST

GRAPHICDESIGNER,DIGITALARTIST, FOUNDER, ZOUZOUKWA

INDUSTRY:CREATIVETECH

Quiet,creativeandimpactfulareprettymuchthewordsthatsumup

O’PlérouGrebet,theIvoriangraphicdesignerona missiontopromote

Africanculturesinmodernandinteractiveways.

Heis thefounderandcreatorofZouzoukwa,anAndroidandiOSapp

whichallowsthousandsofAfricanpeopletocommunicatemoreclearly

usingstickersandemojisrepresentingAfricanculture.

Hehascreated 365 freeemojisthatportraycontemporaryAfrican

life.Theseincludethree-leggedpots,djembedrums,womendressedin

ankaras,tuk-tukvehicles,Africanmasks,hairbraidsandshekere, a West

Africanpercussioninstrumentmadewitha driedgourd;allthisself-

taughtwatchingYouTubevideos.

Aftermasteringtheskill,hewouldposthiscreationsonInstagram

whichsoongainedmomentum.

Usingart,cultureandtechnology,Grebetis sharingWestAfrican

heritagetotheworld.

Hehassincefeaturedinnumerouspublications,locally,and

internationally,includingtheNewYorkTimes,CNN,NPRandFast

Company.

Theapphasbeendownloadedmorethan100,000timesinlessthan

a year.

“Iamawareoftheimpactofsocialmedia,andI useit toallowpeople

to embrace their culture through it. The most popular filter I made is

Thisallowedhertocomeupwiththenameofherbusiness,

DAVU,whichstandsfor‘designinga visualutopia’.

It is a multi-disciplinarycreativestudiothatfusesdesign,art,

educationandsustainability.

“Ialsowantedtocontributetotheartsandculturesceneof

mycountry,whichhasfallenundertheradarbothlocallyinthe

commercialsphereandregionallyacrossthecontinent,”shesays.

ShehasworkedonseveralprojectswithclientsinDubai,

Canada,Singapore,Malaysia,Zimbabwe,SouthAfricaandSudanto

enhancetheirbrandingstrategies.

DAVUStudiooffersanarrayofcreativeservicesintheformof

artandcreativedirection,conceptdevelopment,branding,styling

andmostimportantly,informaleducationthroughinteractive,

immersiveandcreativeworkshops.

Throughthis,shehashadtheopportunitytoworkwith

Sudanesevisualartistsanddesigners,andwascommissionedby

theSudanIndependentFilmFestivaltotraincostumedesigners,

jewelrydesignersandfilmmakers.

Beinga creativeona missiontochangetheoutlookofher

country,shehasalsodedicatedtheremainderofhercareerto

upliftingSudaninthecreativefieldandAfricaasa frontierofthe

world’sartandculture.Osmanbelieveswiththerecentrevolution,

thefuturelooksbrightasshehopestocreatea Sudanchapterof

theFashionRevolutionorganization,designinga suitablegender-

neutral,capsulefashion collection inspired by traditional Sudanese

design aesthetics.

Selflove225,whichaddsa rotatingtextabovetheheadoftheusersaying

‘yedja’,whichmeans‘I slay’inIvorianslang,”GrebettellsFOBRES

AFRICA.

TheAfricanTalentsAwardsnamedZouzoukwathebestappof2019.

Currently,theIvorianhasbeenusingtechtocreateInstagram

AugmentedRealityfilters.

“Ihopetobeoneofthe 2020 FORBESAFRICA 30 Under 30 to

inspiretheAfricanyouth,andshowthatwhatwecreatehasrealimpact.

I also[wantto]makeconnectionswithotherAfricanstransformingour

continent and see how we could work together,” the quiet creative says.