Design as a Bridge Between Culture, Dignity, and Human Connection
Lani Adeoye is an award-winning Nigerian–Canadian designer and the founder of Studio Lani, a multidisciplinary design practice working across sculpture, lighting, furniture, and product design. Her work is guided by a powerful belief: design has the ability to unite people and foster meaningful human connection.
Rather than treating design as a purely aesthetic exercise, Adeoye positions it as a cultural and emotional language—one capable of expressing identity, preserving dignity, and creating empathy through form and material.
⸻
Origins and a Hybrid Design Mindset
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and shaped by life and education in Montreal, Toronto, and New York, Lani Adeoye’s worldview is inherently global while remaining deeply rooted in African heritage. The rhythmic warmth of Nigerian culture—its textures, rituals, and craftsmanship—runs through her work as an underlying current.
Her creative process blends time-honored artisanal techniques with a forward-thinking, experimental approach. With a background that combines analytical rigor and intuitive sensitivity, Lani brings together logic and emotion, structure and instinct. The result is a body of work defined by unexpected forms and an enigmatic elegance.
At the core of her practice lies a deep respect for the human touch—a belief that objects gain meaning when they carry traces of care, labor, and intention.
⸻
Design Philosophy: Meaning Before Form
Lani Adeoye’s philosophy rests on three foundational ideas:
Human Connection
Design should strengthen relationships—between people, cultures, and objects. Every piece she creates is intended to be felt as much as it is seen.
Culture as Foundation
Her Nigerian heritage is not referenced symbolically but structurally. Cultural memory, craftsmanship, and narrative actively shape identifying forms and material choices.
Dignity Through Design
Whether designing furniture or assistive products, Lani insists that function must never come at the cost of dignity. Beauty, in her work, is a form of respect.
⸻
International Recognition and Institutional Collections
Lani Adeoye’s work has been recognized globally and included in the permanent collections of some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including:
• The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
• Vitra Design Museum
• Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
• Die Neue Sammlung – Munich
These acquisitions position her work not only as contemporary design, but as part of the long-term cultural record.
⸻
Awards and Honors
🏆 SaloneSatellite Award — Milan (2022)
Lani Adeoye won first prize at SaloneSatellite: Designing for Our Future Selves, becoming the first African designer to receive this honor.
Her winning project, RemX, was praised by the jury for merging “elegance and dignity in a useful object for all.”
🌍 Global Recognition
• Featured in Elle Décor’s “Women of the World: 75 Global Female Designers Worth Celebrating” (2020)
• Her work appears in major design publications including:
• Designed For Life
• Woman Made
• Phaidon’s 1000 Design Classics
⸻
Selected Award-Winning and Notable Projects
RemX Walker
Winner — SaloneSatellite Award 2022
🔗 https://www.salonemilano.it
RemX is an asymmetric mobility walker designed to challenge the cold, clinical language of medical assistive devices. Through refined proportions, warm materials, and thoughtful ergonomics, RemX restores a sense of pride, elegance, and humanity to a product category often defined by stigma.
⸻
Ekaabo Collection
The Ekaabo Collection is a series of furniture and lighting pieces inspired by Nigerian cultural forms and traditional craftsmanship, reinterpreted within a contemporary design framework.
Key pieces include:
• Oba Chair — referencing Yoruba royalty and ceremonial dress
• Hadin Lounger — a sculptural dialogue between wood, leather, and comfort
• Handcrafted lighting objects rooted in symbolic form
This collection reframes African heritage as a living, evolving design system rather than a historical reference.
⸻
Sisi Eko Lamp
Permanent Collection — Die Neue Sammlung, Munich
🔗 https://www.die-neue-sammlung.de
The Sisi Eko Lamp exemplifies the fusion of traditional metalworking and modern design language. Its inclusion in one of Europe’s leading design museums affirms its cultural and aesthetic longevity.
⸻
Shaping Global Design Standards: iF Design Award Jury
In addition to receiving international awards, Lani Adeoye actively shapes the future of design as a jury member of the iF Design Award, one of the world’s most respected design competitions.
Her role as a juror reflects her critical approach—evaluating projects not only on aesthetics, but on intention, social relevance, craftsmanship, and long-term impact.
⸻
Education, Collaboration, and Craft Preservation
Lani collaborates with clients across the creative industry and works closely with artisan communities, helping preserve endangered crafts while translating them into contemporary design contexts. She views collaboration as an ethical responsibility rather than a stylistic choice.
She also serves as a Visiting Professor at Parsons School of Design (The New School), where she contributes to shaping the next generation of designers through mentorship and critical discourse.
⸻
links
• Studio Lani — Official Website:
https://studio-lani.com/
• Instagram — Studio Lani:
https://www.instagram.com/studiolani/
• iF Design Award:
https://ifdesign.com/
• Salone del Mobile / SaloneSatellite:
https://www.salonemilano.it/
⸻
Conclusion
Lani Adeoye’s work demonstrates that design can be both deeply personal and universally resonant. Through her objects, she builds bridges—between tradition and innovation, function and beauty, individuality and community.
She is not only an award-winning designer, but a cultural voice in contemporary global design, reminding us that at its best, design is an act of connection.