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Since launching in 2016, the Native has grown from a magazine and festival into one of Nigeria’s most-respected cultural commentators. We speak to the collective about how Nigerian youth culture is making its mark everywhere from Lagos to London
Nigerian culture is definitely having a moment. The country is home to everyone from afrobeats star Wizkid, who was the first Nigerian artist to both chart and top the US Billboard Hot 100 with Drake collab One Dance in 2016, through to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose novel Half of a Yellow Sun was recently voted the best book to have won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the last 25 years. Not forgetting the seemingly unstoppable rise of Nollywood, which is now the world’s second-largest film industry behind Bollywood.
Nigeria’s achievements as a cultural powerhouse are unsurprising given the scale of its potential reach. As well as being Africa’s most-populated country, with a population of over 195 million, it also has the largest Black population in the world, is the second largest English-speaking country and boasts the third largest youth market, just behind the US and Asia.
The Native collective is widely regarded as the brand with its finger on the pulse of Nigeria’s flourishing culture. Since launching in 2016, the magazine has featured homegrown artists including singer Burna Boy and fashion designer Mowalola, orchestrated Nigerian performance debuts by everyone from Dave to Skepta at its festival Native Land, and played a big part in the hugely successful marketing for the Nigerian World Cup jersey campaign in 2018.
Historically speaking, portraits have almost always been about glorifying the subject – so what’s behind our recent fascination with unflattering, caricatured depictions of ourselves?
Part of its ongoing Drama Vs Reality campaign, Uncommon has taken the next logical step and created an online beat ‘em up game that pits TOWIE and Love Island stars against actors
We speak to the creatives behind Instagram page Diet Paratha and type foundry Vocal Type about the need for a more diverse group of tastemakers in the creative industries
As influencer marketing continues to dominate our social media feeds, we explore how it is impacting more traditional areas of advertising and what exactly separates ‘creators’ from ‘influencers’
The advertising industry turns its nose up at popular creative approaches such as jingles or celebrities in favour of ‘brave originality’. But, asks Ben Kay, is it shooting itself in the foot?
The eyewear brand has found favour among young people thanks to its refreshing tone and image. Creative director Ruud de Bruin talks to us about showcasing its offering through a creative lens
To mark the opening of its new restaurant in Majorca, KFC has dressed up a billboard in the yellow and blue brand colours of its neighbouring Ikea store
Jungle are back with a bumper pack of dance-laden videos for their third album. The collective’s Josh Lloyd-Watson and co-director Charlie Di Placido explain the intensive process of making the choreographed one-shot videos, which were all filmed in just five days
Whether you’re a fresh grad still finding your way or an old hand who’s lost faith, designer Paul Woods has some sage words of wisdom to help navigate creative angst
For a lot of agencies and studios, growth is a top priority – but not all set up shop with this in mind. We talk to two founders about why they want to keep things small and how they’ve made it work
A timely new exhibition at Japan House London highlights some of the pioneering design from the event, including Olympic pictograms, posters and architectural models
We speak to Deliveroo’s director of design Stuart Frisby about the joy of working at a brand that values creativity, plus how it’s standing out in an increasingly saturated delivery market
As genres such as hip-hop and grime cement their position in the mainstream, we explore how the brand world is increasingly taking note
My Head Is A Jungle sees the Birmingham-born illustrator transform the gallery space into a 3D maze-like structure filled with murals and sculptures
We speak to Tara Razavi, founder of creative production company Happy Place, about her work with Tyler, The Creator on his latest album, plus what the role of a good producer entails
London-based agency 10 Days is run by a trio of brothers determined to prove that ten days is all it takes to crack a brief and make a brilliant ad. Creative director Jolyon White tells us how they get it done
The animator, illustrator and visual artist speaks to CR about how her work has helped find her identity and why representation in what she does is key
As skateboarding reaches new levels of attention around the world, we look at the evolution of the symbiotic relationship between skate culture and visual media
The latest installation by the artist sees Myerscough turn a street canopy into a stained glass-style artwork that casts bright colours onto the pedestrians beneath
From nailing the brief to making space for the magic to happen, CR spoke with photographer Shamil Tanna, IBM photo director Emily Keegin and East Photographic agent Kane Giblin to find out what it takes to commission great images
As Hingston Studio’s type-led identities for the Serpentine and the V&A greet the general public, the designer talks to us about the importance of creating designs that give institutions flexibility in these times
The ad reveals the challenges that come with being an elite sportsperson, and features the provocative line, ‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’
Car brands have spent years, and millions, shoring up our reliance on petrol and personal vehicles, but change is arriving fast. Can a new wave of design and branding persuade us to move to greener forms of transport?
The LA-based director behind music videos for Pharrell, Lizzo and Lil Nas X reflects on his journey from afterschool computer club to Grammy-winning director
Polly Nor creates striking, satirical drawings of women and their demons. We speak to the illustrator about her up-and-down career journey, the perils of imposter syndrome, and using art as an emotional release
A new book by Paul Rennie is packed with iconic poster designs created by Eckersley for the likes of London Transport and Guinness
During lockdown, Marina Willer and Stuart Watson turned their house into a home for painting, doodling, monster-making and music. Here they talk about being creative as a family, and why making work for pure pleasure is essential
The pandemic has been the catalyst for all of us to reassess our relationship with travel. As the world slowly begins to reopen, we speak to the travel brands that are shaping what our holidays of the future might look like
Jump is responsible for the titles of some of the UK’s biggest TV entertainment and sports programmes. Here two of its co-founders look back on a turbulent 25 years in the industry, and what it takes to make a successful creative business
As part of our series on creative businesses set up during the pandemic, we speak to Foundation, the auction platform for digital art and NFTs about how their digital-first approach is working for them
The corporation’s in-house agency has teamed up with Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen to create a film that reimagines the host city
In this report, we look at the way that creative thinking is influencing sport, including in advertising, TV, branding, design, photography, illustration and more
It’s a bumper year for Cannes Lions this time, with the awards honouring work from 2020 and 2021 after last year’s event was cancelled. Here you can view all 35 of the Grand Prix winners
We examine how Strava became the app of choice for both professional athletes and amateur fitness enthusiasts, plus its ambition to create the biggest sporting community in the world
As the Tokyo Olympics approaches, we look back at one of the more controversial Olympic identities, Wolff Olins’ London 2012 branding, which prompted a storm of press and public opinion. CEO Sairah Ashman and chairman Brian Boylan remember the project
We look at the creative ways in which fast food brands are appealing to our tastebuds and standing out in a saturated market – from piggybacking off the vegan movement to embracing the allure of nostalgia
The Museum of the Home’s new displays put storytelling at the centre and illustrate how our homes are rich with design and cultural history
Sky Creative’s Simon Cole explains the process behind making sports promos, including how to appeal to younger audiences and why he takes parodies on the chin
Ikea’s latest sustainability push sees the brand repurpose furniture that has been found as trash on the street, to be sold in a new secondhand store
Despite the dominance of digital, the humble sketchbook is still a vital tool in making creative work. Here, we speak to three creatives about how working in a sketchbook is an important part of their process and also their favourite books to work in
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