The President, Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN), Ms. Jacqueline Aki, has advised interior designers in Nigeria willing to advance the profession to embrace emotive design and artificial intelligence (AI).
She stated this during the IDAN celebration of the 2025 World Interiors Day, themed “Designing with Emotion; Building with Intelligence,” in Lagos.
In her opening remark, she urged interior designers to lean towards three powerful intersections, which are “Emotive design—the ability to create spaces that connect deeply with human emotion. Not just beautiful spaces, but healing, liberating and uplifting spaces.”
According to her, “Designers must have lived experience, which is understanding how design is received, inhabited, and remembered. How does a space feel at 8 a.m. versus at 8 p.m.? How it supports joy, inclusion, and dignity.”
She stated that AI is not a replacement for creativity, but a collaborator, aggregato,r and a tool to extend thinking, not override it.
“The challenge before us is to integrate intelligence—human and machine—with emotional and ethical clarity. To ensure that technology serves human-centred design, not the other way around.
“Today is more than a date on the calendar. It is a global affirmation of the value of our work— the unseen hands, the thinking minds, the empathetic hearts behind the spaces where people live, heal, gather, and grow.
“Our theme this year, “Designing with Emotion; Building with Intelligence,” could not be more timely. It asks us to consider not only what we design, but how and why. It challenges us to create with empathy, to build with insight, and to lead with the awareness that our work has consequences—social, cultural, psychological, and environmental.”
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She stated that these intersections are not abstract.
Speaking on the theme, Assistant Secretary General of IDAN, Dr. OmebaEjiogu said: “We actually adapted this theme to make it feel more relatable to our audience in Nigeria. The idea is simple: design isn’t just about how things look—it’s about how they make people feel and how well they function.
“Right now, itis so important that our spaces do both—comfort people emotionally and work smartly in today’s world. That’s really what inspired us.”
Speaking on the future of the industry in Africa, Ejiogu, stated that Africa is full of stories, materials, and ideas the world needs to see more of.
“My hope is that we keep building a design identity that’s proudly Afrocentric—authentic, bold, and innovative. I’d also love to see more African designers involved in bigger conversations—urban planning, education, healthcare—because we belong at every table where spaces are being shaped.”
She called on all designers across the world to keep innovating and advancing their crafts. The keynote speaker at the event, Founder, HTL Africa Limited, Mr. James George, who spoke on designing with emotion, said from the perspective of his firm, “We see the world, especially as African with a mix pot of emotions that has to be harnessed through design and creativity. We also see the environment in that way.
“Our Nexus is the mixture of traditional and technology and therefore, to give technology the human face, we have to add a lot of emotions into designs so part of our duties as architect is to find that spark from culture and from day to day lives that transform ordinary bricks and mortar into something that elevate people.”
Other speakers are the event include CEO, Slick City Media, Malik Afegbua; CEO, Studio Akpan, Emem Akpan, AI Enthusiast, Studio Stone Designs, Abiodun Shonibare and Client Experience Manager, CAP Plc- Dulux Nigeria, Melody Otutuloro.
