Design Connections 10x10 will return this year on Wednesday 19 September, showcasing a selection of the best emerging design talent in the UK, in collaboration with the Design Museum. We caught up with speaker Kusheda Mensah to find out more about her practice. 

Tell us about yourself or your practice.

My name is Kusheda Mensah born and raised in south London and also of west African descent, more specifically Ghana, and very proud.

My brand is Modular by Mensah. I first embarked on this journey in 2012 but it started as a print designer at LCC and very much interested in interiors and a modern living space. I was also interested in the landscape of my generation and what was happening socially and how I could merge the two interests and my research. 

Then my collection Mutual was first debuted at Salone del Mobile 2018 at Salone Satellite where I was able to exhibit the idea of my configurable furniture pieces which encouraged and promoted the ideals of face to face interaction.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on a new collection which still have the same ideals and focus on face to face interaction but it will be configurable inflatables.

I will still be working with soft materials like foam but I am also wanting to explore other material qualities with my ideas . 

What key issues are you addressing with your work?/ What impact do you hope to see through your work? / Why is design important? 

Firstly design is important because it helps us improve our quality of life. There are lots of factors, it may be efficiency, functionality etc but it all contributes.

When I started on this design journey I was maybe quite scared to put work out there, firstly because I believe in longevity in design, and if my work wasn’t fulfilling my beliefs I believed it to be quite wasteful. And the world doesn’t need more wasteful design or stuff for the sake of it, I wanted to create good sustainable design.

The issue I have been addressing in my work in a small way with the topic on social media and screen time and how it plays a part in our everyday lives, and how it is having an effect on our mental health, and how we view others and ourselves....I wanted to create a product that would sustain the users mental well-being. With this the impact of my work will be that people engage with each other first before we ask Google.

And don’t get me wrong, I love what the internet can do for an individual person but it’s the unhealthy lengths people go to. Which is why through my work I am proposing we get back to face to face interaction more where we can stay relatable with one another. I really want to push communal living and environments where people feel free to be themselves and no one feels alone.

And furniture is a small way, but ideas in my head are only getting better haha! 

Tell us about something you’ve seen that’s inspired you recently? 

Something I have seen that inspired me recently was something musically related actually. My friend Akinola Davies directed the recent Dev Hynes ‘Charcoal baby’, it was so visually stunning and represented a lot of culture with the representation of people to the colours and togetherness. 

To hear more about  Kusheda's Mensah work, join us at 6pm on the 19 September at the Design Museum. Find out more and book your tickets here.