Titi Ogufere is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

er, critical design thinker and publisher at Essential Media Group. She is the Creative Director at Essential Interiors Consultancy, a pioneer interior designing company in Nigeria. The award-winning practice was set up in 2002 and has since established an international identity with a wide variety of projects that are context-specific, innovative, experimental, critical and theoretical. In 2007, Ogufere founded the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN), a body charged with the promotion of excellence practices in the interior design sector of Nigeria. She is also the founder of the Essential Media Group, a

publishing company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

that publishes Essential Interior Magazine; a magazine on urban and contemporary interior design. Ogufere was elected as President-Elect of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) in 2017. She was announced as the 21st President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) on 27 February 2020. Making her the first President of African descent.

Early life and education

Ogufere was born and raised in Nigeria. She attended

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

, where she studied Mathematics and Library Science. She went ahead to obtain a degree in Interior Design from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She thereafter obtained a Diploma in Events Management and PR from

Dublin Business School Dublin Business School (DBS), incorporating Portobello College, is a private college in Ireland. With over 9,000 students, DBS provides full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in business, law, accounting, event mana ...

. She went further to obtain a certificate in Editorial design from London College of Arts.

Career

Ogufere started her career in 2000 at Design Options LTD. In 2002, she founded Essential Interiors, a furniture manufacturing and interdisciplinary practice with operations in

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

. In 2004, she traveled to Dublin to broaden her education, while she kept her company running in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She served as an Ex-Officio Executive Committee member of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), a position she held for 5 years. In 2007, Ogufere founded Essential Media Group (EMG); a full-service media company that is into Publishing, Events and Digital Media. EMG publishes three leading magazines, organizes a design festival, two highly specialized exhibitions, two conferences, an awards gala, and has to date published over 25 books including This is Africa: Traditional Design, Modern and Contemporary (2017), In Conversation with Demas Nwoko (2019) and Vernacular Design: Redefining the Narrative (2019). In 2017, Ogufere launched the African Culture and Design Festival, an exhibition geared towards showcasing traditional, modern, and contemporary African Art and Design. The event was organized by the Interior Design Association of Nigeria in partnership IFI, with the theme; ''This is Africa.'' In 2019, she launched Design Week Lagos (DWL), an annual event. Design Week Lagos has played host to a number events across the city of Lagos, including; Design Kulture Exhibition, MADE by Design Show, Tourism Investors Forum, Sound for Design, Reflection for Happy Spaces, and Vocational Training Week.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogufere, Titi Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Ahmadu Bello University alumni Alumni of Dublin Business School Nigerian interior designers Nigerian magazine founders