**1. Introduction**

Industrial design is viewed as a synergy between applied art and science aiming at creating and developing aesthetic, ergonomic and functional values in produced artefacts. In the evolution of visual designs in Nigeria, a craft-based design practice has been most prominently featured with the culture acting as a motivating factor. The craft designs in traditional Nigerian settings consist of three dimensional elements such as the object form and the two dimensional features such as patterns, lines and colours. The visual designs on material artefacts have consistently infused culture-oriented aesthetics, thus adding to their local identity and commercial value for increase marketability. For the purpose of this paper, visual and materials culture is viewed as a direct application of industrial design with relevance to the productions of indigenous artefacts which are accomplished with technical expertise and covering wide areas of applied art and design, such as jewellery, interior design, ceramics, household wares, architecture, textile designs, leisure goods and woodwork. The Nigerian concept of industrial design embraces the creation of functional designs with intrinsic aesthetic satisfaction. This article explores the expanding field of material and visual culture insofar as it contribute to events, situations or other features relevant to defining human landscape as well as the social, cultural and natural environments, objects, images, ideas and practices.

In general, material culture can be defined as whole objects that are close to art in characteristics but which do not fully assume art's unadulterated-status. The study of material goods and artefacts, technology and other aspects of material culture have been given systematic attention, especially with prototype invention incorporated into the more generalized fields of work organizations, informal settings, cultural production and domestic settings, etc. All of these cause practical utility and aesthetic value to intersect in influencing material goods and the demand of conspicuous consumption.

© 2013 Kashim; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 Kashim; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 Kashim; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Crafts are symbols of Nigerian material culture and spiritual heritage. They are integrated into the living pattern of Nigerians as prized objects for the promotion and preservation of its tourism industry. Conservative estimates indicate that over 70% of the total population of Africa are rural dwellers, engaged in farming along with various craft production activities including metal craft, pottery, carving, textile, weaving, embroidery, leather work, calabash decoration, blacksmithing, bronze and brass casting and tie and dye. These constitute the major rural industries in the form of small- and medium-scale enterprises which are fundamental to stimulating the economic and industrial development of products for mass consumption. According to Ogunduyile and Akinbogun (2006), the introduction of industrial design into the school programme in Nigeria focused on promoting the developing small- and medium-scale enterprises that are expected to compete favourably with imported products, thereby, opening an avenue for creativity, innovation, jobs and wealth creation.

**a.** What are Nigerian creative industries and products about?

**b.** What are the relationships between art, culture and crafts?

**4. Research methodology**

**c.** What are the threats and solutions to the mass production of traditional crafts?

**e.** What is the interventional role of government in the cottage industries?

**d.** Are the contributions of art and crafts industry significant to the Nigerian economy?

Visual and Material Culture in the Context of Industrial Design: The Contemporary Nigerian Experience

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The research questions were adopted to test the research aim. Quantitative, qualitative and experimental approaches were used as tool of investigation in order to establish the relation‐ ship between material culture, artefacts, the creative industries and the commercial values of products. Interviews were conducted to establish the commercial value of the downstream activities of the applied artists and craftsmen in their selection for their commercial value. Apart from interviews, scheduled questionnaires were administered so as to collect in-depth information and data. They take the form of structured, semi-structured and unstructured

questionnaires designed for a census of creative activities using sampling techniques.

Culture is that which defines the way of life of a group of people and their interactions with the environment over a period of time. Moving from the abstract to the concrete and from the material realm to the immaterial domain, culture could be described as a thread that holds what a society finds valuable, meaningful and appreciable. Following the models of previous studies (Stephan, 2004; Schein, 1999; Lee, 2004; Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 1997; Spencer-Oatey, 2000 in Moalosi, Popovic & Hickling-Hudson, 2007), culture is firmly observed as being dynamic and multi-layered. From the perspective of the intangible elements, Lam et al. (2006) described culture as a set of values (conscious and unconscious) evolved by a group of people living in a society so as to shape that society with specific characteristics, identities, attitudes and behaviours. However, within the tangible layer, culture could also be understood

Artefacts, as made-made objects, are a material medium for the communication of cultural values. It includes objects, processes, services and their systems. Since visual and material objects are part and parcel of such communication which gives rise to social forms, visual and material culture has emerged from the interaction between man and artefacts. Today, design artefacts have become an inseparable component of human society, a totem of cultural identity and an important source of reference for modern society. These artefacts are instrumental to

**5. Conceptual definitions of visual and material culture**

in the social context of artefacts used within a particular environment.

aesthetic expression and socio-cultural interaction within a local context.

A comprehensive overview of the aforementioned areas has prompted various investigations - using the factors mentioned below - on which the contemporary status of industrial design programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria are based upon:

