How to adapt a traditional craft technique into a new product
Adapting a craft technique is a design relationship, not simply copying a visible pattern. Begin with context: where the technique is practised, what it means to its makers and what a new use would change. Invite a skilled practitioner to shape the brief and decide whether the project is appropriate.
As you collaborate, document the original technique accurately and distinguish it from your adaptation. Test your product against its user, material and maintenance needs. Ask the knowledge holder to review how you describe and show the work. Record credit and any agreed sharing of value before you exhibit, promote or sell it.
Use your portfolio to explain what changed, why, whose input influenced the result and what permissions apply. KICD curriculum material recognizes Indigenous Kenyan crafts as part of arts learning, but it does not grant permission to reuse a specific community practice. Explore KENCID’s Product Design course for the broader product-development field; in Indigenous Materials, apply that thinking through respectful craft research and making.
Explore your next step
Explore the Indigenous Materials, Crafts & Product Design course at KENCID, or browse all KENCID courses. Contact Admissions to confirm current course details before you apply.
Related links
- Product Design course
- Designing a contemporary basket: a student project process
- Working with Indigenous craft knowledge respectfully