Why We started Layrz.
It all began, like most things, as a terrible idea.
And no, this didn’t happen is a garage (because we don’t have garages in Nigeria — You park your car outside your house and hope to God it’s still there by morning…or you are) nor did this happen with a huge bang from some lengthy brainstorming that was culminated by some famous “Aha” moment.
No, this one happened, oddly enough, in front of a TV while watching CNN. Here’s something to look out for: Take a look at the European countries (as aired on CNN) that advertise tourism/investment opportunities or host some major big event — Take note of all the lush and colors and lovely swoshes that make you swoon and want to empty your wallet just to travel there. They look great, don’t they.
Now, watch out for anything African. Just anything, from any country.
A report, an Ad, anything. They use the same hues, same colors and subdued tones for the visuals. Ooh and they’ll sprinkle some quick shots of war, famine and some bone dry kid staring with outstretched arms with some vultures in the background, waiting for him to die.
If you do a side-by-side comparison of both the European and African countries, you’d be surprised to find similarities. Both often have Democracies, struggling/just-there economic stabilities, the occasional crisis, rich & colorful cultures and ceremonies (and we could boast that ours are waaaay more colorful) and sometimes, tyrannical laws that are illogical to everyone else. So, how is it that they get better screen visuals and we don’t?
Why is their Visual Descriptive Language always evolving while the VDL for Africa remains the same?
So why Layrz?
The central idea behind Layrz is simple: to help rewrite the visual descriptive language that describes Africa. It’s the stories we tell of ourselves that others will tell of us. So, why not tell better visual stories that we can be proud of?
Another reason behind Layrz — to help build a stronger design community by encouraging collaboration and networking. As it stands, our local industry is fragmented and shattered with no rallying unifying voice. We’d like to help change that because we believe through networking and collaboration, our industry can rise to match international standards and eventually, set our own standards.
Finally, we wanted to have a platform for promoting talents and professionals as well as being a referral point for inspiration. We make it a point of duty to curate the Best of the best, ensuring that quality work by professionals and talented creatives is always showcased at all times. We’re really passionate about this and we believe that we can achieve all of this.
So join us
You can visit our website (www.layrz.net) and follow our social channels on Instagram and Twitter (@Layrz_ng) for updates.
Layrz is a 16-hit combo by Leslie Williams , Joseph Benson-Aruna and Ayomidotun™
