Out of Africa - Visual Display Material and an Interactive Database for Vitafoods

Visual Display Material and an Interactive Database for Vitafoods Geneva, 2002.The subject field is interactive and non-interactive exhibition design. The Out of Africa initiative was founded by the Brussels based Centre for Development and Enterprise. The initiative is committed to raising awareness of Africa’s medicinal plant heritage through exhibiting at important pharmaceutical and nutraceutical trade fairs. The first of these was the Vitafoods trade fair in Geneva in May 2002. Vitafoods is a leading nutraceutical company. 12 African countries donated material to form the basis of the exhibition.The purpose of the exhibition was to focus visitors on the importance of knowing more about Africa’s medicinal plants as part of an incentive to health address Africa’s own health problems. However the exhibition also targeted visitors who might contribute to Africa’s export earning potential. This was considered important as international herbal companies visit trade fairs such as Vitafoods in Geneva. And the visual material and interactive database were designed with a view to encouraging such companies to use more African plant materials.The exhibition included product samples, technical information and photographs. The researcher designed the display of these. The exhibition display as a whole was designed by British European Design Group in association with Denzil Phillips International. The researcher also designed a computer based interactive database about African medicine which allowed visitors to search by plant and also ailment/medical condition. Following the Vitafoods event in Geneva, the exhibition moved on to the Natural Products Expo Europe in Amsterdam in June 2002 and was part of the UN’s World Summit on Sustainable Development Conference in Johannesburg 26th August – 4th September 2002.