Women in Design . . . Aakifa Chida
In the lead up to Women in Design Day 2025: Moments of Change—an annual event dedicated to fostering community, celebration, and education among women in the design industry in Aotearoa New Zealand—we’ll be releasing interviews with each of our speakers to give you a sense of their career journeys and the types of conversations we’ll be diving into at the live event.
Today we are chatting with Aakifa Chida, Communication Designer and Lecturer, AUT School of Art and Design. Aakifa is joining the Decades of Design session.
Who/what were your early creative influences?
Afifa Chida (my sister), Catherine Griffiths, Katie Kerr, Nadine Chahine.
What inspires you creatively now?
Afifa, Catherine, Katie (still) along with Tyrone Ohia, Stephen McCarthy.
Can you describe your career path?
From a young age, I always knew I wanted to pursue something creative. My older sister was studying graphic design at university, and that was where I learned about what design is and started slowly but surely working towards the same career. As I began this journey, I learned very quickly that I was a lot more interested and inclined to projects that had a meaningful outcome. As I grew as a designer, it became more and more apparent to me that design can and should contribute towards the greater good in some way, so I started to try and integrate that purpose into every project I was able to. This solidified my purpose as a designer and as an individual, and motivated me to keep pushing in the direction of design for social good.
What does your typical workday look like?
So far, my work days have been split right down the middle between being a freelance designer for Studio Chida and being a Communication Design teacher at AUT.
A typical work day looks like waking up really early to have a slow and peaceful morning which includes making a super long and detailed to do list (I literally cannot skip this step), if I’m designing then I decide on a space to work from – whether that’s from a cafe, library or from home and if I’m teaching then I make my way into campus quite early.
While working, I love talking a lot to anyone and everyone around me, I love working from wherever there is a lot of natural light and I love buying or making a good iced caramel latte (regardless of the weather)
Do you have a project, made memorable because it challenged you? What did you learn from that work?
My masters project ‘Will You Notice? Will You Change’ was the most memorable project in which I learned so much about myself as a designer and as a person.
My research and practice was focused on how communication design can help to inform and educate people about Islamophobia. Because I was so deeply connected with this topic, it was the most fulfilling but also the most challenging project I have ever done. Whether it came to doing the readings, writing the exegesis, prototyping the publication, designing the campaign collateral – every step presented its own challenge. Emotionally, it was the most taxing but also the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
What do you think career/creative success looks like?
Success is achieved when you are able to complete a project and feel inwardly content with the efforts you’ve made. That doesn’t necessarily mean ‘solving a problem’ entirely because so many of the ‘problems’ we set out to tackle are not so easily solved, but knowing that you took a step in the right direction and did everything you could given the circumstances.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
That design can be whatever you as the designer intend for it to be. If you want it to sell, it can sell. If you want it to promote, it can promote. If you want it to create positive change, it can slowly but surely do exactly that.
And the worst?
To ‘get over it’, stop trying to change the world and that I’ll go further in life and make a lot more money if I say what people want to hear.
What barriers have you seen in the design industry throughout your career? How have they affected your work?
Lack of diversity, representation and cultural competency along with the expectation that as a young designer, you shouldn’t pursue what you are passionate about. Passion and purpose can wait until you’re more accomplished and until then it should be silenced in your work.
What do you hope for the future of design in Aotearoa New Zealand?
More empowerment for young designers to integrate passion and purpose into their work.
Aakifa Chida | Communication Designer and Lecturer, AUT School of Art and Design
Aakifa is a graphic designer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Alongside running Studio Chida with her sister Afifa, Aakifa is also a part of the teaching team for the Communication Design course at AUT School of Art and Design where she completed her Bachelors and Masters.
Aakifa’s creative practice revolves around using design to promote positive social change through trying to bring about education and awareness.
Connect with Aakifa through her website or on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Women in Design Day 2025— taking place on 21 March in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
This is your opportunity to unplug and reconnect with your practice. An annual event dedicated to fostering community, celebration, and education among women in the design industry in Aotearoa New Zealand. Through out the day you’ll be able to enjoy hands-on activities, time in nature, and hear the inspiring stories from our speakers – enjoying shared experiences and validating experiences as women navigating a career in design.
*Design Assembly Friends use your discount codes to access our discounted ticket options.
