Issue 39

DESIGNTIMES south africa’s creative resource

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/03 DESIGN

LIAM BRAZIER

Liam Brazier draws and animates things as a freelance Illustrator and animator. We had a brief exchange with him to find out more about his work.

/06 LOERIES

DECEMBER 2011 Issue No.39 ZAR 15 EUR €2, UK £2, US $3

GRAD. SHOWCASE We take a look at a handfull of this years graduates from colleges in Cape Town

in cahoots with 9 77199 9 24 8001

12011

/12 DESIGN

BACK 2 THE FUTURE

DeLorean Motor Company, and Epic Electric Vehicles unveiled a development version of an electric powered DeLorean automobile which will be available in 2013.

Loerie Award Winner

Samsung recommends Windows® 7.

Introducing the new Samsung Series 9 Notebook. Cast from aviation alloy and powered by a 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processor, it’s the latest innovation in fast computing performance. At only 16mm, its ultra thin, lightweight streamlined arc design make it more than just a notebook. It’s a true reflection of strength and sophistication. What defines you?

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2537M (1.4GHz, 3MB) • Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64bit) Operating System • 4GB (DDR3) System Memory 13.3” SuperBrightPlus© Anti-Reflective HD LED Display • 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD) • Up to 7 Hours Battery Life** • Weighs only 1.31kg

www.samsung.com/notebook Copyright© 2011 SAMSUNG Electronics Co, Ltd. Screen images are simulated. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. ** Battery life based on Battery Mark test scores that will vary based on configuration.

SAM_SERIES9_7374_DT_F

FIND OUT MORE

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NEWS

4

Isaac Newton observed an apple plummeting to the earth from its lofty perch on a tree, hold on now, don’t jump to conclusions, we’re not saying that the passing of Steve Jobs will mean the fall of Apple. On the contrary, Apple fell on hard times many years ago. It was Steve Jobs who breathed new life into the tumbling giant. More about that in our article ‘Will the Apple Fall Far?’ We’ve noticed a new trend in illustration, soft gradients and fluid organic forms are out... it’s time to welcome back sharp edges and vibrant colours! We interview Liam Brazier (the force is strong with him) and Nathan Fourie and showcase their awesome illustrations. We bring the freshest new talent in the marketplace right to your eyes or optic sensory stalks, with our graduate showcase. Talking of talent, we interview architectural design guru Quinton Damstra before racing back to the future with the all new old electric DeLorean, and if our calculations are correct, when this baby hits eightyeight miles per hour - you’re gonna see some serious... Enjoy! Mark Rosenberg

Adobe Touch Apps

This month Adobe announced the availability of the Adobe Touch Apps in the Android Market. Adobe Touch Apps are a family of six intuitive touch screen applications, inspired by Adobe Creative Suite software, to bring professionallevel creativity to millions of tablet users.

Designed to work with both finger and stylus input, the apps address multiple areas of the creative process: Adobe PhotoshopTouch for image editing; Adobe Collage for moodboards; Adobe Debut for presenting and reviewing creative work; Adobe Ideas for sketching; Adobe Kuler for exploring colour themes; and Adobe Proto for website and mobile app prototyping.

Announced at MAX 2011 in October, the apps are available for Android 3.1 or higher.

Adobe Ideas is already on iOS and Adobe expects iOS versions of the other five apps to be available in early 2012. In addition

Loeries CEO steps down

Editorial

Mark Rosenberg mark@designtimes.co.za Roxy Rosenberg roxy@designtimes.co.za Ryan Ali ryan@designtimes.co.za Steven Rosenberg steve@designtimes.co.za Zachariah King zac@designtimes.co.za Kerrythe Mahaffey kerrythe@designtimes.co.za

Contributors Eva Csernyanszky Seagram Pearce Tertia van Rensburg

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to availability as individual apps, Adobe Touch Apps will be essential components of Adobe Creative Cloud, a new initiative expected in the first half of 2012. Adobe Creative Cloud will be a worldwide hub for creativity, with membership options that will enable users to access desktop and tablet applications, find essential creative services and share their best work. With the creative file capabilities of Adobe Creative Cloud, files created via Adobe Touch Apps will be able to be shared, viewed across devices or transferred into Adobe Creative Suite software for further refinement.

“Adobe Touch Apps will transform how people use tablets, from mere consumption devices to vehicles for expression and creativity,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media Business Unit, Adobe. www.adobe.com/touchapps

Loeries Annual The 33rd Loeries printed Annual, designed

by Grid Worldwide Branding, will be available from the New Year. Pre-orders are now open through the Loeries online store, with special discounted prices on single and multi-book purchases. This must-have industry handbook holds all the treasures of our region, showcasing the very best brand communication across Africa and the Middle-East. Within its pages, you will also find the Loeries Official Rankings for the top ten agencies, brands, sound studios, production houses and creatives, a definitive guide to who’s who in the industry.

EAA 2012

Ericsson in partnership with Sony Ericsson has announced plans to run a regional competition for application developers on the Android platform. The competition titled Apps for Africa is to run under the aegis of the 2012 Ericsson Application Awards, an ongoing annual competition for application developers worldwide organized by Ericsson Research with a fifteen thousand Euro prize.

After seven years at the Loeries, Andrew Human will be stepping down from the helm. Human will end his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of The Loerie Awards at the end of February 2012. He will however be staying on with the association as an advisor and as a member of the committee.

After the success of The 33rd Annual Loerie Awards in Cape Town just weeks ago, Human leaves a great legacy behind him – a fertile ground for his successor.

“I would like to thank Andrew for his dedication and commitment to continuously improve the Loeries,” comments Boniswa Pezisa, Chairperson of The Loerie Awards.

“His passion for creativity and creative excellence is what has propelled the Loeries to become the industry benchmark that it is today.”

Other faces

William Kentridge’s Other Faces has been drawn and filmed over the past year.

It will be shown at Goodman Gallery Johannesburg in conjunction with a group of working drawings used in the film’s animation, as well as drawing fragments and prints. As with other films in the Drawings for Projection series, the artist uses a 35 mm movie camera to film the successive stages of charcoal drawings that are progressively altered through erasure and overdrawing.

Philip Miller, the Johannesburg composer who has worked with William Kentridge over many projects, composed the music for the film. A show not to be missed. www.goodman-gallery.com

ABC chairs Furniture inspired by typography brought to you by Roeland Otten. ABChairs is a sequence of 26 typographic chairs designed by graphic designer Roeland Otten and each and every chair represents a letter of the alphabet. Thanks to employing of rotational moulding of LDPE plastic throughout their manufacture these chairs are fairly lightweight, fragile and sustainable for outside use. At the moment these chairs can be purchased only by request. Smaller sized dimension ABChairs for young children are going to be offered soon.

Yarn-bombing Leg Warmer Love, a Virgin Active initiative, hits the streets of Cape Town again by yarn bombing Gavin Younge’s nine-metre high sculpture outside the CTICC. Following the international “yarnbombing” movement, Virgin Active has been bombing the streets of Cape Town with hand-made knits. This time the leg warmers are yellow in support of Cape Town World Design Capital in 2014. www.facebook.com/legwarmerlove

Ray-Ban Hall of Frames South African music artists such as aKING, Farryl Purkiss, Jack Parow The Arrows, GoodLuck and LARK rocked with creativity by customising their favourite pair of Ray-Ban eyewear for the Ray-Ban Hall of Frames to form part of this unique collection of rare shades. The popular Hall of Frames allows musicians to create a once-off pair of Ray-Ban eyewear by painting the lenses and frames, contributing to this unique collection. Van Coke Kartel, The Dirty Skirts, JR, Toby2Shoes, The Springbok Nude Girls and Die Heuwels Fantasties are some of the South African musicians whose customized frames are already part of the Hall of Frames. RayBan and music have always evolved together. Icons in music have a long history of making Ray-Ban eyewear a part of their identity, and in turn, Ray-Ban has become a musical icon in its own right. Ray-Ban will be showcasing the Hall of Frames this summer at various locations and events throughout South Africa. www.ray-ban.com/southafrica

Picanto wins design award After its world debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, the new Picanto has taken the world by storm. The new generation Picanto has been very successful in numerous markets across the globe, and this is reflected in the increasing demand for this car. After its successful South African launch in July 2011, the new Picanto was received very well by the local media, and has been described as a very competitive offering in the ever-increasingly important A-segment. At this year’s Johannesburg International Motor Show, the new 1.2 EX Picanto model was announced as a Car of the year finalist for 2012, outshining competitors such as the new Nissan Micra, within its own segment. “After last year’s nomination for Sportage as Car of the year, we are very pleased to see Picanto making the finalists this year”, comments Kia Motors South Africa’s CEO, Ray Levin.

“Being nominated as a Car of the year

finalist for two consecutive years in a row, serves as a true reflection of the complete transformation of Kia as a brand, and how well our new offerings are accepted in the market, both locally and internationally”, he added. Further to this, the Picanto 3-door has recently received an iF Design award, and joins the list of other Kia models that have received these top honours, including the Venga, Optima and Sportage. This award recognizes design quality alongside a number of other criteria, including workmanship, level of innovativeness and eco-friendliness. It is the first time that Kia has offered its popular A-segment Picanto in three-door form. “We feel very honoured in receiving this award and feel that it contributes strongly to highlighting Kia Design focused philosophy, adds Levin.

This is one of many awards the brand has won in months gone by, and it won’t be the last”, Levin concludes.

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DESIGN

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SATIRE

A day in the life of Steve Jobs So one of the greatest innovators of technology passed away last month.

Just in case you didn’t know too much about him, here’s a bit of trivia...

First of all, Steve Jobs was not born, he was grown in a laboratory by Chuck Norris.

The great master wore turtlenecks because from the collarbone down he was actually a hologram (technology not available until 2050).

Jobs’ speeches were legendary, and he was very much in demand as a public speaker. Requests streamed in from technology startups and universities; business schools; and ever since the launch of the iCloud; meteorologists.

Steve Jobs actually built every single Apple prototype from scratch, with his bare hand, in the space of four hours.

With his other hand, he was busy on

Apple’s long-term goal is to purchase NASA. They believe that by only selling their devices here on earth, they are losing potential revenue.

Will the apple fall far?

T

he death of Steve Jobs raised some concerns about the world of Apple. The loss of a great mind of our day, inevitably a thought as to the continuity of business. The looming question is: will Apple be the same after Jobs? The simple answer is No. The creation of beautiful products will certainly continue but that is not what Apple have become renowned for, instead they are known to be pioneers in innovation. A home computer designed with a unique and iconic aesthetic, a portable device capable of storing unprecedented volumes of music and data, the reinvention of how we look at mobile devices, an online store revolutionising the music industry and finally the only tablet that to date is worth mentioning. Now commonplace and even at the time not unheard of but after Jobs took these challenges upon himself, he left a wake of success which the opposition still struggle to compete with years thereafter.

There is no fear that Apple products will lose their design soul soon, ultimately the custodian of this aspect of Apple’s business is still alive and strong. Johnathan Ive who has headed the Apple design team has the same single minded vision as always of what design should be.

Moreover, Jobs has assembled a team equipped to operate without him and who have indeed been required to do so on

occasion since 2004. Design guru Jonathan Ive, marketing chief Phil Schiller, and mobile-software head Scott Forstall namely are the three most important players.

As we know, the quintessential design ethos of Apple is an obsessive focus on maintaining simplicity. Johnathan Ive has in the past shared that ethos, however only now will it be possible to see his true potential without the ultimate direction of

Jobs assembled a team equipped to operate without him and who have been required to do so since 2004.

Jobs. Witnessing the absolute passion of Ive as he discusses his meticulous approach to design, one can only but believe that this will continue unfalteringly. Ive was given an uncompromising canvas of the best products to develop, the only link in the chain will be whether he still has the platform to design the ‘best’ product possible.

What will be different from this point onward? the question is already out there.

“What could potentially be the next big thing?” As consumers we are an insatiable horde that are always looking to Apple for the next fix. If it isn’t satiated by Apple’s

next offering, will our love for the brand wane? Or is something extraordinary already in the pipeline? Only time will tell.

The time will come if it has not already,when the next progressive leap forward will need to be taken. Where will that inspiration come from if not Job’s?

There has been no formulae for the success of these prior milestones in product success besides the ubiquitous presence of Steve Jobs. According to Peter Misek an analyst with Jefferies & Co there is a two to three year product timeline and with that there is an expectation that prior to Job’s leaving Apple a TV was designed due for launch in 2012.

With rumors that the iPad 3 will be hitting the shelves in January one wonders if this is a strategy to quell the fears of product delivery post Steve Jobs. Apple downplay the effect that Steve Jobs’ passing will have with obvious reason. The repercussions though will probably only in years to come become apparent. The culture that he so fastidiously fostered still remains, but in years to come it too will change. How? only time will tell.

For today, the share price reaction perfectly sums the true value of Apple. Apple continue to create superior products and there is real value in just that; in response to the passing of Jobs the share price dropped only 0.23 percent.

Ryan Jared Ali

his computer, filing patents. (Apple currently owns over one thousand patents, with three hundred thousand still pending). In a very secret location, somewhere in a vault deep below the Atlantic Ocean, there exists a multitude of Apple product blueprints, which are to be developed and released over the course of the next 400 years. Apple Inc. just need to wait for the technology to catch up. Creating the demand won’t be a problem.

Apple’s long-term goal is to purchase NASA. They believe that by only selling their devices here on earth, they are losing potential revenue. (The iShuttle Explorer is currently being built, somewhere in a vault deep below the Atlantic Ocean).

Not only is it cool to own an Apple product – but regional sales of the apple fruit itself have also skyrocketed.

Apparently there is a craze for artists to not only draw the Apple logo, but to also try and bite it out from an apple using their own teeth.

Jobs can boast a staggering amount of achievements, including noteworthy contributions to modern society and culture. He has made us hate CDs, Blackberrys, and ourselves – if we do not own an iPad. He is also the man who immortalised the letter ‘i’ as a prefix in the English language. This has unfortunately found its way into every bad Steve Jobs joke on the internet, and there are a lot.

Speaking of bad internet jokes, it can be said that Steve Jobs always lived life to the Macs (ouch). But what was a day in his life actually like? He was a perfectionist, an innovator of the highest degree, and of course one of Chuck Norris’ creations. He was always destined for greatness. Take a look at his daily routine beside.

Ruari Abrahams

SATIRE

DAILY ROUTINE 5:00am Breakfast. One apple, swallowed whole.

5:01am Look in mirror and repeat daily mantra “I am awesome!”

(250 times) 6:04am Patrol turtleneck closet (iTurtle), ensuring sweaters are carefully aligned according to their shade of black.

7:39am Look in mirror and repeat daily mantra “I am awesome!”

(50 times) 8:00am Send daily hate mail to Bill Gates.

8:02am Continue surveillance on the guys over at Google.

11:06am Check current share price.

Satisfy hunger by eating some competition.

11:10am Spend two hours pressing the Home button on the iPhone 7.

1:10pm Change sweater to something a bit darker. Charcoal is out. Black is the new black.

1:16pm Ensure that buttons on the forthcoming OS have consistent lickability factor.

1:34pm Follow up on conversation with Charles Bolden at NASA. Explain that the final frontier is non-negotiable. Threaten legal action.

1:56pm Spend four more hours pressing the home button on the iPhone 7. It’s just not perfect enough.

Yet. 6:03pm Look in mirror and repeat daily mantra – “I am awesome!” (10 times) 6:11pm Decide which shade of iTurtle to wear tomorrow.

11:35pm Power down hologram grid.

Place head at 180 degrees onto pillow. Go into iSleep mode.

11:37pm Go into iDream mode. Spend 4 hours dreaming up more ridiculously well designed and user-friendly products.

4:00am Slowly wake up. Look at ceiling, and think to self, “Must buy Google”.

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ILLUSTRATION

Liam Brazier, illustrator & animator Liam Brazier draws and animates things as a freelance Illustrator and Animator. His work has been displayed in, at and for the likes of Samsung, Design Week and The Museum of London to name but a few. We had a brief exchange with him to find out more about his whimsical self.

Tell us about Liam Brazier?

Hi, I’ve been scribbling and doodling since... forever, graduated back in the appropriately sci-fi year of 2001. Illustration is as much a communication tool to me than speaking or writing, if not greater. My

work is oftentimes a product of passing whimsy or meandering interest, there’s a lot of pop culture references mostly as my forethought is somewhat shallow I guess and my very being is composed of those movies I saw, music I heard, TV I watched while growing up. Star Wars was my youth (and then, regrettably, a centre of pure filled rage around my exit of teenage).

Describe your creative process, from pencil to paper to Photoshop?

For the ‘angular’ (or whatever you wish to label them as) images I have some vague

layout/composition in mind for the subject matter, then collage together some relevant reference images before starting to build in Photoshop. I try to map out a dark, medium, and light colour then some inbetween. On separate layers I draw out the shapes with the polygon selection tool and fill, trying to bring out the form or detail in as few selections as possible. I play with gradients and overlaid shadow and light areas, then it’s a process of dragging my hand away from the Wacom trying to restrain working the image up ad infinitum.

How were the vector illustrations created as the style is rather unique?

Firstly, it’s a fairly understandable misunderstanding that they are created using vectors, it would likely be a much more sane and reasonable way of doing such, but alas, I am forever insane and unreasonable. Secondly, to actually answer your question; the style is an evolution of a process I started with over a decade ago by slicing up tiny pieces of coloured paper, the sharp edged shapes merely making my job a lot easier. As said, these days I can

emulate that with a lot less cut fingers and spray mounted carpet within Photoshop thankfully.

What contributes to your creativity?

Illustration, by definition, is a reactionary medium. You see, hear, or read something that sparks the internal idea machine. As long as society doesn’t crumble into a 1984 doomsday, there will always be things to highlight, comment on, or retaliate against through illustration. And even if there isn’t, nothing can kill nostalgia.

Roxy Rosenberg

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ILLUSTRATION

Nathan Fourie

N

athan Fourie was born in Durban and attended school in Centurion. Nathan’s talent comes from his mothers side who is an established painter.

He enjoyed drawing skulls on everything when he was just a kid, but got hooked on graphics when he started skating. “I remember how cool it looked the first time I saw a Stussy tshirt, just the way it was written made it look cool. I wanted to be a part of that, and going into graphics seemed like the logical choice for me.”

Tell us about your start in illustration?

I started to intern and freelance while I was still studying, from there I went into broadcast design and then later got into animation. It felt really rewarding animating my own work. I freelanced for about three years before moving to Cape Town. I recently joined the ranks at AM I Collective in Cape Town as a senior animator, its been really exciting so far, and getting the opportunity to work with international clients has really been rewarding.

What is the illustration industry like? Is it competitive out there?

I think the creative industry is changing, its good to be a freelancer if there is a market for your specific style, but its also good working in a company dynamic(teamwork) to grow and meet the expectations of the client. You can be really good at drawing skulls and daggers, but if there is no one buying your product, its more of a hobby isn’t it?

Your work seems to be a mix of Photoshop as well as Illustrator?

I don’t really do much vector design, so mostly work in Photoshop, and for some reason I’m still stuck with a copy of freehand on my machine, maybe next year I’ll go over to Illustrator.

Describe your illustration style?

That’s a hard question, I don’t really know, I don’t really see myself as an Illustrator, I just like strong visual executions.

Your style seems quite varied. Do you think designers should veer away from their usual style and try something different?

I think it’s good to have a style, but think it’s good to challenge yourself and develop other skills, it’s important to understand what the client wants, and if you don’t understand other visual mediums you can’t produce the work, so ja, too much of one thing gets boring. Experiment and try something different, I think that’s the best way to learn.

Tell us about the process of creating the lion and eagle illustrations.

It’s really simple, it’s my two favourite animals. I wanted a strong central image around the animals, leaving them to be the focus and the only concept, nothing else, and no deeper or weird philosophical meaning.

What is your favourite creation?

A doodle I just made with the byline, ‘sonde stokkie’ it’s simple with a strong visual.

Do you keep a sketchbook? If so, what do you fill it with?

Ja, I have a lot of sketchbooks, mostly filled with doodles, and for some reason a lot of swear words in there.

Do you keep a reference of inspiration?

Books, tear outs etc.

I do have a lot of books at home, but to be honest, I have not opened up one in a long time, these days you can type in ‘cool designs’ into Google and be inspired. www.nathanfourie.co.za

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DESIGN

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Cape Town awarded World Design Capital

C

ape Town has been named World Design Capital for the year 2014, ahead of fellow short-listed cities, Dublin and Bilbao. The sought-after accolade was awarded to the Mother City this morning at the International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress in Taipei. Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, accepted the award on behalf of Cape Town, South Africa and the African continent.

In her acceptance speech De Lille said: “It is an honour for me to be addressing you here today as mayor of the first African city to be named a World Design Capital.

A city belongs to its people and it must be designed for and with them and their communities. For many years, people have been applying innovative solutions to our

new democratic era, we have been focused on trying to bring people together, to create a sustainable city that fosters real social inclusion.” “The challenges faced by cities today are numerous. Sometimes, they seem unique. When we broaden our horizon, however, we discover the tremendous energy and innovation of individuals, communities and firms using design every day to create solutions. They are to be found within our city... and all over the world. “In 2014, we will channel that energy into a series of events that celebrate design as a driver of social and economic change in the urban environment. We invite the global design community to become a part of our design journey, in our city, in Africa and in the world,” De Lille said.

Cape Town’s bid has gained widespread public and private sector support at City and Provincial level. It provides the opportunity to embed design thinking into urban development planning for social and economic growth.

The accolade will also enhance Cape Town’s reputation globally as being a place that is known for more than just its natural beauty.

Previous World Design Capital title holders have seen increased visitor numbers as a result of the designation. Torino, Italy, World Design Capital for 2008, reported higher visitor numbers in their title year – which coincided with the global economic downturn – than in 2006, when they hosted the Winter Olympics.

Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, Managing Director of the Cape Town Partnership and co-ordinator of the bid on behalf of the City said: “It has been a long and rewarding journey to get to this point. The real key to our success has been the partnerships that have been forged during the bid process, and the unwavering support of the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government of the Western Cape. Being named World Design Capital for 2014 is a unique opportunity for us to reposition Cape Town on the world stage as a city of innovation, creativity and caring – and to continue to foster and promote our design industries at home and abroad.”

The World Design Capital 2014 title results in a year-long programme of designfocused events that will see creative communities across the globe turning to Cape Town for social, economic and cultural solutions. These connections are vital in the long-term links the city will secure with global role-players within creative industries. This win also highlights how design innovation has led to growth in the Stellenbosch area, taking the bid beyond the city’s borders to acknowledge the design assets of the region.

Said Stellenbosch Mayor Conrad Sidego from Taipei, where the theme of the IDA Congress is “Design at the Edges”: “The edge is where design of the past and design of the future meet, in this moment we have the opportunity to shape a new design legacy for our region.” www.capetown2014.co.za

The World Design Capital designation gives cities like Cape Town additional motivation to actively think of transformative design in development plans. challenges. They have been using design to transform various aspects of life. But they have often been working without an overarching social goal in mind.

“The World Design Capital bid process and title have helped to bring different initiatives together and have made us realise that design in all its forms, when added together, creates human and city development.

“The World Design Capital designation gives cities like Cape Town additional motivation to actively think of transformative design in development plans. We look forward to learning from other cities that are using design as a tool for transformation, including past winners Torino, Seoul and Helsinki and our fellow short-listed cities, Dublin and Bilbao. We are honoured to have been considered with them.” The Cape Town Partnership started the World Design Capital bidding process over a year ago, on behalf of the City of Cape Town. A Bid Committee was tasked to frame the theme of the bid and to source content and case studies for the bid book. It included design case studies in the Stellenbosch area. On 31 March 2011 the 465-page bid book was formally submitted to the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) in Canada, with the theme, “Live Design. Transform Life”.

Explaining the importance of the year 2014, De Lille said it will be the celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa, “That celebration will allow for a time of reflection, to think about how far we have come as a country and a city. We will also be positioning ourselves to plan for the future. The next 20 years, and the 20 years after that, demand nothing less if we are to prosper as a city and a society and truly mature into our full potential.

“2014 then is the moment when the past and the future will come together for Cape Town, in contemplation and in action. In South Africa, cities were designed over decades to divide people. But since our

Gocreate.co.za

A

dobe South Africa has announced another successful season of creative entries via the Gocreate.co.za platform that offers creatives in a range of categories the opportunity to showcase their creative work, share tips and advice and join a community of like minded people. The season that kicked off in March this year, saw nearly 3,000 creative submissions posted for commentary and entry into the competition element of Gocreate.co.za.

Gocreate.co.za offers incentives to the creative industry from the fields of web, design, video and photography in that over 370 winners walk away with over R460 000 worth of prizes including Adobe software, Xbox 360 Kinect packages, Apple iPads and HP Workstations. “Gocreate.co.za has a community building purpose that will probably become far stronger than the incentive element.” says Leonard Rabotapi, PR & Marketing Manager for Adobe, SubSaharan Africa.

Rabotapi calls Gocreate.co.za an equal opportunity platform that offers both new and established creatives a platform for creative showcase. “As a company, our commitment to education and young people has seen us involved in activities like the Loeries Student Portfolio Day, ADAA, even student pricing on our products in a drive to ensure young people

can have access to the tools they need to thrive. Gocreate.co.za takes this one step further by helping build a bridge between experienced and less experienced creatives across the industry. What’s more it’s a platform not limited to South Africa as it covers Africa and the world.”

And from the results of this year’s initiative Gocreate is gaining support and traction as a creative community platform. “This year’s submissions were absolutely phenomenal,” says Rabotapi. “But the commentary and advise exchange was also phenomenal.”

Gocreate.co.za achieved a ranking within the top 40 Facebook pages in South Africa this year – another indication that the audience is starting to grow.

The community is heavily focused on social media as entrants who upload their work onto the gocreate.co.za page could and did lobby for votes using tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

Only entrants with 100 votes or more qualified for the Hall of Fame, securing their place in the competition.

In addition, the general public were encouraged to vote for their favourite entries in the four categories – resulting in over 370 clear winners.

The sponsored prizes awarded to the winners are intended to encourage growth and development within the industries.

Packages such as Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 and

Adobe InDesign CS5.5 are all recognised tools within the design industries and are used across the globe.

Video Hall of Fame category winner Thando Tshabalala’s prize included Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium and an HP Z200 Workstation which will go a long way towards helping him establish himself within the industry. “Gocreate. co.za provided an opportunity for me to profile my work and get recognition for my passion as a young creative. It is a great platform to encourage upcoming and established creatives to learn and appreciate each other’s work,” says Tshabalala.

Shavonne Lewis, winner in the Photo Hall of Fame category, was of the same mind saying: “A competition like Gocreate. co.za gives the creative community a credible platform from which to showcase our talents.” Lewis prize was the Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5.5 and a Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera with a twin lens kit.

“The competition element not only gives creatives the opportunity to compare work with their peers, but also offers them the chance to be widely recognised for the innovative work that they do. Gocreate. co.za will reach even further to extend the concept of “the equal opportunity platform” in 2012,” says Rabotapi.

One of this years winners as shown above is Injozi who walked away with a Adobe Creative Suite and Apple iPad.

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GRADUATE SHOWCASE

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Allie Erchen 1

COLLEGE Friends of Design COURSE Web and motion graphics aerchen@gmail.com

1 Poster design for a toy store 2 Animated typeface design 3 Animated illustration of Jim Morrison 4 Logo design for a toy store 5 Multimedia game

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Maya Liepaz COLLEGE Friends of Design COURSE Web and motion graphics mayaliepaz@yahoo.com

Sven Kristian COLLEGE CityVarsity COURSE Photograhy wordsastheyresound@yahoo.com

1 Rocking the Daisies poster designs

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GRADUATE SHOWCASE

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Sarah Jager SAM WELLS COLLEGE Concept Interactive COURSE Multimedia www.samwells.co.za

COLLEGE Concept Interactive COURSE Multimedia sarahjager9@gmail.com

1 Invitation design for a high tea 2 Poster design

1 Boombox typography design 2 Field Office web design 3 Poster design for exhibition 4 Good night illustration

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GRADUATE SHOWCASE

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C L A R I T Y

U N C O N F I N E D

RS 180 Digital Wireless System Enjoy uncompromised purity of sound without the restriction of wires.

Uncompressed audio is transmitted over a robust 2.4 GHz digital link, providing an unrivalled sound image for up to 100m. It will change your perception of freedom, forever. www.sennheiser.com

Carl Cardinelli BEN JOHNSON COLLEGE AAA COURSE Graphic Design ben@nowandpartners.com

1 Website and packaging design 2 Packaging for a fish and chips shop

COLLEGE AAA COURSE Copywriting carlcardinelli@gmail.com

1 Rentokil print adverts highlighting their expertise in pest control.

2 Print ad launching the Sennheiser RS180 wireless headphones highlighting it’s unrivaled sound quality over long distance

We don’t really need to advertise.

You’re doing a pretty good job for us already.

Over the past 21 years around four thousand of you have been through our doors.

You walked in as a student, and left ready to hit the ground running.

Now our alumni are found all over the world, often where incredible work is being created. In fact, it would be hard to find an agency in South Africa without any AAA graduates on board, in some cases, even on the board.

And while that says a lot about you, it says something about us too.

It is through your achievements that our success is brought to life.

You are our portfolio. Our most sensational campaign.

So for our 21st birthday we thought that a conventional advert wouldn’t be quite right. We would rather make a toast. A salute to all of you who contribute to making us who and what we are today.

So thank you, for being the greatest ad we’ve never produced.

Where the industry shops.

Registered with the Department of Education as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997. Registration certificate no. 2000/HE07/015 Copywriting by Carl Cardinelli | Art Direction by Jayson Vos & Gareth Wheeler - Future AAA Alumni 2012 | aaaschool.co.za

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ARCHITECTURE

Quinton Damstra

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esigntimes had the privilege of meeting Quinton Damstra of QDP who has been practicing architectural design for almost 20 years and still maintains a fresh approach to design. We asked him a few questions to delve into the mind of Quinton.

Please can you tell us what a day in the life of Quinton involves?

Besides the usual getting kids ready for school and the morning “your going to school, your not really sick negotiations”. checking temperatures that quickly lead to a sore head to a sore throat and stomach and then miraculously become chest infections. and then finally bidding wife

and kids farewell.

Most of my work days are never ever the same - I set up my formal appointments in the morning, council visits and client liaisons, visits to various sites being built and my meetings with the professional teams. These meetings I try keep for the morning 8-12am slot. The afternoons I tend to try and do my design sketches for new clients and working drawings. Lots of coffee and visits to second hand book shops between the work schedule is an absolute critical part of any day.

You are very passionate about sustainable design. Reaching the majority of people is somewhat an infrequently travelled path, not an approach taken by by

many architects. What is the focus of your program you are working on in Khayelitsha?

I have been involved in teaching multi disciplinary draughting and CAD skills training since 1995 for various training facilities. To teach skills that actually render a student employable in the world of work is a massive challenge for the education machine. With so many options of study open to students today - it is very difficult for them to realize their individual worth and actually start contributing quickly in the world of work environment, after they are qualified. so I have made my way up through the education ranks as an industry professional and educator, I am a chief examiner and facilitator for various subjects for the DOE on the NCV drawing office practice course levels 1-4.

I also facilitate sustainable construction courses in Khayelitsha and teach multidisciplinary draughting, design and CAD skills at the academy of inventive design and technology in Century City. This has exposed me to a very wide variety of up and coming creative minds. I have found if the longer in the tooth work experienced actually stop and listen to the voices of the student - one finds you can learn so much from an outlook that is fresh, optimistic and tuned into technological change.

So I started a forum called the Wildetects, which aims to give a voice to the wild ideas of the unshackled creative mind. Concepts like the Erxell concept and precast concrete electrical conduit systems are born from this thinking out loud with student’s process. Because I work in an informal settlement the many challenges are clear to be seen - but the vibrancy and energy of these communities is really incredibly exciting.

Often designers utilize the term “dialogue” quite loosely, your project Erxell does that very clearly. What the project does is create a truly unique opportunity for advertisers.

Tell us more out the project and how you see it being brought to fruition.

THE ERXELL CONCEPT a solution to improve the quality of life in a South African informal settlement by building real and imaginative bridges and communication links between SA’s vastly different socio and economic communities.

By simply creating a communicative link between advertising, consumers and a person living in an informal settlement.

Poverty is the inability to see and act on opportunities. One of the only ways the financially challenged are going to be able to empower themselves is through the opportunity of business/advertising buying into a symbiotic relationship. In other words a mutually beneficial product needs to be created. An as yet to be realized glass bead of trade. A concept such as the Erxell

concept which i’ve been championing since 2006 will need a new unit of measure to wrap the sellable advertising space around. This unit is termed the ERXELL, so the advertising machine will be buying or renting branded informal settlement Erxells from the informal settlement home owners, which is a square 1335mm X 1335mm which is 3 cubits by 3 cubits.

The idea sells actual advertising space on an earth branded object, Erxell’s on earth - The word Erxell is a word I intended which is a play on the words ‘earth’,’sell’ and ‘pixel’. To denote the millions of dots eventually creating a picture from afar.

The Erxell measurement has been certified and endorsed by the Institute of Draughting in South Africa in 2007. The measurement of 1 Erxell = 3 cubits X 3cubits. Business rents a number of Erxells for a time period -they can then brand their logo on top of say 100 informal settlement homes to create a huge branded sign, viewed from space or incoming airplanes. The value of the erxell will increase by the community’s ability to create green crop circle branding components and the better kept and clear signage. So the longevity and sustainability of the branding will depend on the community’s relationship with the advertisers sponsoring the sign.

It’s going to be an interesting community weld project.

The folk in the informal settlement homes benefit from a new sponsored waterproofed roof and a residual income for allowing this signage on the roof - the sign will be so massive that you would only read it from way up high. This much needed finance can also then be used to plough back into the community and everyone gets what they wanted. The advertising machine will be putting back into a community project.

And getting all the lovely advertising it so dearly needs to survive. This Erxell concept is to create an advertising canvas out of all the collective roof space of informal settlements. This concept has not been tried yet and as it holds out a promise to destitute families it needs to be done properly and responsibly. I have an informal settlement in mind but will only advise approaching them once all the red tape and logistics are taken care of by government, advertisers and industry.

Do you see architecture as a possible tool for educating under privledged communities about sustainability as it relates to our environment?

Definitely yes, it does appear that architectural design has always been put in the domain of an experienced few, who create their magic very mysteriously.

However every single one of us interacts with architecture everyday of our lives. It’s in the informal settlement arena that community living is dynamically

and organically growing on its own.

A community that has seemingly bypassed a red tape machine. We will find the answers of how we will live in the future in these communities. The solutions created in informal settlements will resonate for many years to come.

It’s critical we learn from these dynamic communities that are surviving off the grid seemingly like frontier towns of old.

If those with design experience can steer a few great design concepts within these environments, which actively try and build bridges between our South African communities - this would be creating sustainable environments across the board.

Instead of building estates with high walls we can reach over our walls and electric fences and create a pride of place ethos.

By creating systems that actively involve all South Africa’s communities. I’ve seen how informal settlements deal with bad elements within the community and if more affluent communities take an interest in the design well being of our financially struggling communities. I’m very sure the crime will be reduced by the creation of communicative links between honest hearted South African folk across the board.

After two decades in the industry, which projects within your body of work would you most want to be recognized for?

To be recognized as someone who really simply enjoyed what I am doing.

What other projects are you involved with that do not pertain to the built environment?

QJD design studio tries to keep busy with various creative concepts and ideas as creativity is, as creativity does. I dabble in Wildetect furniture design ideas, creating a nado storm Cape Town comic and yip trip the design ideas boy from grebnezium.

Which is a children’s design idea concept.

I wanted to be a graphic designer when I left school - my mom who is a biology school teacher felt that architectural design offered more opportunities. However as I’m getting older I’m exploring marrying the 2 disciplines. With a Wildetects African fauvistic eye. exploring perceived kinetic sculpture and disintegration of perspective architectural concepts with 2 past sudents from academy IDT and 2 students from the sustainable construction course in Khayelitsha.

Listening to the thoughts of Quinton one becomes again intrigued by how architecture can shape and elevate communities. With a collective mindset of designers such as this, a brighter future for our world facilitated by design is surely possible. We have no doubt that Quinton will be a key part of this movement.

Ryan Jared Ali

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ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS

BAMBOO’ZLED?

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Best building Award

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utch architect Erick van Egeraat was awarded the prestigious Russian Best Building Award for his “Chess-club building “ in Khanty, Mansiysk. Directly after completion, the 5.000 sq. meter Chess-club building in Khanty-Mansiysk hosted the 2010 Chess Olympics. Erick van Egeraat worked closely with the municipality of KhantyMansiysk and its main benefactor Gazprom in realizing this extraordinary building.

He compared the Chess Club’s sleek, but slightly distorted appearance with the physics of a chess player. Motionless on

the outside, but with great internal struggle to beat the opponent. This contrast is emphasized by the “cool” metallic façade and the “warm” predominantly wooden interior. “This tiny building is a little Icon but it symbolizes the continuous development of this unique city in the centre of Eurasia”, says Erick van Egeraat.

Best Building Awards is an open public competition in construction and architecture. The prize is awarded annually to the best projects of architecture, made by professional architects and developers and builders incarnate. The Jurors elaborated on their decision to award Erick van Egeraat;

“Erick van Egeraat’s Chess-club building is an enchanting architectural work which adds quality to the Khanty – Mansiysk region and beyond. It is an example for the architectural potential Russia has to offer in the years to come”.

The Architect who at this moment is working on the new Sberbank University and the new Dinamo Moscow Stadium was thrilled by his award; “ I am proud to receive the Best Building Award 2011.

This win is recognition for our continuous effort over the past 15 years and fuels our enduring desire to add quality to this great country”.

ooden flooring has been used ever since humans started building houses, and is still very popular. The warmth and aesthetic attraction of solid timber certainly has a timeless appeal, but increasing use of timber resources has led to deforestation on a huge scale, one of the leading causes of global warming and climate change.

Bamboo flooring offers the same quality, warmth and visual appeal of solid wood, but without the negative environmental impact. Because of its rapid growth rate bamboo is one of the most sustainable natural resources that one can find. The bamboo stems mature in about five years, and the oldest stems in each clump can be harvested on an annual basis without killing the plant, and without leaving a deforested, denuded landscape. Bamboo forests also absorb more CO2 per hectare than equivalent timber forests, and bamboo products, in fact, have a net positive carbon footprint; more CO2 is consumed by the plants while they are growing than is released during the manufacture and transport of the finished products. By installing bamboo flooring one can enjoy all the benefits of a natural, solid “timber” floor with the satisfaction of knowing that not a single tree was harmed! In a world facing increasing environmental threats, bamboo is rapidly becoming the material of choice for architects and owners, and is indeed the environmentally responsible alternative to traditional hardwood timber.

Apart from flooring, bamboo is also made into flat boards, panels and even veneer, enabling it to be used in applications as diverse as worktops, furniture and wall cladding. Not only is bamboo one of the most versatile, hardy and sustainable materials available, but it also gives a beautiful warm finish, making it suitable for both modern and classic interiors, in residential and commercial applications.

Although bamboo has been widely used in numerous interior décor applications in the USA and Europe for many years, it has only been available in South Africa for about 6 years, and has really come into its own as a viable alternative to hardwood timber.

Panda Bamboo was one of the first companies to introduce this exciting material to South Africa, and is still one of the leading suppliers in the country. Panda Bamboo is also the only bamboo supplier to be a corporate member of the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (WESSA) and the Green Building Council of South Africa.

Panda Bamboo supplies a wide range of bamboo products in both normal and strandwoven bamboo. Normal bamboo boards are made by laminating thin strips of bamboo together, whereas strand-woven bamboo is made by compressing the bamboo strips and binding the fibres using special glues in a high-pressure process. Panda Bamboo supplies their products throughout South Africa and other parts of Africa. There is a perception amongst some customers that bamboo is “waterproof”. Unfortunately this is not true! Bamboo has very similar characteristics to solid timber, and does not react well to being flooded. Bamboo flooring planks exposed to excess moisture will warp, and if not properly dried, will discolour and could develop mould. This applies to both normal bamboo and strandwoven bamboo. Wet-mopping of bamboo floors should therefore be totally avoided.

Bamboo floors can be swept, vacuumed or dry-mopped to remove dust and dirt. Liquid spills should be mopped up immediately and the floor dried. Sticky marks, mud marks etc. can be removed using a slightly damp cloth or mop. Although bamboo flooring is not recommended for bathrooms, some customers have installed it in bathrooms, but extra care and precautions must be taken to avoid wetting the floor excessively. Similarly, bamboo makes great work surfaces and counter tops, but the boards must be well sealed to prevent possible moisture ingress. This is particularly important where the tops are installed on a concrete plinth or against a wall – moisture from a wet wall can easily be absorbed into an unsealed bamboo board. Bamboo flooring, furniture boards, panels and cladding products are suitable for use in both domestic and commercial applications. www.pandabamboo.co.za

• rich, exotic texture creates immediate visual appeal • ideal for feature walls, listello strips and décor accents • coco-mosaic cladding tiles are hand-made from coconut shells, bark and reclaimed timber • only eco-friendly natural materials and water-based glues and coatings used • easy to install. no grouting required.

SUPPLIERS OF QUALITY BAMBOO BOARDS, PANELS AND FLOORING • Environmentally responsible timber alternative • ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 manufacture • Uses include flooring, panelling and furniture • FSC certified, EU and US standards • Ideal for commercial and domestic applications • We supply throughout southern Africa

www.pandabamboo.co.za Phone: 0861 114 971 Fax: 0866 188 461 e-mail: bambooinfo@pandabamboo.co.za

Panda Bamboo is proud to be a Member of the following organisations:

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AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN

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Electric DeLorean, back to the future of cars

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eLorean Motor Company, and Epic Electric Vehicles unveiled a development version of an electric powered DeLorean automobile at the International DeLorean Owners Event in Houston, Texas. DeLorean plans to market the DMCEV in 2013, and will further develop prototypes combining the existing DeLorean automobile with the Epic EV electric powertrain. Together, Epic EV and DeLorean plan to produce a number of prototypes utilizing the Epic EV powertrain for evaluation this and next year. Since its debut in 1981, DeLorean has earned its place in pop-culture iconography.

The sport cars’ easily recognizable gullwing doors, stainless steel body, and rear mounted engine has appeared in movies, video games, and television shows, though may be best known for its role as the unlikely time machine featured in the Back to the Future trilogy. The DeLorean Motor Company, based in Texas, acquired the original company’s name in 1995 and now

owns the largest remaining original parts stock from the factory, US stock and original suppliers. In addition to servicing, restoring and selling DeLorean automobiles, parts, accessories and merchandise to customers around the world, DMC also assembles cars to order, featuring parts or designs from the original DeLorean automobile, with modern engine and suspension technology.

A variety of DeLorean products have been developed through licensing relationships with manufacturers in footwear, apparel, toys, collectibles, gaming etc. Epic EV designs and manufactures electric vehicles whose products make reliable, high performance electric vehicles accessible. Founder, Chris Anthony, brought together a small team for one purpose, get fast and fun vehicles to market. The Epic EV design shop is just inland from the sunny North County coastline in Vista, Calafornia and their factory, called “Epic South” is located on a large plot of land in Vivian, Louisiana.

The DeLorean is best known for its role as a unlikely time machine

History of the DeLorean When John DeLorean’s company filed for bankruptcy in 1982, owners of the approximately 9,200 DeLoreans built were left waiting for parts and services. Most, if not all, DeLorean dealers at that time were understandably reluctant to perform warranty work, and they were also unable to obtain service parts for their customers while the company was in such disarray.

Stephen Wynne, originally from Liverpool, England operated an independent auto service facility that specialized in English and French cars. He was approached by a DeLorean owner who needed repairs to his car and Wynne quickly recognized the Renault drivetrain and other components commonly found on cars that his company normally serviced. Word soon spread throughout the hundreds of owners in the Southern California area that DeLorean service was no longer an issue.

As the factory was liquidated, DeLorean parts were still difficult to obtain (a notion that still exists today) while the logistics of packing and shipping the contents of the factory was being undertaken.

An enterprising DeLorean owner from

Southern California began canvassing the original dealer body throughout the United States and purchasing their remaining stocks of DeLorean parts and DeLoreanspecific tools. He sold these items to other DeLorean owners, and became acquainted with Stephen Wynne in the process.

In 1985, Wynne formed a partnership with this owner, creating a company named DeLorean One, a full-service facility dedicated to the DeLorean. In 1988, DeLorean One opened a second location to serve their growing customer base in Texas.

This facility, overseen by Wynne who relocated to the area as this location opened, was chosen based on the large number of known DeLorean owners and existing customers in the area. This location in the Sunbelt was also a central United States location for owners who wished to have their DeLoreans professionally serviced, but who may have been reluctant or unable to send their cars to the California location.

In 1995, the DeLorean One partnership was dissolved due to differing viewpoints as to the future direction of the company.

Stephen Wynne retained the Houston location, renaming it “DeLorean Motor

Company” and the Southern California location kept the name DeLorean One and was retained by the other partner.

Shortly after the DeLorean factory in Northern Ireland was liquidated in 1983, the remaining inventory of parts, some tooling, a full set of engineering drawings and other company documents were acquired by a company in Columbus, Ohio that saw an opportunity in filling the parts’ needs of DeLorean owners and service centers. Over the next couple of years, this company was also able to acquire additional quantities of some parts from the original suppliers to the DeLorean factory that, in some instances, had been left with significant quantities of DeLorean-specific inventory.

In 1997, Wynne and his DeLorean Motor Company acquired what remained of this inventory and the exclusive distribution rights, as well as the tooling, engineering drawings and company records. In 2001/2002, Wynne built a new facility in northeast Houston and closed the Columbus, Ohio parts warehouse and moved the 60 tractor-trailer loads of items to this new facility.

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FASHION

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Touchvision

Touchvision Training inspires both newcomers and animation industry professionals to acquire knowledge of digital creation and production concepts that are relevant and sought after by film, television, architecture and games industries. Touchvision’s courses range from hourly one-on-one sessions, to 3-month part-time courses, as well as a fulltime 2 year course. Applications covered include Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Adobe Premiere, After Effects , Toon Boom 2D animation products, Autodesk Flint , Flame and V-Ray, with many more.

Touchvision can help you realise your ambitions of becoming a Digital Content creator or “animator”.”Touchvision Digital Media Solutions is a leading South African supplier of advanced digital film & video post -production solutions and we have recognised that the industry needs not only better production systems but creative and talented artists as well. Our experience as

Studying at Touchvision opened a new window of opportunity for me.

Itumeleng Kgbokoe 2008-2009 Student currently working at E-tv

Ozwald Boateng

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art of the attraction at this year’s Africa Fashion Week was the presence of one man, Ozwald Boateng. He has indeed had a dynamic career and life story which has consequently been vividly portrayed in his upcoming documentary “A Man’s Story” which premiered to the media during Africa Fashion Week. After 12 years of filming this film was stitched together depicting all the turmoil as well as the triumph; Ozwald has shared some of the most intimate moments of his life in the process. We sat down with him to discuss his methodology of design and asked him to share his vision.

Design is unique in that that one can create tangible value out of almost nothing. Africa has a special place in your heart and even in the remotest part of this continent you can create something that people will covet. In what ways do you foresee that we can become more internationally relevant, facilitating a demand for what we have to offer in the global market?

A lot of it has to do with timing, i think that it’s about confidence in what you are creating and then looking at the global potential of what you are doing.

Maybe you start by seeking your identity.

Communicate that at a national level, see the relevance to an even broader spectrum and then you can take your concept beyond that and to the world.

Do you think it’s important that Africans should prioritise maintaining an African identity when exporting their design, or do you feel it is more about the individual?

I think that you can have lots of different

influences and look at the best that are out there, the ones that are globally successful as a reference point. You have to create you own internal message within that context. I think Africa is trying to re-ignite an african identity. Design comes from within and as an African it is innately part of what that message will be. You wont have to put a big flag out there saying: “this is African.” You don’t have to be that obvious but it depends on how you want to communicate.

Do you think it was a major step for Givenchy to bring you on as creative director? Who else was shortlisted for that job?

I think in my case i was offered a few different creative directorship’s but with Givenchy it was a courtship. It wasn’t an immediate thing, there was a seduction requirement by them of me. So for me that wasn’t a surprise. In terms of them taking me it was basically a creative decision.

Their reasoning was probably: “ He is good at what he does and we need to take him.” They probably didn’t realize the other significance of it at that stage, the cultural significance. That was something that wasn’t at the forefront of their minds having a creative director with African heritage and the implications thereof with the ethnic minorities in France.

Has the idea of bespoke tailoring been something that you wanted to elevate in the consciousness of the broader public?

What I have done is taken a concept that was effectively redundant and made it global. There was a a dying art and I gave life to it. Initially there is always a nervousness of new things but with time the responses evolved into support. The

concept was initially limited to making a suit for an individual but what i did was change that, i turned being a tailor into being a couturier for men.

That creates a scope for many more ideas.

Taking the idea and expanding on it.

Today, there is a respect for what I have accomplished: When i started, suits were unstructured. My influence to menswear as a whole was to bring structure back.

Who else have you taken note of on Savile Row? For instance Patrick Grant, addressing the market of the younger businessman that frequents this street.

How have they injected life into the business of bespoke tailoring alongside yourself?

There are tailors that come with a real modern outlook, but no one can take that away from me, that awareness of the potential. That is something that I have driven. I invested in working in Paris since 1994 which set up a space for someone like Patrick Grant to even consider taking on Norton and Sons. That is exactly what Savile Row needs, it needs new life. It need an injection of energy and guys like Patrick have done that to keep the craft alive.

What is the power of being self taught in your craft?

Essentially what it does is gives you a freedom and there isn’t fear attached to anything. There are no barriers, you do make loads of mistakes but you learn. Thats what i have seen here in South Africa at a grassroots level here in Soweto.

You have always had a penchant for visually powerful communication.

Fashion films have come to the fore in the last year or two, which big brands are only

recently capitalising on, but you have been exploring that for some time already. How do you see that storytelling and the visual media have assisted in elevating the craft?

Your philosophy is that it is not just about the piece but the story behind it.

The key to a concept is understanding how you got there. Letting the viewer understand how you arrived there establishes a whole new relationship with the consumer or viewer. The big thing with designers is that they all want to be understood, you want the viewer to understand why. If you have that component of film you have so much more scope for communicating that message. I know what it took to get to the space.

How has the skill set which you acquired within fashion translated into creating the short films which you have become renowned for?

The last short film I created, I shot it in a day and a half. In fashion we have deadlines and if you miss it, its gone. So when you apply that to film you have been naturally trained to edit. Do you like this? is the fabric? Designers are constantly faced with questions that need answering. So we are natural filmmakers. You can take someone to an emotional place quickly.

Meeting Ozwald was an experience which cannot fairly be summarised in only a few words. Essentially the story of Ozwald is riveting: a true showman, businessman and creator. Great design coupled with impeccable craftsmanship will undoubtedly allow that the bespoke concept will be kept alive indefinitely.

Ryan Jared Ali

a technology provider tells us that simply providing the technology is only one small part of the solution. Technology needs to be complemented by developing and training a pool of talented and suitably trained individuals who are proficient in the many different aspects of modern film and broadcast content.” Leigh Pearson MD Cape Town Situated in Somerset Rd, De Waterkant in Cape Town. Touchvision Training fills that gap: offering training on the latest software for animation, editing and visual effects. The added value of their courses comes from their involvement in the real world of content creation, and the access they have to the top facilities and studios nationwide. What makes them so popular is they have small classes, so they connect with the students and no one is left behind. They have individual, and team projects and have an extremely high employment rate for their students at almost 80% and students walk away with an international standard showreel and an Autodesk Certificate of completion.

Touchvision are committed to transforming artistry into a rewarding and profitable career in animation, visualisation or visual effects. Touchvision is BEE rated and has been an integral partner in the AnimationSA organisation, They have always been committed to training and development in Southern Africa, growing an industry that not only has created sustainable opportunities, but ensured that these opportunities were made available to previously disadvantaged individuals.

Touchvision is an Autodesk Authorised Training Centre. What does that mean?

All of their lecturers are highly qualified and knowledgeable on the latest version of the Autodesk software they train on. With each new release, the instructors all have to pass new exams in order to maintain their certification as Autodesk Authorised Instructors. Also, each instructor is assessed by each class, thereby ensuring that they maintain their excellent track record.

2 of their instructor staff have The CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+) certification which identifies excellent and dedicated industry instructors. CompTIA CTT+ is an international, vendor-neutral certification that covers core instructor skills, including preparation, presentation, communication, facilitation and evaluation in both a classroom and virtual classroom environment.

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FASHION

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SHAUN BORSTROCK

It’s just a house until you…HOME-it

It’s just a house until you HOME-it and the Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo is certain to provide all the inspiration consumers need to create a home that no longer competes with the Jones’s but is imprinted with their personal style, panache and unique identity. Apart from the consumer attendance of just over 50 000 upper LSM home owners the Organisers of HOMEMAKERS Expo successfully invite

and host trade industry representatives and members of trade associations at the Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo; on at the Coca-Cola Dome from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 February 2012. Trade visitors are welcomed to the show on Thursday and Friday when it is conducive to spend more time with exhibitors who are geared to offer great trade related deals and packages. Meet prospective clients on

their stands or at the designated trade hub.

Now in its nineteenth year, this established home lifestyle expo, showcases some 400 exhibitors on over 600 stands representing thousands of product ranges. The latest innovations, essential home improvement and home enhancement products and services will be on view. This is one home lifestyle exhibition that should not be missed! www.homemakerstrade.co.za

Digital photography courses Digital Photography Courses offer photography classes for small groups and individuals in your Area. Whether you’re a beginner, or a skilled photographer, we can help you with your photography…

Complete Courses… Basic Photography Courses (Focus on portraits, landscapes, low light photography), Intermediate Photography (Focusing on Fine-Art photography), Wedding Photography, Website Design for Photographers

One-Day Workshops… Studio Lighting, Small Flashes on location (Strobist), Kids Photography, Photoshop for Photographers, Lightroom for Photographers,High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography, Macro Photography, Basic PC Skills for Photographers, Wildlife Photography Photo Trips and Tours… Photography tours and breakaways to various destinations facilitated by a professional photographer Free membership to Photo Critic…

Registering for a course at DPC, entitles you to free membership on our Photo Critic network where you may upload up to two images per week for straightforward, constructive critique. www.digitalphotographycourses.co.za Danie Bester is the founder and editor of Digital photography courses. Visit his personal website at www.daniebester.co.za

The highlight of Africa Fashion Week was a discussion with Shaun Borstrock of Shaun Borstrock Foundation for the Creative Industries. The lingering thought that remained after our discussion was that South Africa is ready. The creative industry is poised now to make an impact on the international stage. Who is Shaun Borstrock and why does he matter?

Shaun Borstrock is Associate Head of School of the Creative Arts and Head of Design and Business Development in the Faculty for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire. He works as an independent consultant to luxury brands and associations all round the globe. These have included Thomas Pink, Fortnum and Mason, The British Luxury Council and Alessandra Gradi former Creative Director at Asprey.

Simply put, Shaun deals with the business of design, in the UK developing brand strategy for the likes of luxury brands, namely Dolce Gabanna and Gucci. We were able to discover what his thoughts are relative to the creative landscape in South Africa and how he foresees it could become more competitive internationally.

The first and most pivotal question would be, How can South Africa become more relevant on the world stage?

We are currently working with Cleo Droomer and we are trying to do exactly that. We are trying to internationalize South Africa.

In england we have quite a phenomenal team. Karen Millen, Greg Burns, Director at Big Active (an internationally renowned design consultancy in London) and Mark Bloomfield, Creative Director at Simon Harrison Ltd , a company that design and produce collections for, amongst others, Vivienne Westwood, Karen Millen, Jaeger and Lulu Guinness. Big Active have worked with Goldfrapp and other artists such as Mark Ronson. They are focusing on one and looking at creating further connections to the brand. Cleo was flown to London and spent a lot of time in Karen Millen and with me. Ultimately everything boils down to making money. What we are doing is creating an environment where Cleo can focus on design and where we will manage the business side. We have given him the daunting task of writing a business plan. This is to aid him in understanding the business process. It is really important that he learns to respect deadlines. We are trying to instill the professionalism from the outset and on 17th November the committee are going to meet with him. That is his date and the opportunity is only for then.

What is the goal for his collection?

What he is not doing is designing specifically for South Africa, instead he has been tasked to design without boundaries.

He is designing for the UK market which is more daunting, the reality is that he has to lead, instead of follow which the SA market is quite accustomed to doing. His collection is for Autumn / Winter 2013, however we don’t want him to look at trend forecasts we just want him to design. The goal ultimately is to remain in South Africa and export his collection.

This provides a great model for designers to follow and hopefully aid in their success. Is there value in designers seeking out partners whose focus is on the business aspect which affords the designer the opportunity to focus purely on design?

Designers should be left alone to design, the creative director of Karen Millen grew the business from 50 to 300 stores and GBP500 million turnover each year, that is the power of having the right people in the right position. Robert Duffy and Marc Jacobs are another prime example of success, nobody knows about Robert but he has been the enabling tool for Marc to become the prolific designer that he is.

People need to identify their skills and stick to it.

How can the fashion industry facilitate the process of designing with an improved focus on commercial success?

The talent here is undeniable but skills need to be refined. Also the number of fashion shows in South Africa makes it hard for designers to hone their skills.

There is too much pressure to produce too many collections. The focus is also on predominantly evening wear this year.

These dresses are show-stoppers, but how many people can wear them? Designers shouldn’t just be designing for applause.

Very few designers are equipped with great business and design skills. It doesn’t happen often, so partners with a skill for business are extremely invaluable.

We have established that the partnership between designer and business is crucial but what would the crucial factor be in the process, finance or design? How are you applying this in Cleo’s example?

What he needs to understand is the market, at the moment we have not limited him. What we need to do is be quite fluid about the process to give him the reactive freedom to experiment with this. The learning process for him is going to be: Being unrestricted in the way in which he designs but then looking at a piece and evaluating it. If we evaluate and see that it is going to require GBP75 just to manufacture, this means then an approximate retail of GBP295. Is that positioned correctly to achieve that position in the market? Right now we are giving him the leeway to establish his aesthetic and in time we will evaluate. He might be spot on but we will then have to give some direction.

The competition within the global market is immense, particularly within the fashion world. Ultimately designers are vying for floor space in a limited environment. With that being a premium, success is ultimately determined by the bottom line: whether it is sustainable enough to survive within the competitive international arena. This initiative will be an opportunity for us to witness the viability and potential success of an emerging designer, a valuable opportunity and according to Shaun the first step in successfully promoting local designers on a international level. This is a program facilitated by a team of players that are crucial in re-defining the South African creative landscape. We hope to see it flourish. Ryan Jared Ali

CCDI 10 years The Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI), one of the provincial government’s leading Special Purpose Vehicles, has facilitated nearly R17-million in product sales for Western Cape craft producers and designer makers in the past decade. (R16 849 528 by year-end 2010/11) This turnover is one of many milestones notched up by the CCDI as it celebrates its tenth birthday on 24 November.

The CCDI was started as a joint initiative of the Western Cape provincial government and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2001; it has won accolades for its work, with partners, in skills training, job and wealth generation, trade promotion and generally giving people much-needed access to opportunity.

The 2500 enterprises on the CCDI database range from small and micro businesses, many in disadvantaged communities, to leading designer makers who have received CCDI training in exports and who sell their products at international trade and consumer shows.

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photograph by danie bester

3

6

TUTORIAL

Texturised type effects in Adobe Photoshop

Enhance text with the simple use of interesting textures.

Combining layer effects, blending modes and simple masking can unlock a variety of gorgeous text effects to bolster your designs, writes Eva Csernyanszky

01 Create a new document in

Photoshop, opting for a canvas size that suits your layout.

02 Double click

on the layer to enter the Layer Style window, and apply a radial gradient to the Background layer.

Select “Gradient Overlay” and add a Radial gradient. Select any colours that best suit your theme. Use a texture to finalise your background. Paste any texture into your document, in this example I have used an orange skin texture, scale it down to fit the canvas, set the layer’s Blend Mode to Overlay and reduce its Opacity to 20%. light to the focal point of the composition, create a new layer and move it between the Background layer and the texture layer.

Select the Brush Tool (B) and set it up to be a large, soft, white brush with the Hardness set to 0%. Click only once on the canvas to create a round brush stroke.

Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 50%.

Tool and a bold font for an composition that creates an impression. Type the text, such as “Juicy” onto the centre of your canvas and set up a large font size as it is the main element of the design.

DURATION 60 minutes LEVEL OF difficulty Intermediate

Eva Csernyanszky Founder of Friends of Design Academy of Digital Arts.

Eva has been in the design software training business for 14 years, with six of those years spent running one of South Africa’s leading digital design academies. www.friendsofdesign.net

position the texture above the first letter. Work on one letter at a time. Preview how the texture will affect the letter by setting the texture layer’s Blend Mode to Overlay. To mask out the extra parts of the texture, Ctrl/ Cmd + click on the text layer to select around it, and afterwards, add a layer mask onto the texture layer.

Burn Tool and the Dodge Tool (O) to manually paint in the illusion of depth through adding highlights and shadows. The Burn Tool is used to darken areas and the Dodge Tool to lighten. Begin with the Burn Tool by carefully painting over the edges of the letter using a large, soft brush with the Exposure at approximately 50%. Reduce the brush size and increase the Exposure.

Paint over the edges again, and the effect will be more visible. By varying the strokes and options, you will be able to create realistic highlights. Switch to the Dodge Tool and paint over the middle areas of the letter. Repeat this process for all the lettering.

08 For an extra special effect, create the 05 Next, modify the text’s colour, by

right-clicking on the text layer in the Layers Panel, selecting Blending Options from the menu that appears. In the Layer Style window, add any gradient

09 Press Ctrl/Cmd + J so you duplicate

06 Resize and

07 Now use the

04 Add the text next. Select the Type

Grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and select your letter. only the “letter” on a new layer of its own.

Next, we will remove it from the original text layer. Again, select the letter, switch to the text layer and press Delete.

You can now make all the texture layers visible again. Select both the single letter layer and its texture layer in the Layers Panel and then merge them into one layer (Ctrl/Cmd + E)

03 To add more

In this tutorial, you will create professional looking textures for typographic effect.

The Pen tool and Layer Masks is an integral part of this tutorial so ensure you have those skills at hand before attempting this. In addition, this is a technique that will be combining the use of the Dodge, the Burn and the Type tools to create a look that, you’ll be pleased to know, can be adapted to any surface textures of your choice, such as animal skins, fur or even human skin.

transitioning from a light to a dark shade.

I used #e68646 to #dca26f. Secondly, add a light drop shadow, for example #3f1d02.

illusion of one letter being sliced in half, revealing the flesh of the fruit in this case.

Hide the visibility of all the texture layers to focus your attention on the text layer.

Rasterise the text layer by right-clicking on it in the Layers Panel and then choosing Rasterize Layer from the menu.

10 Use the Pen Tool (P) in Paths mode

to create a path that defines the top half of the letter. Press Ctrl/Cmd + Enter to convert the path into a selection. Ensure that you have the “letter” layer active in the Layers Panel. Use the Move Tool (V) to move the selected pixels upwards. If necessary, use Ctrl/Cmd + T to rotate the selected area slightly to the right so that it looks like it has just been sliced.

11 Next, add

the effect of orange flesh to the bottom half of the targeted letter. Open the relevant source file in Photoshop, use the Pen Tool to select the flesh of the orange and copy and paste it onto the main canvas. Use Ctrl/Cmd + T to rotate and resize it to match the dimensions of the letter.

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3

8

TUTORIAL

Print Design Tutorial

How to perform a Data Merge in InDesign CS5 There are a few ways to make your life a little simpler and data merge is just one of them, writes Tertia van Rensburg As a designer the words Data Merge will want to make you run a mile from your computer but under the right circumstance data-driven layout is suprisingly easy, fast and a flexible way to accomplish data-driven layout creation.

For example how to create business cards for your entire company staff.

08 Continue until all the text has been

converted into the relevant field names.

01 So you have to create business

cards for everyone in the office but you don’t want to create each business card seperately, what and how do you do that?

Start with creating one business card. The example above was created in InDesign, purely for the purpose of this tutorial.

02 Let’s say there are staff members

who all need business cards and instead of creating the cards for each individual person, you can use InDesign’s Data Merge feature to build the business cards from a spreadsheet.

03 Having completed the design

09 Once this has been completed you 07

The next step is to incorporate this into your design. Highlight the name on the business card and then click on the field name called Name in the Data Merge panel, this will convert the current placeholder name with <<Name>>.

now have to instruct InDesign to produce the business cards for each staff member.

On the Data Merge panel choose Preview on the fly-out (top right hand side of the panel) and you can see if the content is previewed correctly.

of the business card you would need to build a spreadsheet in for example MS Excel.

DURATION 30 Minutes LEVEL OF difficulty Intermediate

04 In Excel, you would need for this

specific example, to capture data like name, email, contact number, URL and the Facebook ID. Ensure you use one column per data value or else InDesign will not be able to read the file. In order for InDesign to use this spreadsheet, the Excel file needs to be saved as a CSV (Comma delimited) file format.

10 It is now time to let InDesign create the merged documents. On the Data Merge panel choose Create Merged Document, in the options choose All Records and leave the other options as they are then click OK.

12 Data Merge will then create a new

unsaved InDesign document with all the pages and content for each business card.

05 Now open the business card created in InDesign, and from the Window menu choose Utilities / Data Merge which will open a floating panel. And you can see there is nothing currently linked up with this document.

Tertia van Rensburg has been training students for seven years at Concept Interactive in applications such as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, Freehand, Quark and photography. She is an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert) and ACI (Adobe Certified Instructor) in InDesign aswell as an accredited assessor and moderator. When she is not sharing her photographic passion with her students, she hits the streets of Cape Town, in pursuit of the perfect shot.

The final step would then be to save it in a PDF format for print.

11 A warning may appear telling you that no overset text will be generated when merging documents.

It is a good idea to check that all your text boxes have no overset. If they do you will have to resize your text boxes or delete some text.

06 In the Data Merge panel choose

Select Data Source and navigate to the the MS Excel spreadsheet you saved. You will see all the fields are now inserted in the Data Merge panel.

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4

0

TUTORIAL

Beginners guide to photography tutorial two

05 One last thing I want to mention

is colour cast. If your ceiling or wall is painted a very bright colour, your light bouncing off that surface will carry that colour cast. This is often why one opts for using the ceiling to bounce as most ceilings are white. So if you find yourself wondering why your portraits & people are looking a little on the blue side, check what colours you’re bouncing into your scene. Alternatively, this is also a nice creative step one could introduce! But I will do a full tutorial on lighting with colours another time!

Swerving the deer in headlights Seagram Pearce shows us a rather simple trick when using a flash, that can drastically improve your photos!

We all know that ‘look’. Yes, the “deer in headlights” look. It’s possibly as unflattering as the moment you do in fact have a wide-eyed deer staring up at you from before your headlights in the woods.

This phrase is used often when someone has their photo taken with onboard flash, or very direct flash. Let’s be honest, who ever gets a picture like that and thinks, “hey, that looks great!”. So, in our second instalment of Photography 101, we’re going to look at a rather simple trick that can drastically improve your photos!

03 So now how do we make a tiny light

01 Ever wonder why sunlight is so hard

& casts such hard shadows? Well it has to do with the principle of the size of a light source & the distance it is to the subject it hits. The sun is also a very small light source compared to the amount of area it lights up. That is why the shadows cast by it are so hard & also so harsh. On an overcast day however, the suns rays are diffused over a large surface area (clouds) before hitting the ground. That is why shadows & lighting is so soft on an overcast day. Now this applies directly to the principle we’re learning today.

source, our flash unit, produce results that don’t look terrible? Well, we improvise.

We create our own larger light source!

We bounce. Bouncing the light we get from our flash unit changes everything! It changes the direction the light travels & also the surface area our light is coming from. All of a sudden, we’ve created our own ‘overcast cloudy day’ scenario -our light is being scattered in various directions, instead of linear. Almost every single on-camera flash unit has the ability to swivel the head either vertically (up & down) or omni-directionally (up, down, left, right).

DURATION 1 hour LEVEL OF difficulty Beginner

04 Bouncing your flash technique

Seagram Pearce Seagram Pearce works as a freelance photographer throughout South Africa and Internationally. Honored to be awarded both local & international photographic awards such as Hasselblad Masters. Specialising in automotive & people in editorial & advertising sectors. www.seagrampearce.com

02 This principle is applicable on small

scale when it comes to the small onboard or on-camera flash. The size of the flash (light source) is so small compared to the area which it illuminates. The light also travels in a linear direction to which it is pointing -straight forward. This very direct, harsh lighting is what we know as ‘the deer in the headlights’.

is so useful & powerful that anytime you’re indoors, you should try & bounce your flash off a ceiling. However when bouncing your flash, you will lose some of the power of your flash. The light has to travel to the surface it is bouncing on, to your subject. So your light travel distance has increased (if not doubled). Sometimes one may be in a large, high ceilinged room that is too far away to bounce the flash off. What then? Again, we improvise.

There would be no ceiling without walls.

So find a spot near a wall that would allow you do bounce the flash to the side, instead of up. Your light direction will be noticeably from the one side. However this is still a much better option for softer shadows & more flattering light. Always look at what is around you to use as your bounce surface.

By taking a quick look at a before & after image, all using the exact same room, flash unit & time, one can see the massive difference! The direct flash has hard shadows, unflattering hot-spots on the cheeks & forehead. By merely bouncing your flash off the ceiling, one creates a much more natural ambient-flash. I hope this small trick will help you next time you’re taking a portrait indoors with just a flash unit!

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