Keith Tamkei Portfolio 2017 by Skeeferoo

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

PORTOLIO

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

CONTENTS PAGE TREATMENT Editorial presentation of the Contents page for the Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine.

PROFILE KEITH TAMKEI Art director for Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine South Africa. Proficient in Adobe Creative suite. InDesign, Freehand, Photoshop & Illustrator. Proficient in Good News 3 editorial suite. Experience with HTML & CSS web design.

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL PAGE DESIGN Feature page layout of Arundhati Roy exclusive interview based on the launch of her latest book in 2017. Written by Michele Magwood. The angular slant of the headline is purposefully disruptive, as is the pushed out ‘O’ in ‘WOMAN’. To emphasis Roy’s literary voice in challenging social injustices.

COVER Arundhati Roy

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION Illustration and page design for Yolisa Nkele’s humorous article on the various societal personas in our urban settings. I decided to explore a collage style for it’s effectiveness in comical distortion of proportion. From left is, the encyclopeadic but boring ‘Anorak’. The wannabe ‘Instaceleb’. The antipolitical correctness ‘Problematic’. The aggressive ‘Sports Fan’. The haughty privaledged ‘Bryanston’ and the annoyingly aware ‘Woke’. Medium: Photoshop.

ILLUSTRATION Position on page

FU LL TH ROTT L E L IF E ST Y L E KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

FEATURE WRITING A feature on the motorbiking culture, lined up with BMW Motorrad’s Pure&Crafted Festival in Berlin. Pictures: Keith Tamkei (insert) & Lanakila MacNaughton (main).

IND buffeting exposed limbs, thundering exhaust pipes and, of course, Steppenwolf ’s Born To Be Wild cranked up to the red. A striking motorbike poster inspired Mars Bonfire to write this song. And one wonders how much gridlock escapism has been roused by those rebellious lyrics, the howling appeal to birthright, and that sermon in rock ’n roll to abandon civility. When hitched to the 1969 film Easy Rider, the lure of “Racin’ with the wind” added fuel to the already flaming appeal of motor biking. The fire hasn’t dimmed. Riding a motorbike still screams antihero coolness, but the leisure bike culture has expanded from being the pastime of burly bald men hanging about in bars. The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride, a social and fundraising gathering of classic bike-riding dandies, has attracted over 57 000 participants globally. With the aim of raising funds for men’s health research, the organisation recommends a well-manicured moustache plus a silk vest and tailored suit as appropriate apparel for riding. Gender lines are also being erased. Women aren’t content just being the passengers. Lanakila MacNaughton, a US-based photographer, has been documenting the growing popularity of bike riding among females in her Women’s Mo-

torcycle Exhibition. She plays down any overt feminism; her pictures are simply of riders having fun with the sense of liberation that two wheels and open air provide. The transforming and seductive power of motorbiking found in those sleek lines of chromed metal are still a fantasy for many. Perhaps for those needing to hammer out their individual identity, or those weighted with the concerns of modern living. I fall more or less into the latter category, not burdened but often piqued by the prospect of adventure. So, when presented with the opportunity to attend BMW Motorrad’s Pure&Crafted Festival, I thought I could discover reasons for that niggling fascination. Held in Berlin’s east side at a disused postal station, everything and everyone circling the orbit of leisure riding poured in. Within the red-brick hall of the station compound were tattoo artists, leather workers, barbers and enough paraphernalia to fill the prop room of Tarantino’s Titty Twister strip club. Outside, among the industrial landscape of overhead cranes and railways, rock artists performed for an audience of head-bangers and families. Enthusiasts displayed their magnificent machines from various ages, and customisations glinted like trophies on pedestals. The leader of an allwoman riding team demonstrated atop a

saddle, next to a grinning gent in lederhosen and his vintage ride. In the Motordrom — a tall barrel-shaped arena from the post-apocalyptic mind of Mad Max producer George Miller — daredevils entertained the mob with showy manoeuvres while spiralling on loudly snapping machines. On every corner were bobbers, scramblers, café racers and flashy vintage whatnots. Everywhere denim, leather, rattle and hum. If only one could condense this rich atmosphere into an elixir, the smell of burning gasoline and raging spirit. A single gulp would undoubtedly overwhelm inhibitions and strengthen strides. But in its absence the flowing German ale would suffice. In two hazy days of observing and interacting with this concentration of enthusiasts, I found the scratch to my itch. Here were crafters gratified by their hard work and riders appreciative of each other’s beasts; bikers as the modern day equivalent of a noble equine class, but without the snobbery. Gradually I realised that the world of heavy metal thunder was less about malevolence and more about confidence. Perhaps that was the allure, men and women unfettered, in every way. authentic. KT

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN Two examples of infographics created for Sunday Times main news & sports section. The first is a visual of a week of violent protests within South Africa. The second, a quick statistical review of the South African national cricket team ahead of the new season. All stats and figures supplied by journalists. Medium: Photoshop & Illustrator.

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL PAGE DESIGN Feature page layout for Tymon Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s review of the biographical book of Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner by Joe Hagan. Archival pictures not under the Sunday Times Getty licence were not strong enough as a holding image for the spread, so I decided to create a landscape of Rolling Stone Magazine covers. Which visually anchored the columns of text below, and gave a good context of the scope and influence of the man and the magazine.

COVER Jan Wenner

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION Illustration and page layout for Pearl Boshomane and Thomas Falkinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s humorous list on wealthy escape plans in the event of an apocalypse. I wanted the drawings to have a funny George A Romero influence. And the muted colours worked in tandem to help illustrate this light piece. Medium: Wacom Pen & Photoshop.

APOCALYPSE Page layout

D OWN TOWN DOJ O KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

FEATURE WRITING A feature in the Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine for a space on low profile, but interesting individuals. In this case, Tresor Ntotila, a Karate instructor from Democratic Republic of Congo, training kids in Johannesburg’s inner city. Pictures: Keith Tamkei.

ORTY-ONE years ago, Tresor Ntotila was an 18-year-old bully, roaming the streets of Kinshasa looking for a fight. By his account, there was never an opponent he couldn’t beat. Fighting was what he was good at, and he seemed aimed towards a life of thuggery. In 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s televised “Rumble in the Jungle” changed all that. Ntotila remembers watching the fight at midnight, and recalls the celebrations on the street after Ali won by a knockout. The next day, his father persuaded Ntotila to emulate his idol and hone his aggressive streak in the boxing ring. After a year, Ntotila switched to karate and demonstrated a talent for the martial art. He was dubbed “Chuck ” by his sensei, after Hollywood martial arts star Chuck Norris. Within five years, Chuck Ntotila gained his first black belt, thereafter establishing a dojo in Kinshasa that is still flourishing today. Now almost 60, Ntotila, who is also a French language teacher, leads a team in training young children from Joburg’s mean streets. During holidays and weekends, he instructs inner-city kids in an open-

air dojo. Those with parents who can afford it pay a monthly fee; most cannot. Ntotila is anxious about the direction that youngsters, heavily influenced by the trappings of celebrity and violence in the media, are taking. “If you give a kid R1 000, what will they spend it on? Most likely it will be on clothes, beer or having a good time. Not often on their education.” He offers his karate as an alternative, imparting the attributes of self-discipline, respect and diligence — lessons that aided him in subduing his own violent tendencies. As evidence, on a sunny winter Saturday morning, young children practise katas instead of abusing substances in a park in Troyeville. The students joke and giggle between instructions, but are attentive to their teachers during drills. All the while, the lifeskilling tenets of karate are expounded by the various sensei. As a fighter turned teacher, Tresor Ntotila measures his fortune by how many of the young students successfully defend their futures with his input. Those in the park, at least, seem to have a firm start. KT

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL PAGE DESIGN Feature page layout for Yolisa Mkeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interview with actor Don Cheadle. Getty Images had a wealth of portraiture of this veteran actor. We chose a series for use on the cover and inside spread page, with an insert of his portrayal of jazz musician Miles Davis on the opening page sidebar.

COVER Jan Wenner

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION An illustration for Sue de Grootâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insight story on the struggle of women in the local film and television industry. Many suffer verbal, sexual and emotional abuse and blackmail. But their plight has been taken up by an organisation who will seek to ammend laws and introduce an industry code of conduct. An initial idea for the image was discussed with Sue of creating a revoltionary type image. After some draughts and reworking we settled on an image of a woman representative of actresses, that was more defiantly statuesque, in line with the industry, rather than the initial idea.

ILLUSTRATION A rough draft

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL PAGE DESIGN Layout design for a four page spread of the Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine’s ‘Sex Survey’. These were select results from an online national poll run over a few weeks. The entire survey results were posted online, but the print run accompanied some analytical editorial from writers. My idea was to present the data minimally with clean deep etched imagery. I also tried to choose stock photography inventively. The layout provides moments pause between the editorial with intersting facts and graphs.

KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION An editorial newpaper illustration for a piece on priviledge. An interrogation of this social class. One of the factors of the piece was the insular perspective of some who are priviledged to the point of being oblivious to the plight of others. I discussed this with the writer Sue de Groot, and we concepted a bubble that these individuals dwell within. They have access to wealth and opportunity, represented by the fruit which they consume. Two colour options were provided, the less coloured one, far right, was felt to be stronger visually. And are self-absorbed. Media: Pen & ink on cartridge. Photoshop.

ILLUSTRATION Pen sketch

CONTACT KEITH TAMKEI G RAPH I C D E S I G N WRI TI N G PH OTO G RAPH Y I LLU STRATI O N

ktamkei@gmail.com +27 83 4143 909 Twitter: @keithtamkei

Pictures: COVER: Karate Girl BACK: Amsterdam by Keith Tamkei