Seeking the Essence of Africa
The design fraternity is still grappling with the question about what defines ‘African design’.
Theories about and we seem no closer to a consensus, but perhaps that’s because we’re asking the wrong question.
REX & Vida e Caffé – Designer Coffee Cup Sleeves
In a Design Indaba first, one small seed teamed up with vida e caffé to bring a unique experience to this year’s design expo, which ran from 24-26 Feb 2006. Working round the theme of ‘Home-Grown, High-End’, some of SA’s hottest design talents, including REX Creative, Circus Ninja and the one small seed design team, created unique cup sleeves that were served up, as piping hot, with each cup of coffee that vide e caffé distributed from the vida e caffé/one small seed stand at the expo. We take a look at some of the big names behind the explosively creative designs.
Brands & Branding in South Africa 2008
In 2006, Coca-Cola invited REX to participate in its 125th birthday celebrations, by joining a team of 125 artists from around the world taking 125 years of Coca-Cola marketing material and re-inventing it to create a series of fresh visuals inspired by the brand’s new global positioning statement – the Coke side of life.
Los Logos 4
Gestalten’s best-selling Logos series has documented and indicated design styles and trends in contemporary logo design worldwide.
The Annual 2007
Key Moment in 2007
Being selected as the only agency from South Africa to participate with 125 international artists as part of Coca-Cola’s global Re-Mix project, invited to ‘remix’ the historical Coca-Cola marketing collateral. The work is being exhibited around the world in museums, galleries, public spaces etc. and has generated an enormous amount of publicity and interest.
Launching FNB ATM’s revolutionary new platform, nationally. The project gave us an opportunity to work creatively toward integrating the worlds of branding and banking technology.
The Tough Brand Trilogy
By Rudo Botha
Much has been made in recent months about cutting costs, hunkering down and ‘just getting through’ the recession. But while employing such survival tactics is absolutely necessary in business, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that tough times also present an ideal opportunity to focus on the positive. In other words: to consolidate what you have and to invest in what is truly valuable.
And while many might be cutting back on marketing and branding activities, smart companies recognise the value of a strong brand. When Warren Buffet visited Germany in late 2008 to talk to investors about criteria for buying a company, he put a strong brand in first place.
Inspiration is the New Investment
If businesses want to engage the new consumer, they need to reconsider innovation.
By Rudo Botha
The information revolution has produced a market in which consumers are ten times more informed, a hundred times more exposed and a thousand times more jaded. Never before has competitive edge been so important to the survival of businesses.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
By Juliet Pitman
In a brave new age of branding and design, its been interesting to watch the shift brought about by business’ demand that creatives prove their ability to deliver tangible value to the bottom line. And it’s good to see the industry responding with creative solutions that push the boundaries and redefine the role that branding and design can play in business.