gluebook

Am I Collective

2009-05-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

Am I Collective is a Cape Towen based studio that specialises in illustration with a strong South African flair.

The am i collective is a studio of diversely talented individuals each bringing to the table their own unique creative ability, be it design, illustration or fine art. Working in collaboration builds the collective as a group where original styles and techniques are introduced, implemented and encouraged in order to hone new skills and ensure diversity as a result.

The am i collective was created to inject the advertising industry with fresh ideas and furnish the agencies with polished work. Catering primarily to advertising agencies, the collective also indulges in projects of its own on an ad hoc basis as inspiration dictates.The am i collective is a dynamic environment where different styles are constantly explored and new possibilities are discovered through the merging of individual methods and techniques.

Going Green

2009-05-16T01:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulation to Nivesh Rawatlal for coming in as the second runner-up in the Woolworths/House and Leisure Going Green Competition.

My design is sustainable as it’s durable and nontoxic. My place mats would be
cost effective to produce. The material I chose was canvas, as it’s great to
work with. I got my inspiration from looking around me … in my studio, wherever
I walked. It was a combination of many things that had been building up in my
headspace.

Egg and milk

2009-05-03T00:41:00.000-07:00

Egg design is a South African Company founded in 1996 by Greg and Roché Dry.

“We fuel our creativity by working across the genres of design, in our environments we apply a pragmatic approach while still striving for excitement and innovation as well as strict attention to detail, while in our furniture we take a more exploratory and provocative approach to hopefully excite or agitate”

Egg has won the local arm of the Elle Décor designer of the year award in 2004 and 2005, as well as best seating in 2008.

Egg’s works have appeared in diverse local and international publications; Visi, House & Leisure, Elle Décor Metropolis, Surface, Interni, Ottagono, I.D, AD&D design issue, Icon, World of Interiors to name a few.

Egg’s signature “yellow desert rose locker” was auctioned at Christies prestigious 20th century design auction, New York in 2007.

Kind pockets

2009-04-25T03:07:00.000-07:00

Richard Hart of Disturbance held his debut solo exhibition Whatiftheworld in Cape Town recently.

Kind Pockets is an exploration of the concept of the marsupial girl, an
imaginary archetype. Aesthetically the work references the visual vernacular of
popular youth culture, bringing to mind the work of artists such as Rita
Ackermann, Aya Takano and Yoshitomo
Nara. At surface level the work seems to deal with the ephemeral – themes
such as beauty, fashion, innocence and adolescence. But on closer inspection the
girls and their animal companions populate a disquieting world where the fragile
present threatens to shatter into something more sinister.
Read and see more at Whatiftheworld.

Hylton Warburton

2009-04-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you that haven't been to Hylton Warburtons flickre site yet...[see side bar], here's a sneak preview.

Hylton recently completed his B Tech in Graphic Design and illustrated a book, 'The boy who wished'. You can view all the pages on his flickr site.

Colwyn Thomas

2009-04-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

We've featured Colwyn Thomas in passing, but we think he deserves another mention.

Colwyn graduated from the Michaelis school of Fine Art in 2003. A classical
training in line drawing has gradually merged with a variety of modern styles
and techniques to create a body of work rooted both within and without
traditional codes of the old and new.
Work ranges from poster design and magazine illustration to online animations

You can read about him at Sparx Media and have a look see at his work. Or you can visit Stone the Crows or the Bank Gallery which features more of his photography.

Lomo

2009-04-15T02:18:00.000-07:00

Our students recently completed their Lomography assignment. Go to our flickr site to see the pics. Fabulous as always! [Under Lomo tag]

Milan and Madhoo!

2009-04-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Nirma Madhoo Chipps, a lecturer in the DUT Fashion Department recently won the C'N'C Plug Generation logo competition. Her winning design was showcased in Milan at the C'N'C Winter Fall Fashion show 2009! Go to the C'N'C site to read her diary of the trip. The site scrolls sideways.

Oops!

2009-04-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Seems as though we slipped up on the Makhulu Polane 2008 announcement re their annual t-shirt winners.

Much fun was had by all it seems, with Gerrit Breitenbach bagging himself R20 000 in cash as well as Makhulu fame for his interpretation of Funny Galore.

Going green

2009-04-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

See what socially conscious brands are up to at myBrandedLife! This fleece is by Cape Union Mart.

Interview with Trevor Paul

2009-04-02T01:48:00.000-07:00

Trevor Paul is a designer and illustrator that lives and works in Durban under the name Firebrand...

Marie Claire: Astrology Illustrations

Loeries Awards: finalist in Environmental Design and eventual runner up

Q: Where did you study?
A:I studied the graphic graphic design course at the Art Foundation in Johannesburg, which I completed in 1993.

Q: Why did you decide to settle in Durban when the world is your oyster?
A: I grew up in Johannesburg, but have no connection to that place at all. Durban is home. Maybe it's the ocean and the warm weather. Durban's full of interesting, creative people and isn't as image or money conscious. It's down to earth, sea-level.

Q: Do you believe in design process? And if so, what is your modes operandum?
A: Good design and illustration have to have process. which gets easier with experience (directly linked to how relaxed and confident you are in your own creativity). One shouldn't get too hung up on creative blocks early on.

A strong idea is more important than execution - a polished poop is still a poop. Sometimes the conceptualizing and looking for inspiration and reference, takes longer than the final artwork. I try draw inspiration from unusual sources. That will result in the project at hand being unusual and memorable.

Q: Tell us about the Design Indaba magazine feature.
A: I lived in London,and traveled, and over the course of two years produced a journal. Mostly in felt pen, pen and ink, ballpoint pen and collage.

A lot of the content could be criticised for being narcissistic, cynical, contrived or just plain infantile, but it was fun. It was therapy. That’s all that mattered at that stage of my life. It was a growth process. It was a trusty companion during some lonely patches while travelling around.

(Trevor’s pages were first exhibited at Beanbag Bohemia. At the gallery opening (a sell-out!) the work was spotted by fashion designers The Holmes Brothers. An exhibit at their store launched their winter range, and sold there for a few months. Tales from the Shallow End featured in Design Indaba 4th Quarter 2006. here )

Design Indaba: Tales from the Shallow End.

His work for Iron Fist won him a coveted spot in the '200 Best Illustrators Worldwide' Archive

Q: Tell us about Black Burru!
A: Black Burru is a close descendent of the Black Rat and is the true culprit behind the 14th century pandemic, the Bubonic Plague, or Black Death. I created plush versions of the Burru for the Bigwood 1 exhibition last year. Go to Mojizu vote for Black Burru!)

Q: How did you create the fella?
A: I sketched the character first, and scanned and traced him in Freehand. Then dropped the character into Photoshop and lifted the eyes and some textures from the bird.

Q:If you had any advice to give students what would it be?
A:If I have an illustration to do, I won't look at at other illustrators' work. Inspiration is everywhere, why be that loser who steals? So many younger artists are copying other artists' work think they won't get noticed. Just because you don't know that artists work doesn't mean nobody else does.

Like someone did the Sunday Magazine cover this weekend and they ripped off Miss Van completely. That artist will battle to find credibility ever again, because even if they do something original, or develop their own style they'll never shake that hack reputation. People will always wonder where they stole it.

That's not to say you can't learn from other people's work. Students should look at trends, or styles and do their own adaptations of those things and then move on. Then it becomes a learning process.

It's when you adapt it in your own way that it becomes original. And it should be fun. Nobody can do good work if they lack confidence in themselves or are taking it all too seriously. You have to really believe you're good at what you do, it'll reflect in your design and illustration and eventually other people will start believing you too.

Go to Firebrand to see more fantastic work.

Vava-Visi

2009-04-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of Visi is now on the shelves, and features the hottest home-grown talent. As always their section double page spreads are a delight: this time in contour line drawings and flat colour.

Visit their site and read their new blog.

Miller's marvelous

2009-03-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

Karin Miller is a South African artist and graphic designer who combines traditional artwork skills and photography with modern technology.

Karin manages to fuse past and present in a true ecclectic African style, which reminds us of our Trechikov favourites. She works with meticulous attention to detail and conveys a theatrical flamboyance, rich in quirky humour and playfulness. Her work has been featured on numerous De KAt covers and well as in Visi magazine.

She recently launched a range of notebooks which can be found at Fat Tuesday in Kloof.

Woolworths

2009-02-26T03:37:00.000-08:00

' Woolworths is switching from plastic to cardboard packaging for its ‘to go’ range of sandwiches. The cardboard used in the new pack is certified as coming from a sustainable and well-managed forest. While the transparent window may look like it is made from plastic, it is in fact made from corn, another renewable resource.'

For full story go to Design Magazine.

Tip-top-tees

2009-02-25T01:01:00.000-08:00

Mingo Lamberti selects designers to illustrate for his t-shirt range.

Lawrence Lemaoana

2009-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Lawrence Lemaoana is Lions rugby player turned artist who specialises in Photoshop, photography and fabric collage. Listen to his interview and read more about what inspires him at The Times. See more of his work at ArtExtra.

Gameplan for 2010

2009-02-20T05:26:00.000-08:00

Southern Art Ceramics is mentoring and assisting Sim and Goodman in the creation and management of their art business trading as Tsepe Tsepe Design. They have their eye firmly on the 2010 ball by applying their skills and creating prototypes for later development. So far they've experimented with mugs and these amazing platters.

Black Coffee

2009-02-16T23:48:00.001-08:00

Danica lepen and Jaques van der Watt are 'Black Coffee'. A cutting edge design duo that are inspired by local living. The couple won the True Love SA Fashion Award in 2007 and on the 4 February 2009, the prestigious Mercedes Benz Award for SA Fashion 2009. Read more at The Times. Their website lives up to their clean and refreshing style.

Bigwood goes big.

2009-02-11T23:54:00.000-08:00

Our Durbanites have gone large and exhibit at Artspace Berlin this month.
Exhibitors include the likes of Wesley van Eeeden, Richard Phipson, Trevor Paul, Hylton Warburton and Ross Turpin. Opens 20 Feb!

Heather Moore

2008-11-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Heather says 'I'm an illustrator, writer and designer from Cape Town, South Africa...' but somehow this doesn't quite sum her up. There is very little that she doesn't seem to be able to do. From illustration, designing, photography, and screenprinting, to vinyl and paper cut outs. Find out more about her and her work on her blog or flickr.

{All pics from Skinny laMinx}

Seconds shine!

2008-10-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

'Street Art' by Jess Lee

The Second Years held their exhibit this week, and as usual they pulled some great rabbits out of the hat. We loved many, but thought the following deserved a mention.

For Arts sake!

2008-09-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

Aniboom animation

2008-08-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Radiohead commissioned AniBoom to conduct an international competition for their next animated music video.
Gerhard Human from Soak Productions entered, and his video "All I Need" is currently in the semi-finals.. You can watch it on you tube or see more stills here.

Dexinger

2008-08-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

If you want a list of every possible design competition open to you go here.

ArtSpace

2008-08-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

This week at ArtSpace...

“Formation”
Dee Donaldson, Grace Kotze, Anet Norval, and Janet Solomon – Paintings (Main Gallery)

"Aids Prayer-Flags" -
Anne Cameron – Installation (Front Room)

This is an installation of 947 prayer-flags representing the 947 people who die of aids every day in South Africa. These numbers are based on the official 2006 statistics.

Hurry, the exhibition close on Saturday 23 August at 13h00.

3rd annual Makhulu Polane

2008-08-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Makhulu Polane (loosely translated means Big Idea) was started in 2006 by local fashion retailers Big Blue in an effort to discover and support South African design talent. The annual Makhulu Polane t-shirt design competition is a firm favourite on the SA design calendar and attracts entries from graphic, illustration and fashion designers.

Makhulu Polane opens on 18 August, closing date for submissions is 1 September 2008. This year’s design theme is ‘Funny-Galore’ - the funniest, smartest, coolest design will win R20 000 in cash and sold in all Big Blue and Kitsch & Kool stores nationwide for two months.

The competition is not limited to submissions from registered students or designers but open to anyone who feels they have a unique t-shirt design. Submit via the Big Blue website - hand drawn illustrations can be scanned and uploaded. Also check out competition details and guidelines on how to submit your design

Show us your Makhulu Polane and we’ll make you famous!

Esharp

2008-08-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Ethek Collective {eth-ic kuh-lek-tiv} is from Durban (AKA eThek-weni) and deals in hand screened posters and goods. We do Exhibitions. We do gig posters. We do good.

Ethek Collective consists of Dustin Holmes, Ross Turpin, Stephen Frank and Skullboy. At the moment you can buy their stuff from their flickr site. Go now!

Daniel Ting Chong

2008-08-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Found this young man in the latest 'One small Seed'. Go to his flickr stream.

Bigwood2

2008-07-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

Bigwood2 is a local event that features some of South Africa's best graffiti artists, illustrators and designers.

Organised by Trevor Paul, the event featured work by Wesley van Eeden, Roger Jardine, Hylton Warburton and Richard Hart. Esquared has some feedback on the event. The event was sponsored by [R]evolution who supplied skateboards for artists to customise. The also plan to take the exhibition to Artspace Berlin in 2009.

The exhibit can currently be seen at Artspace, Durban and closes on the 2 August 2008 at 13h00.

Quite frankly....

2008-07-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

STEPHEN FRANK
GRAPHIC DESIGNThird Year

Those of you who know Stephen will appreciate his photography and his wry sense of humour. Go to his flickr stream to see more.

Goss Gosh!

2008-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

KEVIN ROSS-GOSS
GRAPHIC DESIGNSecond Year

Kevin takes photography as a Graphic Designer to new heights and always pushes the envelope. Go to his flickr site to see more.

Keep hope alive!

2008-07-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

JP Brouard sent me Wesley van Eedens' site address. Thanks JP!

This boy is seriously talented and has chalked up quite a few awards.
His work is focused on creating images and objects that represent positive emotions and he says he hopes it will effect people in a positive way. Often using words like, Faith, Hope and Love, his strap line is “keep hope alive”. He also uses his work as a platform to create images of South Africa in a positive context. So, go to Hope Project. Well worth the visit!

Loeries

2008-06-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! The Loeries are calling and judging will take place in Johannesburg at Vega, The Brand Communications School, from 30 June until 4 July 2008. Roger Jardine from Disturbance made the esteemed judges panel. Go here to keep up to date!

Photogarage

2008-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Two new exhibits open at artSPACE on Monday 2 June at 18h30 - Photogarage and Bright Ideas.

Photogarage is an exciting new initiative by renowned Durban photographer Angela Buckland. For eight weeks a disused garage, housed a group of eight photographers who worked under her mentorship and tutelage. The intent from the outset was to forgo technical ability in favour of concept and visual literacy; on alternative ways of seeing the world through the lens of a camera. On show is work by Kerry Duys, Carey Farrell, Andre Fiore, Lisa-Jane Hamlin, Barbara Hertzberger, Anne Schauffer and Ian Todd. Read more here.
(Source: The Guide)

A New Town

2008-05-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

Plascon Paints recently jumped on the Guerilla Advertising bandwagon and joined hands with the Jozi urban renewal program to advertise their range of new colurs called 'Urban'.

The wall is situated in Newtown JHB Cnr Jeppe and Miriam Makeba streets and features a 3d graffiti piece done by CDD designs. Artists involved in the project include Rasty, Mak and Curio.

You can read all about the artists, their daily progress on the project and watch videos of them in action here.

Nike Be True

2008-05-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

This Nike blog is about street culture, creativity in all its forms, and what’s going
down at the Gallery on 4th in Melville, Johannesburg. To find out more about the gallery and their facebook group, go here.

Tokyo Studio

2008-05-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

The team boasts Sean Crozier, Dom Strauss, Brad Roodt, Michael Cross, Candi Crookes and Colwyn Thomas . Michael has impressive repertoire as a director and editor in movies and Colwyn exhibits his light boxes and illustrations world wide.

King of sketch

2008-05-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

Matt Kay has flown the coup, but you can keep tabs on him here.

One minute of fame

2008-05-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

The third years recently created a one minute movie.

Go to YouTube to view Stephen Frank and friends interpretation of Re-invent. So far it's had 4568 viewings. Not to shabby.

Make a great trek!

2008-05-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

The end of April sees the third annual Off the Wall exhibition busting out its street styles with electrifying audacity at the ArtSpace Gallery. The exhibition focuses on urban art, from comics to performance to grafitti, and over the past two years has garnered much support and acclaim from all over South Africa.

The coolest thing about the Off the Wall shows is that they have appealed to the widest spectrum of South Africans – from the classic art aficionados who rock monocles and red wine to the quart-guzzling, baggy-jacketed youth that form urban Durban subculture... Off the Wall has taken creations that were previously not even considered art and put them in front of those who formerly scorned them – Comics are no longer just for kids; and grafitti is no longer just vandalism. It has literally been taken "off the wall" and placed in a gallery...

Participating artists are invited from all over the country, and the exhibition has played host to the likes of political cartoonist Zapiro, goth-noirist Nikhil Singh, poet & grafitti artist Iain Ewok Robinson, gore-specialist Billy Pineapples and Rico Shacherl of Madam & Eve fame.
The exhibition opened on Monday the 28th April at 6:00 pm, and will run until the 10th May. Live performances from several local bands and DJ's and a lot of ultra-cool art makes this a definite diary event for next year. For those of us who want to own some of the pieces on display, but can't afford the pocket-shredding gallery prices... there is a "budget" wall where artists sell works for R300 or less...

So pull in, and rock out. Or read more here or here.
Look us up on flickr (Off the wall 3 tags).

(Author: Blunt Magazine)

Phat Fat Tuesday

2008-05-06T02:48:00.000-07:00

'Knifes' edge' Fundi Phungula

'Girl in Green' Kevin Ross-Goss

Fat Tuesday held their Lomo Exhibit last week and a number of our students entered their pics.

Angela Shaw (Professional Photographer), Garth Walker (Orange Juice) and Gary Payne (ITI) judged the 87 entries submitted. Shannon from Fat Tuesday went all out, and along with Lomography donated the prizes in each category. So, well done to Kevin Ross-Goss, Nicole Goss, and Cele Dinte for winning highly commended. Kevin Ross-Goss was awarded a bronze, and Fundi Phungula a gold for 'Knife's edge'.

Overall winner was Lesley Goodman's 'Come fly with me'.

If you'd like to see other entries go to flickr (tags Lomography)

Blog header

2008-04-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

We've decided to feature a new student header every month. April was by Noluthando Mchunu.

Type rest of the post here

Sign of the times

2008-03-04T05:01:00.001-08:00

LEE SCOTT HEMPSON
DUT LECTURERTextiles and Fashion
MASTERS STUDENTGraphic Design

Lee is currently enrolled as a Masters student in our Department, and is concentrating her studies on semiotics and gender. We love her wooden cut-outs. Lee plays with negative and positive space, stencils, collage, and also enjoys experimenting with new materials.

You can find her work on sale at 'Bare' in Durban.

Local Lomo

2008-03-01T23:04:00.001-08:00

Try your luck at Lomography

Fat Tuesday is holding a Lomography Competition. Submit your 20cm x 30cm prints before four in the afternoon, on the 4 April 2008. Block E, Bellevue Campus, Bellevue Road Kloof. There some great prizes to be won.

And if you're not sure sure what Lomography is- go here to find out!

Way Ahead

2008-02-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Sappi 'thinkahead' Awards is a unique competition that requires final year students to submit their portfolios for judging. This year Mathew Kay from DUT walked away with the top prize and the Platinum Winner for best portfolio.

Gold Winner for best portfolio went to Jenna Leah Shone, also from the DUT. Jenna and Mathew also scooped a Silver Award for Outstanding pieces.

The DUT also won, for the second year running, the award for Institution of the year.

Move over Hello Kitty!

2008-02-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

Capetonian illustrator and designer Daley Muller has launched a range of quirky Mu&Me journals, stationary, wrapping paper and cards. The concept revolves around friends and their pets, and each range has a story to tell. See the range here! Available in her exclusive shop in Woodstock Cape Town, the range will launch in the UK in 2008.
{see House&Leisure November 08}

On Book Covers, Love and Danger...

2008-02-06T02:43:00.000-08:00

Ijusi issue no.24: Stories from Africa.

This issue celebrates South African stories at their best, and book covers to go with them. Many contributions have been penned and illustrated by the same. Sifiso Taleni, Third Year Graphic Design student is featured as he describes the 'Crown Dentist' - a diy kind of guy who specialises in silver and gold crowns fashioned from Coke and Castle cans. The accompanying book cover is also by Taleni.

Also featured: Garthe Walker, Roger Jardine and Travis Lyle to name a few.
Go here to catch up on older issues.

Yummy!

2008-02-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Look out for Nomu at delis. I spotted them at Sprigs in Kloof. The packaging is great. The brushed aliminium is very tactile, plus great photography.

The Vanilla Paste was voted as a Judges Favourite at SIAL Trends and Innovaton 2006.

Interactive Africa

2008-01-29T01:44:00.001-08:00

Interactive Africa is a company that doesn't fit any conventional mold. They classify themselves as 'commercial activists' and 'Entrepreneurs with a Social-political Conscience'.

Their clients are impressive, with Woolworths, Vodacom and Sanlam on the list. They also spearheaded the 'Hip2B2' campaign with the Shuttleworth Foundation, in an attempt to brand Maths and Science as 'cool' subjects at school.

Other key projects include the Design Indaba, and the Carbon Standard Project which aims to reduce the amount of carbon emmisions in Africa. (The Jupiter Drawing Room won a Silver Loerie Award for their Design Indaba Poster!)

Coupled with that is a very slick website that you should visit. The entire site is Flash based, downloads well, and uses simple and effective navigation and sound.

Priceless

2008-01-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

Art jewelry from the studio of Beverley Price puts a modern twist on something from the past – she calls it “nostalgic pop-art.” Using covers from Drum magazine and iconic South African products, these lightweight pieces are set in heavy foil and decorated with impressions. Find out more about Beverley and the Design Indaba, here.

If you'd like to purchase, go here.

Skullboy

2008-01-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

SKULLBOY
GRAPHIC DESIGNSecond Year

Those of us who see Skullboy daily, know the wry sense of humour,cut off t-shirt and R2 velveteen pants. Those who don't, will see a multi-talented guy who can do just about anything if he sets his mind to it. Check his portfolio out at flickr.

Hannah Morris

2008-01-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hannah Morris is an illustrator, artist, and designer, living and working in Stellenbosch. She's just finished her Mphil degree in Illustration (Uni Stellenbosch) with a focus on picture books.

'uTshepo Mde: Tall Enough'is an old story told in Xhosa, with an English translation on the same page. The book is about the worries of growing up and belonging and revolves around Tshepo, a boy who wishes he was as tall as a beautiful tree.

This fabulous book was joint winner of the Inaugral Exclusive Books IBBYSA Childrens Book Award.

Crystal Campbell

2008-01-23T04:56:00.000-08:00

Crystal is a local gal who is off to do her masters in the UK after working at Modern Museum. She's done some incredible work for The Space in Durban and Johannesburg, including the packaging, logo and indoor vinyl cutouts.

Crystal Campbell likes lots of things especially egg and marmite soldiers, boys on vespas, the colour purple, and yellow, sometimes together; drawing birds, landscapes that make her cry, bunny rabbits, sock monkeys and sea monkeys, actually any monkeys; blue skies, grey skies, rain that comes after a hot day and brown paper packages tied up with string.

So O!

2008-01-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

JENNA-LEAH SHONE
GRAPHIC DESIGNThird Year

Jenna created this incredible bag in response to an illustration project that needed to feature sequential drawing. {This is one of three} Her theme revolved around extreme women in rock, and this is Karen O.

Young blood

2008-01-16T03:42:00.000-08:00

We all know living in South Africa has it's challenges..but if you want to find out what everyone else is thinking go to Young Blood 5. Besides the info, the flash graphics and navigation are really great.

Metal man

2008-01-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

I love these. I bought them from a street vendor at a local supermarket. They are hand cut out of sheet metal and painted in enamel house paint. The bird man's 'legs' are made out of clay that has been sun dried.

E-zine extreme

2007-11-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

The horizontal navigation on 'The Beard' works well. Click on the images to open up extra info.

Blackheart Gang

2007-11-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

Not often you find knockout animation of this calibre anywhere. The "Tale of How" is worth the download.

So who are The Blackheart Gang? The short answer: a collective of artists, designers and animators living in Cape Town. Comprising Ree Treweek -illustrator and character, developer. Jannes Hendrikz -compositor and creative director, and Markus Smit (Wormstorm) -musician and writer.

You can read more here, and pick up more visuals.

Motionographer interviewed the team that created this epic story and describes the story.

Epic. Beautiful. Weird. The Blackheart Gang’s "Tale of How" is a voyage through a surreal landscape (which the Gang calls “the Household”) populated with duck-like creatures being ravaged by a tentacled sea monster, Otto.

Hands on

2007-11-13T03:12:00.001-08:00

Have no idea where these come from as they flew in via e-mail. {But thought they were part of Africa so they can stay!}Those eyes are super real.

Night of 1000 drawings

2007-11-12T02:39:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to all the students who took time out of a hectic schedule to do or find drawings for this worthy cause. We managed to collect 35 drawings in total. Next year lets double that!

Illustrator Portfolio

2007-11-07T01:05:00.000-08:00

Nifty site if you're an illustrator and want to get 'out there'. Features work by some biggies like Richard Hart, and others that seem to slip under the radar like Karen Lilje and Colwyn Thomas. See their portfolios on Illustrators Portfolio.

Every now and then

2007-11-05T05:15:00.001-08:00

Neat little site from Josie Field. If that doesn't impress you, listening to tracks from her latest CD 'Mercury', should do the trick.

Domestic Desire

2007-10-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

Frauke Stegmann is a Graphic Designer who hails from Namibia. She recently held an exhibition about making an inventory of everything she has acquired and kept over the years. The objects she found became the basis of a new collection of work which are recreated to make 'new' things. Read more.

"She represents a new kind of Graphic Designer. The way she works is much closer to the sensibilty of fashion: it's not about type, it's nothing you could do on a computer but it's much more relevant and interesting ..." Peter Saville

Afro

2007-10-29T04:36:00.001-07:00

'No money no ladies? Women loved me too much! Like yours Black? Meet Afro Man. Out of Africa and to and fro. He wears the shades. He is Coffee culture Liberator and Afro Coffee is his life blood.'

Go here to find out more about Afro teas and coffee. Fabulous flash.

Fashion week

2007-10-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

Go here to see the latest on the likes of Craig Native, Colleen Eitzen, Amanda Laird Cherry and Black Coffee. The photography is also very slick.

Koto Bolofo

2007-10-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

Koto Bolofo was born in South Africa, but moved to London with his parents when he was four. He discovered photography while studying Graphic Design, but was kicked out of college because he spent too much time in the darkroom! See his amazing portfolio on Jedroot. Read more in this months House&Leisure.

Typosakhi

2007-10-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

SAKHILE MCHUNU
GRAPHIC DESIGNThird Year

Makhulu Polane

2007-10-23T03:06:00.000-07:00

JENNA-LEAH SHONE
GRAPHIC DESIGNThird Year

The results for the Makhulu Polane t-shirt design competition run by Big Blue are in, and Jenna was one of the top five in the running to win R20 000. {See Africa design below} Yvette de Jager won first place with her mixer design. Go here to check out the top 20. Really good site design too.

Favourite thing

2007-10-22T03:24:00.001-07:00

These are a few of our favourite things
DISTURBANCE DESIGN
ISBN 0-620-38135-3

'We've assembled a sort of warts 'n all snapshot of a not particularly well-known design studio that works for not particularly well known clients in a not particularly well-known corner of the world. '

Sharp!

2007-10-17T02:40:00.000-07:00

THANDIWE MADIKIZI
GRAPHIC DESIGNSecond Year

You know what they say about dynamite...and Thandi is no exception. Featured is her recent double page spread based on 'A day in my life', with an illustration executed in acrylic, as well as her collaged postcards of her friend MS Kweyama.{Love the pull quotes}

VISI

2007-10-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

READ VISI
if you want to experience magazine page layout at it's best. The combination of photography, text and grid never dissapoints, and the magazine paper is fab to the touch. Look out for the Afrikaans or English version.

Ross Garrett

2007-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ross' work features in the latest copy of 'one small seed' with a photo shoot of the band Pestroy. He draws inspiration from design, music and art, and describes his process and inspiration in an article by Jenna Mervis. See his work on his blog or visit the studio Injozi. They feature a nifty e-book with page-turning sound effects.

Sexy's back.

2007-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

OUT NOW!
Issue 08

Issue 08 of one small seed calls all to celebrate their two-year anniversary issue.

Very slinky cover with thermographic glitter stripes!
For a preview of the contents visit their website.

Eish!

2007-10-13T00:19:00.001-07:00

Found a 'blogzine' by mistake today called Represent. It's the best example I've seen of a virtual magazine or ezine to date...but I stand corrected if you can find others. Simple layout and navigation, and the colours are easy on the eye. I particularly like the read more option on the articles...so you don't wait for ages for something to download that you don't really want to read.

This is how they describe themselves:

'Represent is a specialized one-stop, all inclusive information portal. It’s a lifestyle blogazine that has an eclectic mix of entertaining and enriching content ranging from the arts to technology.'

Disturbance

2007-10-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

Richard Hart and company have done it again! See their submission at whatiftheworld for the NewAfrica Exhibition that will be travelling Europe for the next two years.

Mayday!

2007-10-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

GREGORY DARROL
GRAPHIC DESIGNSecond Year

Greg is an anime-and-anything-japanese fan. {If he had his way he'd be in Japan right now!} He has just launched his own range of t-shirts called Mayday. There are two designs and they come in a range of colours and sizes and for boys and girls. They've been created exclusively for E-squared - so if you like them pop down to 161 Gordon Road, Durban and buy one!

Wow!

2007-10-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

CHRISTOPHER DE BEER
GRAPHIC DESIGN Fourth Year
I know we've just featured Christopher de Beer, but we'll give him another 15 minutes. Chris entered his chair design on Designboom- premio vico magistretti. The theme for this years competition was 'Living Simplicity in Furniture Design'. He was one of the 150 contestants out of 5402 entries worldwide that were shortlisted for a place.

This is what Chris had to say about his design:

'The C3 chair was intended to be a simple architectural piece of furniture,
defined by its geometric/angular form,
as well as its "brutalistic" construction (in the case of concrete).
The C3 Chair, was designed to be cast as separate connectible modules.
Preferably out of a light weight concrete mixture (ie: concrete and vermiculite).
Alternatively it could be constructed out of solid wood modules'

Shwe Shwe Poppis

2007-10-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

A fellow lecturer Rick Andrew, bought a 'Shwe Shwe Poppi (Poppi is a local word for dolly). Everyone in the office fell in love with it!

'Shwe-shwe Poppis are living stories from Zola creche in Soweto, South Africa!
Zola creche is run by the African Feeding Scheme, an NGO that distributes food on a daily basis to more than 18 000 children in Soweto.

Based on the children's drawings from the creche, and are developed by Franz Schmidt and Gro Mukta Holter from Isandi - each Poppi is hand made by the children's mothers and grandmothers. '

There are 8 different 'poppi' designs and each one has such character and charm. They come in a shwe shwe bag and have a story about the child who drew the original pictures.

Poppis have been featured on CNN, appear on the Nobel Peace Centre website, and they also won a Spark Focus Award for 2007.

You can view them at their own website - www.shweshwepoppis.com with wonderful pics of the kids and their drawings, and you can purchase them from the African Toy Shop site.

Visual Activism

2007-10-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

CHRISTOPHER DE BEER
GRAPHIC DESIGNFourth Year

Christopher is currently finishing off his Btech. His area of specialisation is Visual Activism and 'the role of graphic design in the communication of Public Service Announcements and constructive social commentaries.' {Okay...I know thats a mouthful, but you can read more about it on his blog Visual Activism.} When he's not studying he works at Modern Museum.

I remember seeing one of his posters on Berea Road a while ago and thinking 'wow'. You can spot the same in Botanic Gardens Road, Durban, (South Africa).

You can also find out what makes him tick on his design blog Empire Collective.

Night of 1000 drawings

2007-10-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you've ever wanted to make a difference...here's an innovative way to do it. I found this site today. Paballo is an organisation that feeds the homeless of Jozi. Every year they hold an exhibition called "The night of 1000 Drawings", where drawings donated by anyone and everyone, are collected and sold to the public.

Drawings/photographs need to be in A5 format (only restriction) and sell for R 100.00 in order to raise funds for Paballo ya Batho that has fed over 500 inner-city homeless people in Johannesburg every Wednesday night over the past 18 years.

This one night exhibition will take place in November this year, at a building in the heart of Joburg’s CBD. Details will be confirmed soon. So get drawing!

We have a few of our own up our sleeve..so keep an eye open for future posts on submissions.

Abraham+Louisa

2007-10-05T06:54:00.001-07:00

Joburg based fashion label, Abraham+Louisa have sent 'whatiftheworld' some of the beautiful images from their winter ‘07 collection. Take a look see.

Tin Town

2007-10-05T06:41:00.001-07:00

TinTown Design produces decor pieces made of metal with a subtle African influence. They vary from screens, lights and Christmas trees to mirrors and garden goodies.I enjoy the bokkie!

One Small Seed

2007-09-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

"One small seed is the ultimate reference to South African pop culture."

Aimed at urban men and women between 23 – 39 years; it is however largely designed to appeal to a certain mindset, rather than a specific demographic. One small seed is fresh, unique and enduring, and plugs a gap in the market that had not been catered for. It's published quarterly {thats every 3 months to those of you who don't do the maths thing}, and it costs R40.

If you want to check out contents before you buy, you can visit their website for a preview, or you can subscribe to their online version.

Worth every penny!

Artspace

2006-11-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Look out for exhibits at
ARTspace.
Current exhibitions on website or in the magazine portion of the Sunday Tribune.