I recently had the privilege of attending my first Design Indaba (DI). After years of hearing different opinions about the conference which is staged before the Design Indaba Expo where designers creations are displayed and available for purchase in the biggest hall the CTICC has to offer. I must say I was blown away and definitely will attend next year.

Source: Design Indaba

The conference offers a glimpse of truly creative people who do not work, they live their passion and it permeates every aspect of what and how they do everything. Creativity be it designing an orchard that is receptive to female hormones by changing stem colours or producing a multi-faceted international marketing campaign lives in each of the presenters. One has to step back and congratulate Ravi for having the vision and fortitude to grind through the struggles he must have faced while sculpting the DI into the collective energy of like-minded people it is today.

My favourite sessions were:

Robbie Brozin the founder of Nandos. I’ve seen him present/discuss the birth and continued success of Nandos probably 3 or 4 times and am always amazed at his dedication, ability to remain relevant and positive perspective of our South Africa.

Yoni Bloch who created the amazingly interactive platform Interlude. Story telling with this platform has taken a very unexpected trajectory and remains a marvel to engage with.

Dominic Wilcox seems to straddle the multiple worlds of tech, art and design simultaeuosly. Easily enhancing simple products we use daily into works of beauty which are practical. His blog is worth spending some time on and should get the creative juices flowing before you know it.

Joe Public shared their story, rising from absolutely nowhere to being one of the most innovative and creative agencies in South Africa. Another truly inspirational story highlighting hard work in the right direction with the right people on board are absolutely key to achieving sustainable success.

Quote to remember:

“If your’re not doing what you love then I think you are crazy” Stanley Hainsworth