Newly crowned Mrs Deaf SA Tracy Duncan plans to make “a significant difference” for the deaf in South Africa. 

Duncan, who studied Graphic Design at CPUT from 2004 to 2008, said she entered the competition to prove to herself and the deaf community that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Not only did she succeed in winning the overall title but she was also chosen as Mrs Deaf Personality 2018 and Mrs Deaf Charity 2018.

Duncan, who grew up in Athlone, said she was born profoundly deaf.
“I grew up in a close-knit family of leaders. They taught me to speak better, how to advocate for myself and to always go the extra mile in life to be on the same level as my hearing peers. They always told me to be proudly deaf and overcome any obstacles thrown my way.”

She received a cochlear implant a few years ago and this has changed her life.
“I am hearing sounds I've never heard before. It has made me a lot more confident in terms of knowing what I am actually hearing and being able to speak clearer.” Duncan wants to see the MDSA (Miss, Mr, & Mrs Deaf South Africa) brand to grow and says her responsibilities are to represent the brand, give workshops and raise funds.

“I also have my very own platform to run. It is a national fitness campaign across South Africa.”
She has the following message for deaf students: "The Deaf can do anything but hear. This is exactly how you should see yourselves. You can achieve anything in life if you put in the hard work, believe and trust in yourselves and always see the ability in your disability no matter what obstacles are thrown your way.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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“Why hire the professionals” was the high praise four CPUT Graphic Design students got for a unique anti-smoking advertising campaign they developed.

The campaign incorporates a print, TV, website and social media aspect and is aimed at the 18 to 30-year-old market.

Executives at the Heart and Stroke Foundation were so impressed by Anthony Chute, 22, Leon Bester, 23, Inus Smuts, 24, and Jacques Erasmus, 23, that the TV ad they shot even made it to the small screen.

The campaign, which took nine weeks to develop, was entered into the Sappi- Ideas That Matter competition and scored a partial grant.

This means that segments of their work will be paid for and actually used by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

FINISHED PRODUCT: Aspects of the anti-smoking campaign the students developed.

Leon says he believes their campaign caught the judge’s attention because they honed in on an especially difficult target market- young adults.

“Apart from the anti-smoking aspect we also focused on the importance of healthy eating and exercise,” he says.

“We chose Heart and Stroke because there were so many options and they told us not to hold back so we didn’t.”

Apart from developing a slick campaign the students also had to present their campaigns to a panel of judges which included the client, lecturers and industry experts.

Anthony says the multi-faceted nature of the project allowed everyone to explore unfamiliar career territory.

“For me my eyes have been opened to possibly working in the advertising world,” he says.

By Lauren Kansley

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CPUT Graphic Design students who won a prestigious competition now have the privilege of watching their work change the world one project at a time.

Besides the honour of winning the Sappi “Ideas that Matter” competition these third-year students also have the distinction of watching the campaigns they created actually being used.

Students had to choose a Non-Governmental Organisation, consult with them, then create a campaign catering to their specific needs.

Kirstin Damon, Lyndon Jacobs and Karin van Rhyn chose the Carthorse Protection Association and won first prize for their unique campaign aimed at schoolchildren.

This means their box set containing a story and activity book as well as finger-puppets and a puzzle will go into an all-expenses-paid production for the organisation and hopefully be used in schools across the Cape Flats.

“The aim of our campaign is to make children aware of looking after these carthorses because often whole communities need them to survive,” says Lydon.

Teammate Kirstin says the cost-effectiveness and hands-on approach of their idea gelled with the judges.

“One of the reasons they liked it so much is because this campaign can run on its own and it’s a simple cheap idea,’ she says.

Jessica Begley and Ricardo van Lingen were runners up and won a partial grant for the campaign they created for drug rehabilitation centre Akron.

They created a full corporate identity for the NGO including a website, logo and advertising campaign based on the steps of recovery.

“We chose Akron because we both have personal connections to drug abuse,” says Jessica.

Akron loved the campaign so much it is already in use.

Click here to view Kirstin, Lyndon and Karin’s winning campaign for the Carthorse Protection Association.

Click here to view Jessica and Ricardo’s campaign for drug rehabilitation centre Akron.   

By LAUREN KANSLEY

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Third-year Graphic Design student Colin Tomas is committed to improving the lives of all South Africans through sustainable design.

Colin designed and manufactured a Seeding Guide that educates people on indigenous plants. The guide is made of old newspapers and other recycled paper.

The guide, which won second place in the Shift Fresh Talent Sustainable Design Competition, highlights the benefits of various indigenous plants and also points out when seeds should be sown. The guide also list tips on how to care for the plants and what parts can be eaten.

The seeding guide shows how seeds must be planted and cared for.

Speaking of the inspiration behind the seeding guide, Colin explains that he wants to educate and motivate people to do more and aid the environment.

“I started looking at a few areas as to why people aren’t aware of conservation and one of the reasons I found was that people lack the needed information about the benefits the environment has and why it should be conserved. This is why I aimed to create something that will make the information accessible and understandable to people,” says Colin.

As part of the Shift prize, Tomas and the other winners are jetting off to Switzerland on a knowledge exchange trip in August.

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The Headspace exhibition brought together the work of students of Photography, Fashion, Graphic Design, Surface Design and Industrial Design in an explosion of colours, textures and shapes.

The exhibition, which was spread across three floors of the Design Building on the Cape Town Campus and two floors of the adjacent Student Centre, opened on 18 November 2008.

The title ‘Headspace’ alludes to the idea that, regardless of the discipline in which a student works, the creative process starts in the same place – the mind.

Dean of Informatics and Design Prof Johannes Cronjé opened the exhibition with a reminder that for the local design industry to flourish, South Africans should make a concerted effort to purchase the work local students. “It is part of our mission not just to be doers of jobs but to be creators of jobs,” he said.

The Industrial Design display exemplified the importance of students being able to both express their creativity and produce work that is functional and marketable. Vikki du Preez, who teaches History of Design, referred to two third-year projects – a prototype of an alarm clock and a model of a gaming console – to illustrate this point.

For the console, students were encouraged to come up with the most unusual concept they could imagine, and did not need to fit the device with working parts. For the clock, however, they had to work within the constraints of actual technology, and bring creative energy to a fully functioning object.

At the Graphic Design exhibition, artwork was not only on display but also being created. Third year student Kyle “Van Eck” Pase, whose interest lies in finding connections between graphic design and graffiti, was at the opening to paint his interpretation of the Headspace concept. Fellow third year Justin Poulter, who designed the poster used to promote the exhibition, created a dynamic accompanying mural on the opposite wall.

One of the primary features of the Fashion exhibition was the focus on providing a sound theoretical underpinning to commercially viable work. BTech student Nadia Lemmer created a sensuous range of garments for the fuller figure, influenced by the writings of Naomi Wolf. Also responding to the needs of contemporary women was Saara Jappie. Her vibrant Eastern summer clothes were conceptualised so that young Muslim women could wear stylish designs without compromising their values.

The Surface Design exhibition demonstrated the path that a student takes to developing a personal style. The first and second year displays saw students exploring the basic elements of design such as contrast and movement. The third year work brought the focus back to the designer as an individual. Students placed drawings of birds in an environment that represented the space in which saw themselves, and printed the results onto fabric. The material was stretched over three-dimensional frames resembling Herero figures. The overall effect was that of an African Village of surface designs.

The Photography exhibition also presented the results of individual creative journeys. In many cases, students travelled to remote locations in the country to capture the atmosphere of a place or a sense of the people who live there. The displays covered a variety of genres, including documentary, portrait and fine art photography.

“Each student has a body of work that speaks of personal development,” said Photography Lecturer Colin Adonis.

Jewellery Design opened its exhibition on 17 November 2008, prior to the Headspace launch.

Many of the students who exhibited at Headspace are in their final year of study and will enter the industry in upcoming months. The exhibition provided a taste of the exciting work that can be expected from this new generation of young designers.

By Ilana Abratt

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Creativity runs in the blood of 3rd year Graphic Design student, Veon Haupt.

His passion for drawing started early in his life and was inspired by his mother, a clothing designer and pattern maker in a factory in Athlone. He said, “She always wanted to paint so she always had paint brushes and colours lying around. Naturally, I would pick them up and start playing with them.”

The impressive calibre of creative work he now produces at age 21 has earned him a unique opportunity at the Advance Design Group (ADG), owned by alumni of the old Peninsula Technikon.

During the second year of Veon’s National Diploma in Graphic Design, he printed his assignments using ADG facilities. It was during this time that his work was ‘discovered’ by ADG Managing Director, Clinton Arendse and his business partner, Jason Desai, both alumni of the institution. Impressed by his work and his commitment, ADG offered to pay for the remainder of his studies with a guaranteed position upon graduation at the end of 2006.

Veon said, “This is a great achievement for me and removes a great weight off my shoulders, especially in terms of finance for my studies.”

The Institution has left an indelible impression on Clinton since he graduated from the Peninsula Technikon in 1984. Since then, he has ploughed a great deal of time and financial resources back into the old Technikon and the newly founded Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He returned in 1994 as a graphic design lecturer and later headed the department as senior lecturer before leaving in 2002. At the time, Jason, who now owns 40% of the company was one of his students. The confidence in the quality of students produced by the institution is indicated by the fact that the majority of his staff compliment are alumni of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

*ADG is a creative agency that specialises in concept creation, development and production. They have made creative contributions to Foschini group, Oceana, Engen, Auction Alliance, Phillip Morris, Golden Arrow, South African Breweries, Juta Gariep, UWC, Stellenbosch University, Medical Research Council and the Food and Allied Workers' Union.

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CPUT students have excelled in a student gift card design competition hosted by The Foschini Group (TFG).

TFG is one of the leading fashion and lifestyle brands in South Africa, and this year the group honed in on local graphic design talent when it issued the call for a redesign of its gift cards.  

The competition received an overwhelming response from students and the entries showcased the fantastic talent available in the country.   

Scooping second and third prizes were second-year Graphic Design students Kobie Nieuwoudt and Mathew Crisp respectively.

Students were required to design four different types of gift cards as well as packaging to accompany them.

The CPUT creative pair drew inspiration from the brief and from their surroundings.

“When designing there are many options and tools available to use. I drew inspiration from my surroundings,” says Kobie.

Both Kobie and Mathew agree that it was important to consider the target market and the stores under the company’s umbrella.

By Nurahn Ryklief

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Two CPUT students have clinched first and second prize in a design competition.

The Trashback competition brief was to redesign a wheelie bin for the collection of second-hand clothes to be positioned in various public spaces. It had to be attractive and not be mistaken for a regular garbage bin.

Third-year Graphic Design student Nadia Smith beat the professional competition with her winning concept of a laundry basket.

And fellow third-year Courtney September’s idea of a bin mimicking a wardrobe scooped her the second prize.

The pair first submitted a draft of their idea and was part of a select group of entrants invited to actually create their drop-box during an intense three and a half hour challenge.

Nadia says she intentionally featured mock laundry neatly folded inside because she wanted people to touch the bin and be interested in it.

“The clothes folded inside indicate it is clean items within and encourages people to donate the same,” she says.

“I also used colourful material of different textures like denim and fleece to encourage people to touch it.”

Graphic Design lecturer Margaret Bezuidenhout says she is extremely proud of Nadia and Courtney because they didn’t have much time to complete the task.

“It was tremendous fun and I am hugely proud of both of them and all the others who participated in the project with such enthusiasm,” she says.

Nadia won a stay at a top nature reserve and will assist in the actual making of the bin.

By LAUREN KANSLEY

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Third-year Graphic Design students have watched their drawings come to life in a music video.

The students produced a 5-minute music video for the subject of drawing during their final term. The project involved combining a number of challenging components like professionally recording an original song, filming appropriate scenes and sequences. The project ended with students exporting the video as separate images and recreating these as watercolour illustrations.

Graphic Design lecturer Sean Beukman says it took a total of 1500 drawings to complete the task in two weeks.

“These were then re-edited to produce the stop-frame animation effect. It was very hard work but the results are quite stunning,” he says.

Students worked closely with the Student Affairs Media Department to record the song.

Musician Lodi Paul is a Graphic Design Masters Student. The song Hirondelle uses the metaphor of a swallow that cannot find its way home flies with the wind, making new locations its home as a tribute to displaced people and political refugees globally. 

Written by Lauren Kansley
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CPUT Design students have turned their talents to alleviating the scourge of shack fires.

Students from Industrial, Graphic and Surface Design were tasked with creating customised packaging for an imported fire prevention tool called the Fireball.

The FireFighter is exported from China where it is used successfully in factories and small apartments.

The circular ball is tossed or rolled into the fire then explodes when its sensors detect the heat.

Students were divided into multidisciplinary groups of six and had four days to redesign the Chinese packaging of the FireFighter to suit a local audience.

They then presented their work to a panel and a winner was chosen.

One of the winning students Sebastian Bosman, who studies Industrial Design, says each discipline brought its own specialty to the project.

“I think our product is a good reflection of the huge amount of work we put in, the brief was also very specific and the lecturers were very hands on during the process,” he says.

“Everything from the colours to how the packaging could have a dual purpose was carefully considered.”

Industrial Design students focused on the actual packaging and wall mounting, Graphic Design students concentrated on reinterpreting the instructions while the Surface Design students concentrated on the materials used.

The FireFighter is a community outreach project of local company Ritcom who envisage distributing it in vulnerable areas soon. 

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Two CPUT students have been featured in a ‘Movers and Shakers’ segment for youth reality television show, Hectic nine-9.

Ntsikelelo Magwaca and Luxolo Ganca were selected for their inspirational story of working against the odds to get Ntsikelelo registered and admitted for the Graphic Design Course earlier this year. 

Their story started more than six months ago when Luxolo met Ntsikelelo at the Waterfront and complimented him on the realistic self-portrait he was sketching.

The conversation between the strangers led to a promise from Luxolo that he would assist his new friend in attempting to register for Graphic Design at CPUT.

They met a day later and despite being over six months late Ntsikelelo’s portfolio blew lecturers away and he was accepted for a place in the Extra Curriculum Programme from Graphic Design.

Together the 20-year-old’s overcame a number of smaller hurdles along the way like getting the registration money paid and getting a starter stationery kit for Ntsikelelo to complete assignments.

The positive story reached Vice-Chancellor Prins Nevhutalu who shared it with the CPUT Council during a meeting.

Council member Meko Magida who works for Golden Arrow Bus services pledged support and Ntsikelelo will soon be awarded a full bursary for the duration of his studies.

Nevhutalu says both Luxolo and Ntsikelelo are examples of the socially responsible student that he wants CPUT to produce.

“I want a CPUT student to be different from other graduates because they care. That spirit will infuse everything we do here at the university and seep out into the rest of the country. I would be very satisfied if I had a university full of Luxolo’s and Ntsikelelo’s,” he says.

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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

A third-year Visual Communication Design student was selected as a finalist in the Graphic Design section of the IPSA Student Gold Pack competition.

Lea de Vries was a finalist in the category: Packaging that Informs and Motivates.

Lecturer Wayne Coughlan said the competition was used as a project in the Design Specialisation 3D subject.

“By participating in the Graphic Design section of the IPSA Student Gold Pack competition, Graphic Design students gain a wider insight into the interesting world of packaging and are exposed to a career within the packaging and design industry. Participation will add a vital example of their skills to their CVs, portfolios as well as having their institution recognised by the organisers and the wider design industry,” said Coughlan.

For her entry, Lea chose to redesign the Woolworths flavoured Tuna range, which is packaged in sachets.

“I did some research and came to the conclusion that the tuna sold in Woolworths, is caught using only one specific method known as Pole and Line. This method is the most sustainable way of catching tuna, as tuna is caught one at a time and if some other species is caught, it can be thrown back while still alive and unharmed.

She said this leads to less bycatch and a more sustainable form of fishing in general. “This information is indicated on these packages, but I feel like this deserves to be the star of this packaging. No other store in South Africa can say they sell tuna that was caught sustainably, and Woolworths is also the only store whose tuna is certified green by SASSI.”

Lea chose to do three flavours. Two of the flavours, Mexican Salsa and Black Pepper and Lime dressing already exist. Lea came up with her own third flavour, Garlic and Fennel.

“The colours I chose correspond to some part of the flavour – red being salsa, yellow

being a garlic/ fennel middle ground and green for lime. The image I chose to use on the pack is of fishermen catching tuna by Pole and Line. This clearly conveys the image of how the tuna is caught in this very specific way. The name ‘Pole & Line’ is bold because this is the name of this new range that I have created. This will place more focus on the fact that this tuna is the best choice regarding tuna.”

She said the addition of fun colours make the packaging more eye-catching and would contribute to motivating customers to purchase it.

“The reason I chose this product to create packaging for, is because I believe it is quite a unique choice and I also believe sustainable fishing is very important for the future of our oceans. I also love challenges and thought that designing a sachet and creating a mock-up for it, would be quite fun.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Third-year Graphic Design students have participated in a project, which has not only increased their skills set and experience but also helped to create awareness about water as a precious resource.

Lecturer Edwin Peacock said the Graphic Design Department was recently approached by NGO, The Watershed Project, to come up with a project for its first Fun Day in Paradise event, which was held at Paradise Park in Newlands.

The event involved a day of experiential learning for young children along the banks of the Liesbeek River.

Peacock, who worked on the project with lecturer Lionel Franciscus, said the project gave students the opportunity to work on a “real life” project instead of one based on a hypothetical situation.

“This involved a real client and it gave the students the opportunity to gain valuable experience while working in the field.”

The aim was to teach people about the importance of preserving the water in the park’s canal as well as about the current water situation and the students had to come up with imagery that “spoke to the children”.

The students came up with the idea of reverse graffiti and created their artworks on a section of canal wall.

“They couldn’t use anything toxic to create their artworks as the canal will at some point fill up with water again. This meant we couldn’t use paint. In the end we decided to use stones from the canal to create the images while at the same cleaning the mould and dirt from the canal wall.”

Peacock said the project was a huge success.

“The client was very happy and our students also learnt about giving back to communities through their work.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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A talented third-year Graphic Design student recently took first place in the Functional Foods Research Unit’s (FFRU) first-ever student design competition awards.

The unit in the Department of Biotechnology and Consumer Science developed a milk drink fortified with omega-3 fatty acids and carotenes aimed at pre-school children to supplement the diets of this age group.

CPUT students were challenged to design the food label.

“This group is vulnerable to malnutrition and we are facing big challenges in South Africa with omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin A-deficiencies. The carotenes can be converted to vitamin A as the body needs it” says Prof Maretha Opperman, head of the FFRU.

Third-year Graphic Design student Tirrell Jones was the first place winner and walked away with R20 000. The runners-up were Blessed Mhungu and Lisa Ingram.

Opperman said it was difficult to select the winner as the adjudicators were thoroughly impressed by the 75 entries received. An initial top 10 were chosen before the final three were selected as winners.

The purpose of the competition was to give students the opportunity to be exposed to commercial food label design and showcase their talent. Students representing a variety of courses entered the competition and were challenged to be innovative in visually portraying the products value proposition. FFRU is delighted by the outcome of this initiative and aims to collaborate similarly with the Design Department in future.

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