by Uno de Waal (@Unodewaal)  For Design Annotator this week, we’ve chosen the following:

• A photo essay on Khayelitsha, photographed for us by Kent Andresen
• Brilliant art book design and layout by CT based Gabrielle Guy
• The immediately recognisable and multi-layered digital collage artworks of Karin Miller
• Vibrant, proudy South African work by graphic designer and illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane
• Colourful knitwear inspired by Xhosa culture by designer Laduma Ngxokolo
• The Forgotten Kingdom – the first feature film to be produced in Lesotho
• A South African thriller, iNumber Number, by the award-winning Donovan Marsh
• Aweza, a language app aimed at getting South Africans of all languages talking to each other
• Third Space, a sound installation by Malose Malahlela
• And of course, our very first Show & Tell evening of creative talks!

 

Photo Essay: Khayelitsha on Film by Kent Andreasen

Kent Andreasen is a photographer and cinematographer from Cape Town whose work we adore. We jumped at an opportunity to send him to Khayelitsha earlier this year to capture the sights and street life all on film in his distinctive style. From the manicured to the makeshift, the result is a visual short story of the township through the points of interest that caught Kent’s fantastic eye.

See the entire photo essay here.

 

Art Book Design by Gabrielle Guy

Book design is a kind of art in and of itself, and nowhere more so than in the case of art publication design. Cape Town based graphic designer, Gabrielle Guy, specialises in the layout and design of art books, publications and custom monographs. She has worked with many of South Africa’s most renowned artist, galleries, curators and arts editors, and has developed a reputation for her careful attention to detail.

Read our interview with Gabrielle to lean more about her considered approach.

 

Digital Collage Artist Karin Miller

Karin Miller has develop a style of digital collage that is at once recognisable. With a background in information design, Karin’s artworks are an eclectic mix of graphic design elements, historic iconography, pop reference and Eastern-esque patterns. Her work playfully explores all the dinner table taboos – race, politics, religion, sex – through a humorous visual language of juxtapose iconography and appropriated images.

We spoke to Karin to find out a little more.

 

Illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane

Karabo Poppy Moletsane is a Pretoria-based illustrator and designer with a BA in Visual Communication from The Open Window School of Visual Communication. Through her vibrant work, she tells the South African story and series such as ‘Sho’t Left’ – A Zine on South African Occupations show off her brilliant skills in both illustration and design, as well as her love for all that makes South Africa ‘so full of zest, culture and innovation’.

We recently got the chance to ask Karabo some questions.

 

MAXHOSA by Laduma Ngxokolo

Laduma Ngxokolo is a young South African designer who incorporates his own Xhosa culture into his knitwear designs. Laduma started his brand MAXHOSA by Laduma in early 2011 and has since continued to captivate audiences both locally and internationally. His main objective is to capture his culture in his knitwear to maintain his heritage that he finds is dying out.

Here, Laduma tells us more about his work and journey so far.

 

The Forgotten Kingdom | A Film by Andrew Mudge

Directed by Andrew Mudge, The Forgotten Kingdom tells the story of a young, unemployed man by the name of Atang Mokoeyna who lives in Johannesburg. When his estranged father passes away, Atang travels home to his ancestral land to bury him and unexpectedly, becomes drawn to the mystical beauty and hardships of the land and people he had forgotten.

Read about the film, which opens at cinemas nationally on 11 April.

 

iNumber Number | A South African Thriller

‘iNumber Number’ is a South African thriller written and directed by the award-winning Donovan Marsh of feature films Spud, Spud 2, and Dollars and White Pipes.

The film tells the story of an honest but ambitious undercover cop Chili Ncgobo, played by S’dumo Mtshali, who is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors. He infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.

iNumber Number opens in cinemas nationwide on 25 April 2014. Find out more here.

 

Aweza | A Multi-Lingual South African Translation App

“One Nation, One Conversation” is the tagline of Aweza, a language app that is trying to get South Africans talking to each other. With 11 official languages in South Africa, it is difficult to have a conversation with all South Africans you meet while travelling across our amazing country.

The team at Aweza is here to ensure that this is not the case going forward with their multi-lingual language app tailored specifically for South Africans that translates phrases in all 11 languages. A first in the world of translation apps.

We chatted to founder, Glenn Stein, to find out more.

 

Sound Installation by Malose Malahlela

Sound Development City is a project that sends 10 – 13 artists selected from around the world on a three week expedition to two European cities every summer. The focus on the trip is experimentation, research and finding inspiration in unknown conditions and new experiences.

Last year, South African sound artist Malose Malahlela was invited to take part. Malose’s project was entitled Third Space: an audio walk which brought the sounds of Johannesburg to Europe. Participants listened to recordings made by Malose back home while they walked through their cities. During the audio walk Johannesburg becomes the imaginative city that exists as a third playground.

Find out more and listen to Malose’s project, Third Space, here.

 

Show & Tell | The First in a Series of Creative Talks Hosted by 10and5

On Wednesday, 16 April we are hosting our very first ‘Show & Tell’ event to kickstart an ongoing series of creative talks that we’ll be hosting throughout the year.

For the first edition, taking place at the Vega auditorium in Randburg, we’ve got a stellar line-up of speakers who will each deliver a 20-30 minute talk on their chosen topic. They are: concept design duo Jana + Koos, Creative Technologist Nathan Gates and photographer Mack Magagane.

Find out what they’ll be speaking on and RSVP for the event.

Design Annotator is a regular column on MarkLives featuring the top design work from South Africa’s biggest online creative showcase, Between 10 and 5, which is curated by publisher Uno de Waal (@Unodewaal), inaugural South African winner of the British Council South Africa‘s Young Creative Entrepreneur (#YCE) Digital Publishing Award in March 2014.

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