by Herman Manson (@marklives) Gaby de Abreu is the executive creative director of the Switch Brand Agency, believes the graphic design industry around Africa has much to benefit from associating with international industry organisations, and a lot to offer.
De Abreu was recently voted onto the board and became vice-president of the International Council of Communication Design (Icograda) as the representative from the Brand Council of South Africa. Icograda, a world body for professional communication design, represents 224 member organisations across 129 cities and 67 countries.
With his election de Abreu hopes to introduce South African designers, and their counterparts in key and growing African design markets, to Icograda, and use its established credentials to help enhance the standards of design, professional practice and ethics in the industry. He wants to regulate the pitching process for greater benefit to designers, for example.