• Subscribe to our newsletter
The Media Online
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Media Online
No Result
View All Result
Home News Media business

There’s NOTHING wrong with South Africa’s creativity

Except we don’t seem to be able to market ourselves

by TMO Contributor
October 7, 2024
in Media business
0 0
0
There’s NOTHING wrong with South Africa’s creativity

A perfectly illustrated example of SA packaging versus European

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

At Just Design, we are fortunate to have a few global multinational clients to help hedge against the Rand. One of them in particular, works for a big food manufacturer in Germany and is very open about the fact that she doesn’t like working with the her local creative studios. 

What’s even more surprising is that her reasoning has nothing to do with cost. Unlike South Africa, she finds the European work bland, expected, and too similar in every country, where we are a hive of fresh creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

So, what is it that makes our design so unique, that it’s starting to pull the attention of international clients away from their native creative studios?

No, simply put in one word: adversity.

South Africa is a country shaped by a history of pressure, tension, and rebellion—all of the adverse ingredients that have, throughout history,  fuelled creative thinking and breaking with convention. Adversity naturally imposes constraints on resources and builds a culture of resilience. If resilience is the catalyst for creativity, then we must be rolling in it!

Our diverse society, with its multitude of languages and complex social dynamics, demands a level of creativity that goes beyond aesthetics. South African graphic design has become a source of inspiration for designers worldwide.

It fosters a credo of cross-cultural exchange and inclusive design that isn’t found anywhere else, allowing us to stand out in three significant areas: cultural authenticity, compelling storytelling, and purpose-driven design.

Cultural authenticity

From the resistance-inspired posters of the apartheid era to the current celebration of inclusivity, diversity and heritage, our design has learned to communicate our turbulent socio-political history through bold graphics in a multitude of ever-changing styles.

With 11 official languages and a relatively low literacy rate, there is a huge responsibility on visual communication and design (especially in packaging) to relay the most important information about a product using graphics over text.

Unsurprisingly, our designers are obsessively focused on the clarity of messaging, claims, headlines, etc – a skill that essentially embodies the crux of design anyway. The result is that our design aesthetic is direct, impactful and loud. We don’t do demure and we certainly don’t look like the rest of the world.

Storytelling

Storytelling lies at the heart of every effective design solution and it enables us to convey complex ideas, evoke emotions, and build connections. Storytelling is also innate in all of us Africans. It’s how our history has been told for generations and it’s still present in our interactions each day.

Our artistic expression will always be deeply rooted in narrative, and shaped by a socio-economic reality where tragedy and hope coexist, and humour becomes a vital coping mechanism.

Ultimately, when it comes to packaging, branding, and marketing, the brands that can weave compelling stories into their creative, are the brands that can connect with audiences in ways that feel genuine and relatable.

Purpose

Today’s consumers demand more and more. And more. They’re looking for purpose-driven brands that resonate with their values. In South Africa, a country with no shortage of social issues and causes close to people’s hearts, purpose is not just a trend, but a necessity.

Being a specialist packaging design agency, we at Just Design have to make sure that our solutions resonate with consumers: that they communicate clearly, but still authentically and that they touch on the rich tapestry of local issues – creating designs that are not only visually appealing, but also engage meaningfully within the broader societal context.

Rather than seeing adversity as a setback, we should embrace it as an opportunity to showcase and harness the resulting output. It’s time we stopped behaving like the cobbler’s children with no shoes and do for ourselves what we do so well for our clients.

We are the home of robust, authentic and purpose-driven expressions of creativity born from adversity, tension, and turmoil. That’s a good thing. It is how we’re able to create designs that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.


 

Tags: creativityJustDesignpackagingSouth Africa

TMO Contributor

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

March 22, 2024
Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

May 17, 2023
Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

April 23, 2023
Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

February 22, 2018
Sowetan proves that sex still sells

Sowetan proves that sex still sells

105
It’s black. It’s beautiful. It’s ours.

Exclusive: Haffajee draws a line in the sand over racism

98
The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

44
Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

41
AI in sponsorship: Beyond the buzzword

AI in sponsorship: Beyond the buzzword

May 9, 2025
Upping the ante: Tracking the year-on-year growth of gambling in SA

Upping the ante: Tracking the year-on-year growth of gambling in SA

May 9, 2025
Seven Days on Social Media: Tonya’s in hospital, the nation’s in chaos and SA doesn’t care about Joshlin

Seven Days on Social Media: Tonya’s in hospital, the nation’s in chaos and SA doesn’t care about Joshlin

May 9, 2025
Social media platforms are replacing Google

Social media platforms are replacing Google

May 8, 2025

Recent News

AI in sponsorship: Beyond the buzzword

AI in sponsorship: Beyond the buzzword

May 9, 2025
Upping the ante: Tracking the year-on-year growth of gambling in SA

Upping the ante: Tracking the year-on-year growth of gambling in SA

May 9, 2025
Seven Days on Social Media: Tonya’s in hospital, the nation’s in chaos and SA doesn’t care about Joshlin

Seven Days on Social Media: Tonya’s in hospital, the nation’s in chaos and SA doesn’t care about Joshlin

May 9, 2025
Social media platforms are replacing Google

Social media platforms are replacing Google

May 8, 2025

ABOUT US

The Media Online is the definitive online point of reference for South Africa’s media industry offering relevant, focused and topical news on the media sector. We deliver up-to-date industry insights, guest columns, case studies, content from local and global contributors, news, views and interviews on a daily basis as well as providing an online home for The Media magazine’s content, which is posted on a monthly basis.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads

ARENA HOLDING

Editor: Glenda Nevill
glenda.nevill@cybersmart.co.za
Sales and Advertising:
Tarin-Lee Watts
wattst@arena.africa
Download our rate card

OUR NETWORK

TimesLIVE
Sunday Times
SowetanLIVE
BusinessLIVE
Business Day
Financial Mail
HeraldLIVE
DispatchLIVE
Wanted Online
SA Home Owner
Business Media MAGS
Arena Events

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

 
Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?