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 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.