The founding pillars of Makers Landing is to create opportunities and support rising talent so it made sense that this ethos be seeded in Makers Landing.
The call for young designers to be part of this legacy project resulted in the V&A Waterfront giving up-and-coming creatives the opportunity to work alongside the lead advertising agency to create a visual identity for Makers Landing, giving them the chance to work with one of South Africa’s most iconic neighbourhoods.
Makers Landing is an innovative incubator for the local food industry. The space will be built around a community with food as a passion point and cultural connector, where authentic South African food and its diversity is shared and celebrated.
The call for applications to work on the visual identity for Makers Landing was put out to advertising and design colleges and programmes across the country. From these entries, five shortlisted creatives were invited to pitch their concepts to the judging panel.
Two finalists were chosen, Bonolo Chepape, a local textile designer and the founder of Lulasclan, and local up-and-coming photographer, Cole Ndelu.
These two young creatives developed the Makers Landing corporate identity under the guidance of the creative agency, OFyt (Old Friends Young Talent).
Bonolo Chepape
Bonolo Chepape is a young graphic designer from Rustenburg. The 28-year-old creative has strong Pedi cultural roots and a passion for storytelling that stems from early childhood visits to her grandmother in Botlhokwa, Limpopo.
“During these visits, I was literally surrounded by music, art, and storytelling which often took place around a fire. It would be stories of the rain queen Modjaji, the translation, and meaning of our clan names, poems and life lessons,” she explained.
After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design and Communication at the Midrand Graduate Institute, Bonolo worked in advertising for four years. In 2016, after leaving advertising, she decided to start her own online décor and design consultancy studio.
“Lulasclan encapsulates every essence of my being and it’s all about taking authentic African design and textiles to the world. One key motif in my illustrations or art is the celebration of women in the work I do. I want to celebrate women that inspire others and that have also inspired me.”
Cole Ndelu
Cole Ndelu is a Johannesburg based contemporary artist; her work occupies the intersection between art, fashion, design, documentary, photography and spirituality.
At the heart of her practice is photography and the black community and she prides herself on creating work that celebrates, honours and champions black culture.
“My work (and existence) is a counter-narrative to the negativity and problematic representations of black people and Africa. I’m here to contribute positively to history and to the future by making imagery that makes my kin feel seen, beautiful and possible,” she said.
This young photographer’s work is unapologetically black and feminine focused. She strongly believes in creating visuals experiences that she wanted to see while growing up.
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