Wild Bean Café Design-A-Cup competition winners announced

Winners of the Wild Bean Café Design-A-Cup

This year’s theme, My Cup, My Expression was meant to be poetic and reflective of the yearning spirit of most creatives during this time. The theme was a dovetail from the 20-year anniversary celebrations and therefore centred around ‘what celebration means to you and how you would translate that celebration in a cup.’

This year’s edition attracted over 300 registrations from designers across the country. The entrants didn’t disappoint, taking creativity to the next level and displaying South Africa’s rich talent pool and diversity. There was great diversity in the excellent designs received.

BP head of convenience, Belinda Petersen, said, “We had a tough time shortlisting the top five winners from the dozens of inspiring designs. It was exciting to see the passion these young people have put into their work. This campaign has been running for three years and each year it just gets bigger, stronger and more enjoyable.” This year’s competition also sees the first all-female top three finalists representing three cities.

The winners were announced in person at a celebration held at BP Beyers Naude on 28 October 2021.

Under the African sun

In first place, winning the grand prize of R100,000 is Cape Town-born interior architecture design student Mika De Villiers. Having been encouraged by her father to enter the competition, 21-year-old Mika knew she had to put her best foot forward and give her competition the mother of all challenges. As a third-year student at Inscape Education Group in Cape Town, Mika says she plans to incorporate graphic design and more creativity into her work. Mika says her design was inspired by the African sun and Mzansi’s diversity.

“We have this beautiful rainbow nation and I wanted to capture that in a uniquely inclusive manner – showcasing all our cultures in a way that tells our story of diversity to the international community,” she said.

Mika will use her cash prize to study further next year - pursuing an honour’s degree in architecture design.

“I entered the competition fully prepared to win, I gave it my all and I am very happy that my hard work has paid off. My parents also get a breather from paying tuition fees. I’m truly grateful to be able to take the pressure off my parents.”

Good vibes, good music

In second place, 22- year-old Vega School graphic design student Kelly Nsenda’s passion for creativity started at the tender age of four. Hailing from Pretoria, Kelly’s design was inspired by the city’s vibrant atmosphere, night life and music, which is beautifully reflected through the musical instruments and party scene on the cup. As runner-up, Kelly receives a MacBook Pro and a one-year Adobe Creative Cloud licence, which she will use to master her craft at Vega.

“In making my career choice, I realised that you don’t always have to take the traditional, ‘socially acceptable’ route. Take pride in what you do, that’s all that matters really,” she said.

It’s a celebration

A detailed design of celebration inspired by the vuvuzela, 22-year-old Latisha Ramsamy’s creative representation of Mzansi’s culture saw her take the third spot. Latisha hails from the city of gold and is a third-year graphic design student at the University of Johannesburg.

“I am so grateful for the unwavering support from my mom, who despite being a single parent, did everything to ensure that I pursue my creative passion. Losing her job last year left us in dire straits and winning the MacBook Pro will help push my design career even further,” she said.

Petersen said the impact that the prizes have on the designers is a real win-win as they have poured their love and energy into the BP brand. “It is probably one of the most emotional campaigns that we have. All I want to say to all three winners is congratulations and keep doing what you are doing. We are exceptionally proud, and we are happy to have you onboard,” she said.