Design Achievers Awards winners

The runner up was Tinyico Baloyi, a fashion designer from the University of Johannesburg.

Twenty four contestants took part in this year's awards. Each design school in South Africa, no matter what its size or demographics, nominates a suitable student in each of the following design disciplines: graphic, interior, industrial, clothing, ceramic, textile or jewellery design, or commercially focused photography.

The award recipients will attend a prestigious international design workshop for young designers. The winner will be flown to Nagoya Design Centre in Japan, and the runner-up to a design event in Hungary. In so doing, they will represent young South African design at these international forums.

Inherent talent

According to Jan Badenhorst, brand strategist for Psitek, and a member of the panel of judges, this year's Design Achievers Awards have emphasised the marked talent inherent in young, ‘up-and-coming' South African designers.

“The awards have highlighted the meaningful role that these student designers have in contributing to the development of the South African design industry, and in so doing contributing in a practical manner to environmental sustainability,” Badenhorst contends.

The Design Achievers Awards have been run annually by the Pretoria-based SABS Design Institute, since 1987. The objective is to identify student designers with talent and potential, and embrace their leadership excellence and entrepreneurial spirit.

“The exceptional standard of work of the contestants clearly shows that the power and responsibility to make a positive difference to the environment is in the hands of our young designers,” continues Badenhorst.

Badenhorst has himself been a recipient of two SABS Design Institute Awards, the most recent being for his Jembi portable, standalone GSM payphone. It uses cellphone technology to create a sustainable call reselling business in areas where traditional telecoms infrastructure is under developed. Badenhorst has been with ‘problem solving' company, Psitek, for more than 10 years. Psitek develops and manufactures solutions using cellular and wireless technologies to provide access to voice and data services to people in under-serviced areas around the world.

Adrienne Viljoen, manager of the SABS Design Institute, says: “The Design Achievers Awards is one of the design initiatives run by the Institute to enable it to achieve its goal to promote and stimulate the South African design and manufacturing industries.”

“More specifically, the actual Design Achievers Awards scheme provides an avenue for young designers to help define the shape of the future and to develop and build design leadership for South Africa. The talented designers taking part in the Design Achievers Awards certainly have the capacity to shape the future of South Africa's design industry. It can in fact be seen as their responsibility to use their gifts for the betterment of the country.”

Assessing work and ability

Vital to assessing the work and ability of the contestants is the panel of judges, Viljoen points out. The judges that the Institute selects each year comprise a chairman, a ‘past achiever' ie. a person who has been a recipient of SABS Design Institute Awards, an industry specialist, student mentors, businesspeople and psychologists.

“The majority of the judges are themselves former design achievers and recipients of Design Institute awards, who today are well-established with good positions in the South African design industry,” explains Viljoen. “The judges are selected for their experience, expertise and industry knowledge.”

In turn the judges look for quality of design and entrepreneurial thinking. “We assess the way in which each designer has thought through the challenge he or she faces, as well as their passion for design, the solution's environmental sustainability, and their leadership abilities,” says Badenhorst, who not only is an industry specialist but also a past achiever. “We also look for innovative and original thinking, the quality of the underlying business concept, as well as their portfolio work.”

Each contestant has to identify a problem or challenge, design a solution or product to address this, and present a business plan outlining the viability of the product.