SA designs for international events

Two major international events are being identified by distinctly South African design skill - and winning awards and plaudits in the process. Blueprint Strategic Marketing Communications created the African motifs that are the corporate identities for the 2005 World Exposition for Global Harmony in Aichi, Japan and the 2005 World Petroleum Congress (WPC), currently underway in Johannesburg.

Designed independently of each other, the briefs called for the inclusion of a distinct South African flavour as the overriding creative element.

The theme of the Aichi conference focused on 'the rhythm of life' in its interaction with 'the rhythm of our nation' and was translated into a visual that captured Japan's symbolic rising sun with the vibrant colours of the South African flag.

The design material was instrumental in the South Africa Pavilion winning a silver award at the Expo. South Africa was honoured for its recognition of poverty and war as a threat to the environment and for its efforts to create a sustainable economy through eco-tourism.

The communications material for the 18th World Petroleum Council (WPC) congress currently running at the Sandton Conference Centre carries a logo and corporate application created by the Blueprint stable. The design elements highlight the fact that South Africa is hosting the major event for the first time in Africa and conveys the theme of the congress: Shaping the Energy Future.