SA student designers set to make a positive difference to the environment

This is according to Jan Badenhorst, Brand Strategist for Psitek, and a member of the panel of judges for this year's Awards. “The awards highlight 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,” he says.

The Pretoria-based SABS Design Institute has run the Design Achievers Awards annually, since 1987.Their 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, who himself has won two SABS Design Institute Awards. The most recent is for his Jembi portable, stand-alone GSM payphone designed for sustainable call reselling businesses in areas where traditional telecoms infrastructure is underdeveloped. His company develops solutions using cellular and wireless technologies to provide access to voice and data services to people in under-serviced areas of the world.

Adrienne Viljoen, Manager of the SABS Design Institute, says, “The Awards scheme 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.”

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.

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 winner of this year's Design Achievers Awards is Sidhika Sookal, an information design student from the University of Pretoria, who presented her thorough and well-researched awareness campaign for cervical cancer. The runner up is Tinyico Baloyi, a fashion designer from the University of Johannesburg. 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 and will represent young South African design at these international forums.