Three #REDexperiment design competition winners selected

Riekus Raaths, Micah Donnoli, and Nkululeko Zulu were selected as the overall #REDexperiment winners. Image provided.

The three category winners of the #REDexperiment design contest, which aimed to give up-and-coming South African creatives a career launch pad, were each awarded R10,000 and the opportunity to join Cape Town’s hotel’s design team.

Following the judging of over 100 entries for the three categories, Micah Donnoli, Riekus Raaths and Nkululeko Zulu – all from South Africa - were selected as the overall #REDexperiment winners.

Donnoli was named category winner for the creative beermat design, while Raaths and Zulu received the winning title with the innovative 250ml and 350ml takeaway coffee cup sleeve designs.

These winning designs will be transformed into beermat and coffee cup sleeves to be used the OuiBar + Ktchn restaurant when the hotel launches in September 2017, guaranteeing both local and international exposure for the winning creatives.

Dale Simpson, curator of Radisson Red Hotel V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, says, “The team was blown away by the bold and energetic designs submitted by creatives from all over South Africa. The Red brand is inspired by an expressive and creative world and we were looking for that in the winning designs.

Platform for local design talent

“The entrants developed something special and they all delivered creative entries. We succeeded in providing a platform for local design talent and will now take this platform and display it in the hotel. I feel proud that Radisson Red can have this type of positive impact on their careers.”

Marie Vogts, spokesperson for Youngblood Africa, adds, “It was interesting to see each creative’s unique interpretation of the design brief. We are, once again, proud to see the talent on offer in South Africa. Often, people are just looking for the right opportunity to showcase their talents and that is exactly what this competition allowed.”

Radisson Red V&A Waterfront, Cape Town will be the first hotel of its kind in the African continent and plans to do it the global Red way, with art, music and fashion at the forefront. Youngblood Gallery will house all #REDexperiment finalist designs for the duration of June. In addition to the #REDexperiment designs, other exhibiting artists featured at the gallery during include Robyn Pretorius, Juanita Oosthuizen and David Griessel, who are all showcasing red-inspired artwork. Furthermore, all designs will be displayed at the hotel’s grand opening later this year.