Design Indaba encourages African filmmakers, green designers

Dieter Zermatten's storage solution: Innovative, practical and versatile, changing from portable storage bag to play mat.

Fahfee Film

Pamela Sebigi, a recent graduate of the MultiChoice Film Talent Incubator, showed the short film she recently directed at Design Indaba 2010. Entitled Fah-fee.the kasi lotto, it is about a game called fahfee or mochaina and shows how the community of Alexandra Township uses the game to help supplement their income and alleviate poverty.

This is the second short film she has directed, bringing to it her African insights and undeniable flair in 15 minutes. She graduated top of her class from the programme, which offers previously disadvantaged individuals an excellent environment in which to develop both production and technical skills such as scriptwriting, directing, editing and production management.

Go young, go green

Students were encouraged to take green prototypes from idea to retail by House and Leisure magazine and Woolworths, which sponsored the second annual House and Leisure Green Designers at Woolworths competition.

"We have achieved our aim this year, which was to allow South Africa's young designers the opportunity to give expression to their ecofriendly designs and also demonstrate how to develop the conceptual design into a retail product," says Naomi Larkin, editor of House and Leisure.

"This year, together with Woolworths, we have challenged the students to source appropriate manufacturers to help them turn their prototypes into reality and they demonstrated this with ease.

"Ecofriendly design is not only about creating things that will make our lives better without harming the environment, but is also about being responsible in terms of the suppliers and partners used in creating the final product," concludes Larkin.

"Over the last five years we have taken major steps in supporting local design," says Paul Duncan, head of design, homeware at Woolworths. "This year we are pushing the students to think further than just concept. We are encouraging them to work where possible with our suppliers in an effort to come up with a product that has real commercial value. Good ideas are one thing; good ideas that sell product are quite another. These are the realities of retail."

Winners

Students from seven different design schools participated in this year's competition. They were mentored by some of South Africa's leading designers including, Melissa Kerkhoff, owner of Lula Fabrics; Sally Arnold, owner of Karoostar Interiors; Lise Butler and Amanda Haupt, owners of Design Team; Richard Hart, owner of Disturbance; Kate Carlyle, owner of Mustardseed & Moonshine; Philippe Bousquet, jewellery designer; and Pierre Swanepoel, owner of Studiomas.

Dieter Zermatten from the University of Johannesburg was awarded first prize for his storage-solution design, Play, which transforms from a portable storage bag to a play mat. The judges described it as “A storage solution that's innovative, practical and versatile.

First runner up was Nolwazi Nandi from Cape Peninsula University of Technology for her throw design. She used patterns and techniques found in Xhosa handcrafts for inspiration to create her throw made of undyed natural fabric, which judges described as “ecofriendly in every respect from fabrics to dye.”

Second runner-up was Corne Edwards from the University of Stellenbosch for her cotton vase-cover design. Corne used recycled cotton to create colourful covers for everyday vessels. According to the judges, “This concept, in which a recyclable glass container is covered in a removable jersey knit, works as a decorative item and as an eco-conscious item.”

The top three each walked away with an Apple MacBook and the chance to have their products manufactured and sold at selected Woolworths stores. They were chosen from a group of 10 finalists whose designs were on display at this year's Design Indaba Expo. The 10 finalists each received a R1000 gift voucher from Woolworths.

Judges

• Paul Duncan: Woolworths, head of design, Homeware;
  
• Cecile Froehling: Woolworths, head of buying, Homeware;
  
• Lynne Harris: Woolworths, design consultant, Homeware;
  
• Marcel Seaman - Woolworths, brand manager, Homeware;
  
• Ralph Jewson - Woolworths, sourcing technologist, Homeware;
  
• Naomi Larkin - editor, House and Leisure magazine;
  
• Michael Baretta - business development manager, House and Leisure magazine.