Visit Design Indaba at the Cape Town Book Fair

DESIGN INDABA 2009 DATES:

Design Indaba Conference will run from 25 to 27 February, 2009, with the Design Indaba Expo following the Conference, running from Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March, 2009, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

DESIGN INDABA AT THE CAPE TOWN BOOK FAIR

Visit the Design Indaba stand at the Cape Town Book Fair from 14 to 17 June, 2008. We will be situated at stand Q713 in the small publishers’ section, where we will be offering discounted prices on Design Indaba All Stars, the 2008 buyers guide and Design Indaba magazine.

DESIGN DESIGN ALL STARS: NOW IN STORES NATIONWIDE

Get your copy of Design Indaba All Stars in bookstores nationwide for only R350. Stockists include selected Exclusive Books stores, Wordsworth CT, Clarkes and the The Book Lounge. You can also log on to www.kalahari.net and purchase your copy online.

Covering the first 10 years of Design Indaba, this book serves as a record of the growth of creativity at the cusp of the millennium. Lucy Orta. Mark Farrow. Erik Spiekermann. Jonathan Barnbrook. Fernando Gutierrez. Stefan Sagmeister. Sir Terence Conran. Irma Boom. Stefano Giovannoni. Neville Brody. Karim Rashid. Mary Lewis. Shubhankar Ray. Kenya Hara. Ross Lovegrove. Peter Saville. Dan Pearson. Bob Sabiston. Shigeo Fukuda. Milton Glaser. Ron Arad. David Adjaye. Dieter Rams. Fernando and Humberto Campana. Michael Bierut. Tom Dixon. Inga Sempé. Christoph Niemann. Matali Crasset. Paul Priestman. Javier Mariscal. Tobias Frere-Jones. Massimo and Lella Vignelli. Yves Béhar.

For more information please contact Lucinda Johannes at Lucinda@interactiveafrica.com or Tel: (021) 465 9966.

Congratulations to Natalie Glinister, Martin van Aardt, Juliette Krige, Johan Louw and Tyrone Beck, who won a copy of Design Indaba All Stars and a South African Design T-shirt through our delegate survey

DESIGN INDABA MAGAZINE DRAWS THE LINE AT SERIOUS FUN

Both the local and international speakers at Design Indaba 2008 concurred that design needs to tackle serious issues – but have fun while doing it. The newest edition of Design Indaba magazine, "Line Drawing", does just that – sideways.

Expect the likes of New York design duo Karlssonwilker inc, hot conference-favourite Shin-ichi Takemura, jeweller Christoph Zellweger, automobile stylist Oona Scheepers, acclaimed local fashion designer Amanda Laird Cherry and a city focus on Durban, which includes a fun 50 Buck Design special.

Click here for a full distribution list. For subscriptions please contact Lucinda Johannes at Lucinda@interactiveafrica.com or Tel: (021) 465 9966.

DESIGN INDABA EXPO EARLY BIRD BOOKINGS OPEN

The Design Indaba Expo 2009 Early Bird Booking discount is open to exhibitors who sign up and pay before 31 July 2008.

Why pay R1875 per sqm for a standard package? Instead, book at the 2008 rate of R1725 per sqm.

Enjoy Custom Rates of R1500 per sqm instead of R1600 per sqm.

So call us now to take up this great opportunity!

DESIGN INDABA EXPO 2008

• Over 260 exhibitors.
• Over 20 000 visitors.
• Over 300 local and international buyers.
• Generated over R23 million worth of media value.

For new exhibitors or more information please contact Beverley Cupido: bev@interactiveafrica.com or Tel: (021) 465 9966.

Drawing the line at serious fun

Both the local and international speakers at Design Indaba 2008 all concurred that design needs to tackle serious issues – but have fun while doing it. The newest edition of Design Indaba magazine, “Line Drawing”, does just that – sideways.

“Binding the magazine on the top was just a fun idea and we thought, why not?” design director Richard Quintal explains this edition’s format of flipping open like an exam pad. “Inside, the landscape shape gives the magazine a completely new feel and will undoubtedly change the reading experience,” he goes on.

The cover itself was designed specially for this post-conference edition by New York design duo Karlssonwilker inc. Inspired by their adventures in South Africa, the layered images offer a frank, quirky and often controversial interpretation of our national icons.

	DI Magazine - Page 55-56

This utilitarian approach to the social contribution of design is continued inside the magazine, fuelled by the Design Indaba 2008 coverage. Editor of Creative Review, Patrick Burgoyne weighs in with a review of the conference; Portuguese design journalist Frederico Duarte visits the Design Indaba 10x10 Housing Project; British creative industries entrepreneur Eckhard Thiemann shares his impressions of the expo, and editor of Designtimes, Mark Rosenberg visits Design Indaba’s newest offspring, the Creative Companies Conference in Amsterdam.

Featured speakers include hot conference-favourite Shin-ichi Takemura, who revisits his assertions of a new era of mass media and describes his projects in more detail. In turn, jeweller Christoph Zellweger interrogates the future of the body image, while South African automobile stylist Oona Scheepers explains how she is inspired by nature. Acclaimed local fashion designer Amanda Laird Cherry shows how her work is intertwined with the recent history of South Africa.

DI Magazine - Page 62-63

The interview with Laird Cherry also introduces a city focus on Durban design. Besides features on architect Ruben Reddy, illustrator Kim Longhurst and city rejuvenation project Cascolands, there is also a fun R50 Buck Design special, which invited Durban creatives to select the best design to be bought in the city for less than R50.

A chockablock news section includes Jason Bruges’s new Memory Project, Andrew Makin’s Motel Mo Pi Chi, South Africans at the Milan Furniture Fair, the second Open Lab, the Verge Digital Conference and Cape Town’s newest design space – Curious, Whetstone and Frankley. Readers also stand the chance of winning a R750 hamper of “indie undies” from Ruby and Men United, or one of three copies of Along the Way by Disturbance Design.

See, serious fun.

DI Magazine - Page 34-35

Design Indaba, Q208, “Line Drawing”, is available in selected Exclusive Books stores, Melissa’s and other outlets.

Click here for a full list of distribution points.

International Young Design Entrepreneur

The British Council presents the International Young Design Entrepreneur (IYDE) award for the fourth time. IYDE champions and celebrates the importance of creative entrepreneurs working in the field of design. It is awarded in partnership with 100% Design (http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/), London’s international trade fair for furniture and interiors.

The IYDE awards are unique in rewarding entrepreneurial ability. We recognise that a finalist may be active as a designer, however his/her work as an artist should be secondary to their focus as an entrepreneur in the promotion of the design industry in their country. Artistic talent will not be factored into the judging procedure – finalists will be judged solely on the merit of their entrepreneurial abilities in the industry.

Application is open to all South African nationals.

Applicants should: - Be aged between 25 and 35
- Already be working in the design sector (see sector list below)
- Be entrepreneurial and have shown their ability in the promotion of South African design, in either a commercial or public context, or both
- Through their character, drive and abilities demonstrate their potential to be a future leader of the sector in their country
- Have English language skills to IELTS 6 - ‘competent user’ or above

Download information and the application form which will be available on 11 June 2008 at: www.britishcouncil.org/africa-za-iydey

This award programme is open to all qualified candidates throughout South Africa.

Please email your application to Andrea Ogle at: andrea.ogle@britishcouncil.org.za or Tel: 011 718 4318 by 30 June 2008.

Mark the subject line of the email ‘‘ 2008 IYDEY application material”.

If you would like to attach your CV or copy/photo of your work, you are welcome to do so.

Design sector definition - Participants will be drawn from any of the following sectors:
· Architecture, interiors and environment
· Graphic design: communication, publishing, branding and multimedia
· Product design manufacture: furniture, industrial products and craft
· Interactive and digital media
· Design promotion: exhibitions, events, festivals and retail

The New Spell

The New Spell An Exhibition of Contemporary South African Art Opens: Thursday June 5, 2008 18:00 – 20:00 Closes: July 30, 2008 David Krut Projects, New York is pleased to present The New Spell, an exhibition of contemporary South African art curated by Lucy Rayner, with artists Themba Shibase, Michael MacGarry, Nandipha Mntambo, Maja Maljevic, Nina Barnett, and Robyn Nesbitt.

Architecture exhibition

Architecture Tour on Saturday May 24

To book email oh.architecture@gmail.com or tel: 021 424 3561.

Robot opening on Friday

The MTCS Project is a collaboration between M18J92T (Fine Artist) & Chris Saunders (Photographer). A robot prototype was created from about 50 photographs of construction equipment which were then deep-etched and comped to create the 'bot. The 3m long and 2.5 m high Prototype travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town as street art and was pasted up in locations around Johannesburg, Kimberley, Graaff Reinet and Cape Town. But the locations to those will only be shown on the evening of the 9th of may, unless you have spotted them already. At the exhibition we have also created super imposed images of the Prototypes journey from one side of South Africa to the other. There will also be an installation in the gallery with the entire wall of the space wallpapered from floor to ceiling with the robot in Johannesburg landscape image. Be at the Exposure Gallery 9th May 6:00 PM for the opening. Check out the blog for more info at http://mtcs-project.blogspot.com/

Creativity Can

Design Indaba 2008 video

Architectural tour this Saturday

To book email oh.architecture@gmail.com or tel: 021 424 3561.

New website for iCommons

In the build-up to the iSummit in Japan from July 29 to August 1, iCommons have launched a dedicated website. The iSummit is an annual exploration of the emerging opportunities for co-ownership, co-creation and the widespread distribution and sharing of knowledge, ideas and creativity in the digital age.

Participants will be actively involved in the planning of the iSummit programme and event activities through the dedicated web platform and the new site facilitates programme submissions, participant registration, blogging feedback and communication with the event organisers.

Participants are also encouraged to get involved in the build up to the event and volunteer to translate content from English to Japanese. Curators, builders and others willing to help with coordinating speakers and topics for the iSummit in Second Life are also encouraged to sign up online. 

http://www.icommonssummit.org/

The sale season

Shunji Yamanaka

1. When, do you predict, will robots like Halluc 2 start being used by the public?
It will probably take more than 10 years to be used as passenger vehicle. Still, 5 years might be enough for some product with similar technology to come out.   

2. What are the applications for your robot prototypes?
If vehicles can move flexibly and sensitively, just like this robot prototype, there is no need to destroy nature to make big roads. This vehicle does not pollute, and it can travel over any terrain for versatile application.

3. Will the robots you have shown be produced as toys?
There are no plans to be produced as toys for the moment.  

4. Do you only do the body design? Who does the technical aspect?
Myself and our staff are all engineers as well as designers. We solve many technological and structural design problems.  In large projects, we collaborate with companies and researchers to develop together as well.  

Design Indaba April 08 Updates

Creative Company Conference

The first Creative Company Conference (CCC), Design Indaba’s new sister company, was lauded by delegates and media in attendance. Distinct from Design Indaba, which celebrates the creative professional, the CCC honours innovative business leaders and companies that place innovation, creativity and design as central to their strategy. Held on April 1 at Amsterdam's spectacular Muziekgebouw, the CCC secured 10 leading innovators from four continents for its inaugural event, including Marc Mathieu, Stanley Hainsworth, Arkadi Kuhlmann, Bill Moggridge, Robert Brozin, Richard Reed, Ivy Ross, Carlos Miele, Peter Diamandis and John Howkins.

Website: www.creativecompanyconference.com

Creative Circle award for recycled radio ad

Design Indaba’s recycled radio advert won first prize for best radio advert in the February Creative Circle awards. Created by Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town for the Creativity Can campaign, the advert comprised old radio adverts that were spliced together.

Said Joanne Thomas, creative director at Jupiter Drawing Room: “In keeping with the theme of this year's campaign, we needed to find a way to demonstrate the power of creativity on radio – a notoriously difficult medium. Most of our campaign relied on powerful visuals to express the concepts, so we needed to look at the ‘creativity can’ concept from a different angle. Using the principles of recycling (creating something new and useful from something that has been discarded), we went into our archive of old radio ads and cut them up, finding the words we needed to complete our script. This gave us an ad that not only sounded unique, but was also pretty cost-effective to produce.”

Download the radio advert here.

Design Indaba All Stars: On sale now

The Design Indaba All Stars book, recently published by Interactive Africa, celebrates 35 of the most prominent international guests that we have hosted at Design Indaba and featured in the magazine. Covering the first 10 years of Design Indaba, this book serves as a record of the growth of creativity at the cusp of the millennium.

Lucy Orta. Mark Farrow. Erik Spiekermann. Jonathan Barnbrook. Fernando Gutierrez. Stefan Sagmeister. Sir Terence Conran. Irma Boom. Stefano Giovannoni. Neville Brody. Karim Rashid. Mary Lewis. Shubhankar Ray. Kenya Hara. Ross Lovegrove. Peter Saville. Dan Pearson. Bob Sabiston. Shigeo Fukuda. Milton Glaser. Ron Arad. David Adjaye. Dieter Rams. Fernando and Humberto Campana. Michael Bierut. Tom Dixon. Inga Sempé. Christoph Niemann. Matali Crasset. Paul Priestman. Javier Mariscal. Tobias Frere-Jones. Massimo and Lella Vignelli. Yves Béhar.

All stars. All in one book.

Cost R320.00 direct, excluding postage. Soon at a stockist nationwide.
Please contact Lucinda Johannes at Lucinda@interactiveafrica.com
or Tel: (021) 465 9966 for more information.

Design Indaba Expo products go global

Design Indaba Expo 2008 was a great success spanning four days from February 23 to 26. Offering a curated showcase of the best South African design for the fifth time, the Expo continues to grow with more than 20 000 visitors, over 351 local and international buyers attend, and over 260 exhibitors.

“This year's Design Indaba gave our tiny fledgling enterprise incredible exposure... We were actually overwhelmed. It was definitely worth more than any other attempts at advertising could have done,” said Dawn Burger from Casamento.

Among other feats, UMCEBO trust will be designing new objects for the US company Tucker Robbins and Michael Haigh Ceramics were purchased off the floor by trend forecaster Li Edelkoort. Due to further exposure on the floor to the Design Indaba global network, Haigh is also currently working on a range of jugs for Terence Conran's Exhibition in September.

Design Indaba invites all exhibitors to keep us posted regarding their accomplishments, business feats, promotions, exhibitions, expansions, new ranges and any other successes.

Design Indaba Winners

The Most Beautiful Object in South Africa award this year went to Y Tsai of Tsai Design Studio for the Nested Bunkbed. The design received 150 of the 402 public votes cast. This Cape Town creative studio strives to design products that are socially and culturally relevant to South Africa.

The MBOISA 2008 was decided by popular vote. Visitors to the Design Indaba Expo could vote for their MBOISA via sms. Voting also took place through The Times website. The lucky voter was Brett Osrin of Sea Point who won a years subscription to the Sunday Times and a R3000 Woolworths voucher.

The Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism, designed by award-winning theatre practitioner Brett Bailey, won the Most Creative Stand award. It started out each day as one big white canvas. Performing and visual artists then filled the space with art, animation, photography, crafts and designs while interacting with the public, showcasing creativity in Cape Town and the Western Cape. The award was presented by the Cape Town Partnership as part of its Creative Cape Town programme. Congratulations to Cathy Cronje of Cambridge Press who won the lucky draw prize for voting for the best stand. The prize included a creative night for 2 on long street which includes a night for 2 at Daddy Long Legs, dinner for 2 at Royale Kitchen in addition to a creative trends tour of Long Street for 20 friends with Cherry Flava.

Congratulations to Mary Ralphs, from HSRC Press, who is the winner of a trip to Cannes courtesy of SABC and the Creative Alliance project.

Design Indaba T-Shirts

The limited edition South African Design T-shirts are on sale for only R80 excl postage.

Please contact Caryn van Rooyen at carynv@interactiveafrica.com
or Tel: (021) 465 9966.

Design Indaba Magazine

Conference delegates are reminded that they will no longer receive complimentary copies of the post-event issue of Design Indaba magazine. Design Indaba magazine is available in selected Exclusive Books and Melissa’s stores nationwide.

Click here for a full distribution list.

For subscriptions or more information please contact Lucinda Johannes at Lucinda@interactiveafrica.com or
Tel: (021) 465 9966.

 

 

Jason Bruges

Where could one find literature and info with regards to the hardware and suppliers of lighting for interactive sculpture?

This really depends on what you are trying to do and at what scale and whether it has to be permanent or temporary. Some of the companies we have used in the past which are relatively global:
Aurduino
Artistic Liscence
Color Kinetics
Makezine

Would you rather be an astronaut or a designer?

I thought it was Jason and the Argonauts! Probably would only be happy be an astronaut if could fly as a designer and solve problems come with ideas from a totally new perspective!

SABS Design Excellence Award scheme: Call for entries

Product designers can now enter their South African designed products for the 2008 SABS Design Excellence Awards. This award scheme has been presented for close on 40 years under different names and aims to honour South Africa’s foremost product designs and designers. Entries close on 15 May.

Last year saw 15 product designs spanning a variety of industrial sectors receive SABS Design Excellence Awards. The majority of the products came from the engineering, mining and machinery category, but there were also innovative medical, homeware and information technology products that received awards. Attie Jonker, design team leader of the JS1-Revelation, an 18-m wingspan glider that won last year’s Chairperson’s Award for the most innovative product, says that winning a SABS Design Excellence Award has resulted in huge publicity for their product, both on television and in the print media.

The SABS Design Excellence Awards entries, presented by the SABS Design Institute, are adjudicated by top industry experts and every year an international judge joins the judging panel. Entries fall into one of six categories. These are home and office ware, medical and healthcare, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, transport, automotive, mining and machinery. Then there are also awards made in education, leisure, sports goods or toys, the built environment, including components, urban furniture, equipment, tools, as well as electronics, information and communication technology (ICT). The product must have been on the market for a year or more and award-winning products will be showcased at the annual SABS Convention, held in Johannesburg in October.

Running at the same time of SABS Design Excellence Award scheme will be the SABS Design Institute’s Prototype Initiative where product designers with working prototype models will have the opportunity to get advice on how to get their prototypes out of the garage and on the way to production.

The Prototype initiative involves a free consultation with a small panel of design experts, consisting of eminent South African designers and engineers. Consultations will be confidential and will focus on the design aspects of the prototype. The consultation sessions will take place at the SABS Design Institute in Pretoria in the week of 7 to 11 July 2008.

By entering their prototypes, designers also become eligible to attend the Idea to Product seminars presented at various centres throughout South Africa, free of charge. These seminars deal with common problems experienced by product developers. Entries for the Prototype initiative also close on 15 May.

The SABS Design Excellence Award scheme aims to recognise the achievements of South African product designers, while also encouraging local product design and manufacture and promoting international competitiveness of local products. This award scheme has established a proud tradition of promoting indigenous design.

Visit www.designinstitute.org.za for more information, to enter online or to view previous award-winning products or contact Zenobia Norval at 012 4287038 or email design@sabs.co.za.

Creative Circle award

Our Design Indaba "recycled radio" ad won best radio ad in the Creative Circle Feb 2008 awards.

Said Phil Ireland, chairperson of Creative Circle: "In first place a brilliant concept from The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town for the Design Indaba – recycling old radio ads by chopping them up and pasting them together like a ransom note cleverly highlights the Indaba’s theme of sustainability in design. "

Thanks Jupiter Drawing Room team!

Agency: The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa)
Client: Interactive Africa
Product: Design Indaba
Title: Recycled Radio Ad
CD: Livio Tronchin
CW: Jonathan Commerford
Prod Co: Big Leap Music & Post
Audio Eng: Craig Ormond

Creative Company Conference

Design Indaba has a new sister company in Europe called the Creative Company Conference (CCC). Distinct from Design Indaba, which celebrates the creative professional, the CCC honours innovative business leaders and companies that place innovation, creativity and design as central to their strategy.

The Creative Company Conference heralds the primacy and potency of innovation and creativity in business and celebrates thought leaders in a unique assembly to be held annually in Amsterdam, where ideas, experience and best practice are shared and inspiration is sparked.

Scheduled for April 1 at Amsterdam’s spectacular Muziekgebouw, the CCC has secured ten leading innovators from four continents for its inaugural event. These include:

		Position > Senior Vice President, Global Brand Marketing and Corporate Vice President Company > The Coca-Cola Company Country > United States
Marc Mathieu

		Position > Founder Company > IDEO Country > United States
Bill Moggridge

		Position > Chairman, President and CEO Company > ING DIRECT Country > United States
Arkadi Kuhlmann

		Position > Fashion Entrepreneur Company > Carlos Miele Ltda Country > Brazil
Carlos Miele

		Position > Vice President, Global Creative Company > Starbucks Coffee Company Country > United States
Stanley Hainsworth

		Position > Founder Company > Nando's Country > South Africa
Robert Brozin

		Position > Co-founder Company > Innocent Drinks Country > United Kingdom
Richard Reed

		Position > Chief Creative Officer and Vice-President Company > Disney Stores Country > United States
Ivy Ross

		Position > Chairman & Author Company > ITR Consultants & Creative Economy Country > United Kingdom
John Howkins

Arkadi Kuhlmann – chairman, president and CEO of the world’s largest internet bank, ING Direct; Bill Moggridge – founder of IDEO; Robert Brozin – founder of Nando’s; Richard Reed – co-founder of innocent drinks; Ivy Ross – chief creative officer and vice-president of Disney; Carlos Miele – fashion entrepreneur and founder of Carlos Miele Ltd; and John Howkins – chairman of ITR Consultants and responsible for coining the term “creative economy”.

At Design Indaba in Cape Town we celebrate the creative professional.... at CCC in Amsterdam we honour innovative business leaders and companies that place innovation, creativity and design as central to their strategy.

All Design Indaba alumni are offered a 33% discount on the full 1 day ticket to CCC – to register for this please contact loren@creativecompanyconference.com and mention “Design Indaba Network ticket” in the subject line as well as which country you come from.

Visit www.creativecompanyconference.com for more information.

MOST CREATIVE STAND AT DESIGN INDABA 2008

Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism wins Most Creative Stand Award at the 2008 Design Indaba Cape Town. The stand of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism Creative Industries Strategy (DEDT Creative Industries) was selected as the Most Creative Stand at this year’s Design Indaba Expo held at the Cape Town Convention Centre from 23-26 February 2008.

The Award was initiated by the Cape Town Partnership as part of its Creative Cape Town Programme – a social, economic and spatial programme which uses culture towards urban regeneration in the Central City to build an inclusive civic identity and vibrant economy, in conjunction with the Design Indaba.

This year visitors to the Design Indaba enjoyed watching a virtual walking tour of Creative Cape Town at the Cape Town Partnership stand. Creative Cape Town has identified more than 800 creative industries in the Central City alone—making Cape Town a leading centre for design, innovation and creativity in Africa.

The winning stand was designed by award-winning playwright Brett Bailey. It started out each day as one big white canvas. Performing and visual artists then filled the space with art, animation, photography, crafts and designs while interacting with the public, showcasing creativity in Cape Town and the Western Cape. At the end of the exhibition the space was filled with colour, crafts, photo’s and live animation much to the delight of the audience.

Six finalists were chosen by the members of the public visiting the Design Indaba Expo over the past four days. A panel of judges selected the winning stand.

According to the judges, the Department’s stand was a clear winner in terms of being the most unique, interactive and innovative stand. “It showed the process of design and creativity as it evolves into final products – instead of focusing on the final product alone,” said Andrew Boraine, Chief Executive of the Cape Town Partnership, and one of the judges.

The Most Creative Stand Award Trophy was made by artist Daan Samuels from the Cape Craft and Design Institute. Samuels was one of the entrants for the Most Beautiful Objects Award at the 2008 Design Indaba.

The runners-up were the stands of Fly on the Wall Productions – a film making collective from Observatory (second place) and craft design company Design Afrika from Woodstock (third place) and.

Cathy Cronje’s name was drawn from the group of names who voted for the winning stand. She has won herself a night out to enjoy Creative Cape Town in Long Street, including a sleepover in the Daddy Long Legs Hotel, dinner and clubbing at Café Royale in Long Street and a Walking Trends Tour with Cherryflava along with twenty of her friends.

Bunk beds win Most Beautiful Object in South Africa Award

Y. Tsai of Tsai Design Studio was announced as the winner of the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa at Design Indaba Expo on February 26, 2008. The Nested Bunk Bed received 150 of the 402 public votes cast during Design Indaba Expo.

The award asks our diverse country: "What is beauty?" While some may consider it an aspect of taste and others know it on sight, beauty becomes far more profound than a visual sensation when design characteristics such as social significance, economic impact, aesthetic value, humanist intuitions, lifestyle functioning and sustainability are thrown into the mix.

This young creative studio based in Cape Town, South Africa, strives to design products that are socially and culturally relevant to South Africa, hence the winning design being the Nested Bunk Bed, that offers a space solution for overcrowded,
low-cost houses.

Tsai was thrilled when he was chosen among the other incredibly creative finalists as the overall winner: “Thank you! I am very excited because I think that the bunk bed will get more sponsorship from the awards [Most Beautiful Object in South Africa] and then we can put more beds into orphanages. It’s great that Design Indaba is rewarding young designers and recognising that design can have a positive social impact.”

A hearty congratulations to Tsai, who wins a free stand at Design Indaba Expo in 2009, and the rest of the finalists: Ronel Jordaan; Daan Samuels; Juanita Oosthuizen; Philippe Bousquet; Clementina Van Der Walt; Lisa Firer; Richard de Jager; and Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho. Design Indaba hopes to see you all on our platform again next year!

Living space is at a premium in South Africa's townships - it's not unusual for six to eight people to share 36 square metres of space. The Nested Bunk Bed offers a space solution for overcrowded, low-cost houses. Sections of the Nested Bunk Bed can be pulled out to serve a number of purposes, such as a sofa for two, grandstand seating, or five beds that can be packed away into a standard bunk bed area. When fully extended, the bed system can sleep 20 children in a tight space of 50 square metres, as well as providing play space when the beds are retracted.