Bedfordview Business Supports CWDi #67Logos Designathon For Mandela Day

29th July 2019

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The 67 Logos Designathon took place on Mandela Day, 18 July, where 67 designers dedicated their time to design professional logos for 67 SMEs – at no cost to the businesses.

Many of these start-up businesses do not have the budget to employ a professional graphic designer to establish their brand identity and images. As successful businesses often discover, a professional identity sets you apart and contributes hugely to their success in the marketplace. The format of the event brought graphic designers together with businesses who need a professional identity.

Businesses were paired to a designer who took their brief and gained a better understanding of their businesses and what they are looking to achieve. In many cases, they guided the designers on what they liked or would like to see in their brand new logo. After the initial briefing, businesses gave the designers two hours to design their identity while they attended seminars on effective business management, motivation and coaching.

A second session followed where designers would present their ideas and receive feedback from the company owners. They then had another two hours to finish up the final identity and package all the elements for the company to be used for print or digital reproduction.

One of the designers who took part was Gerald Yapp, senior designer and owner of Bedfordview-based In-Detail Advertising. He was paired with Chamuwari Ketano, whose company The Green Loop are pioneers of Greencubation and promoting prosperity in the Green Economy through training, information, support and coaching.

The Green Loop logo designed by Gerald Yapp from In-Detail Advertising.

‘Designers are often competitive and do not collaborate too easily as our industry is fiercely competitive. I often collaborate and work with designers and teams from outside South Africa and find them more open and quick to share information and ideas. However, with all the designers placed in one room during the event, the collaboration and interaction was outstanding,’ said Yapp. ‘Discussion and critique flowed, common design challenges were laughed at, connections were made and contacts were shared. As a designer, it was a really rewarding experience, with some good old fashioned pressure added to create an identity from brief to final artwork in only four hours.’