A WEEK DEDICATED TO DESIGN
Design Week South Africa, powered by Yoco, is a curated four-day calendar of events, and immersive experiences, that will showcase the future of South African design through knowledge-sharing, inclusivity and support.
Together with Yoco, our mission is to create South Africa’s leading design platform. A platform that celebrates design as an expression of creative thinking and making, creates connections, jumpstarts collaborations, and cultivates the next generation of creative leaders.
For decades, the incredible economic, educational, creative and cultural benefits of dedicated, city-wide, design weeks have been witnessed the world over, from Milan to Melbourne. A creative space where designers and makers can express themselves, the trade and public can engage with the local design sector, while the next generation of designers, artists and makers can be inspired to continue a legacy – in our case, the legacy of South African design.
‘City design week, by building a creative platform and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations, is now recognised as one of the important mechanisms in the development of creative cities, in providing emerging strong support for the construction of innovative models that promote sustainable urban development.’ – Han, H. The Design Engins – Sustainable Development of City Design Weeks
Our mission is to create South Africa’s leading design platform that :
- Celebrates design as a multi-disciplinary expression of creative thinking and making
- Creates connections
- Jumpstarts collaborations
- Cultivates the next generation of creative leaders
- Boosts the local creative economy
- Is industry-led
- Increases the public’s knowledge, awareness and appreciation of design, and its role in creating a sustainable, inclusive future
- Generates and collects open source data around the local design sectors for research and growth purposes
A BIT ABOUT YOCO
Yoco builds financial tools and solutions for businesses of all sizes and all kinds. They understand and celebrate the crucial role the creative industry plays in the economy and society as a whole. Yoco proudly supports Design Week South Africa, celebrating the many creative entrepreneurs through this platform.
WHO'LL BE INVOLVED
Taking place in Joburg and Cape Town, Design Week South Africa will gather local designers, makers, artists and brands from the fields of :
- Architecture
- Art
- Craft
- Dance
- Fashion
- Food
- Furniture
- Graphic Design
- Industrial
- Interior
- Jewellery
- Music
- Product Design
- Urban Planning
WHAT'LL TAKE PLACE
A curated, scheduled four-day calendar of events will showcase Joburg and Cape Town’s incredible design community through :
- Collaborations
- Engaging discussions
- Exhibitions
- Food and drinks activations
- Interactive installations
- Open studios
- Performances
- Product launches
- Showroom experiences
- Walkabout tours
- Workshops
OUR GUIDING THEMES
Sharing Space
Through discussion and collaboration we engage with the idea of making and Sharing Space within the South African creative industries, while studio visits and the creative use of space for exhibitions and activations – both indoor and outdoor – expose the availability and use of physical space within these two cities.
Growing Collaboratively
By working together across sectors and disciplines within the creative industries, designers and makers are able to share knowledge, give time to create something new and learn and Grow Collectively in the process.
Future Archives
Marking a timestamp on what our local creative industries have experienced and achieved, we look back at legacy design and creative practice, and forward towards where we’re headed, what we want to say to the world, and how we’ll get there.
Game Changing
Altering the future of our local creative industries by uplifting and inspiring the next generation of designers and makers. Game Changing through workshops, discussions and innovative exhibitions, and by giving time, knowledge and resources.
THE TEAM BEHIND DESIGN WEEK
Having spent 10 years building her namesake clothing studio, Margot Molyneux, a manufacturer and retailer of boutique collections of mens and womenswear, Margot more recently turned her attention to the world of media, specifically focusing on interiors, architecture and decor, fulfilling the role of Managing Editor of House and Leisure publication and General Manager at independent publisher LOOKBOOK Studio. 2024 has brought the launch of a new initiative, Design Week South Africa, a seemingly natural career transition as she combines her love of design and storytelling with her enthusiasm for the local creative industry and its growth and development.
Since joining the biggest Sunday newspaper and working in various roles at the top lifestyle publications in the country, Zanele Kumalo continues to partner with premium brands to create and lead communities built around the creative economy – art, culture, design, food and wellness. With a twenty-year career in media, marketing and communications that sees her growing the now five-year-old boutique content studio whatzandidnext, she works as the Johannesburg liaison for Soho House Cities Without Houses, a global membership club; the associate director for Kalashnikovv Gallery and on other projects.
Roland Postma believes that building people-first cities is a necessity, not an idealistic goal. With a first class Honours in Urban and Regional Planning from RMIT in Melbourne, he is currently the Managing Director at Young Urbanists NPC, where he aims to inspire a new generation of thinkers and doers around city design and management. Through co-founding the Active Mobility Forum and the public-private partnership Safe Passage Programme with the SDI Trust, he wants to prove that change is possible by providing solutions to local governments around the areas of housing, urban design and transportation.