Our Stories
Clout/SA collaborates with the Branson Centre
Great South African Methode Cap Classique bubbles meet innovative South African design in a collaboration between the Branson Centre, Clout/SA, and Nando’s Hot Young Designer finalists
Must-see redesign of Constitution Hill’s Old Fort
In an exciting initiative led by Clout/SA and supported by Nando’s, three rising local designers have creatively reimagined the Old Fort Meeting Rooms and Coffee Shop at the historic Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This recently completed interior design project introduces a vibrant local-led aesthetic to the heritage precinct, thereby enriching its many-layered past and priming it for the future.
The Road to Recognition, Iconic design publication House and Leisure shares Clout/SA’s focus
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So goes the ubiquitous Chinese proverb. It may be a touch overused, but as with many cliches, it is popular because of the truth it holds. A truth that feels particularly significant in every single step we take here at Clout/SA, as we continue with our ambitious mission to take South African design to the world and turn it into a global category brand.
The Nando’s Hot Young Designer competition is here
Entries are open for the fourth edition of the Nando’s Hot Young Designer (HYD) talent search!
Highlights from Ideation Nation Design conference
From the 27th of October to the 1st of November, Clout/SA took a capsule collection from the Right Here, Right Now! exhibition which debuted in Cape Town in June 2021, to Johannesburg audiences during the Basha Uhuru Creative Uprising youth festival. Alongside the exhibition, we hosted a panel discussion during the festival’s Ideation Nation design conference. Tracy Lee Lynch, the creative director of Clout/SA and the Nando’s Design Programme, as well as Clout/SA’s content editor Malibongwe Tyilo, sat in conversation with three of the Nando’s HYD finalists, Katlego Tshuma, Sipho Twala and Thando Nxelewa. They discussed among other things, the thinking behind their designs, the value of collaboration, lessons from working with more established designers through the Nando’s Design Programme, as well as challenges that face the manufacturing sector. We’ve put together some highlights from the 80 minute long discussion. Watch below for some insights from Lynch and the emerging designers.
There is no turning back now!
June 2021 marked yet another milestone for Clout/SA. In partnership with House Union Block in Cape Town, Clout/SA hosted Right Here Right Now, an expansive exhibition that served as window to some of the best contemporary South African design, curated by Tracy Lynch, creative director of both Clout/SA and the Nando’s Design Programme.
Design dynamite! Even in the smallest packages
The collaborative relationship between Nando’s and the world of South African design and art is a deeply productive one and has grown the Nando’s aesthetic design direction into one of the most sustainable and authentic collaborations in Southern Africa. On that note, we’re beyond excited to unveil the latest collaboration between four of our 2018 finalists and Wiid Design Studio founder, Laurie van Heerden.
Opening of design and art exhibition: “Right here, Right Now!”
The purpose-first enterprise, creative agency, and business-to-business (B2B) market-maker for South African design, Clout/SA, and art consultancy platform HUB, will host a cross-disciplinary design and art exhibition at Cape Town’s historic Union House from 21-25 June 2021. The week-long exhibition will form part of the inaugural Cape Town Design Trail. The trail, which is organised by the Decorex Africa portfolio, runs from 1-30 June 2021 and comprises city-wide installations, exhibitions, talks and open studios located at over 80 participating sites.
The Sangu Bench collaboration between Katlego Tshuma and Dokter and Misses
“There’s what we imagine, there’s what we understand, and there’s what we execute,” says Katlego Tshuma, the 2020 winner of the Nando’s Hot Young Designer talent search. His Sangu Bench concept which won him the top spot was inspired by the ubiquity of the grass mat among several traditional African cultures, where it is used to sit, sleep, and even as a screen. “I realised that I’d have to take grass mats into 2020, in a contemporary way. So I was like…how do I take this concept of grass and put it into a bench, and that is what the Sangu Bench is about,” he explains.
Since winning the competition, he has expanded on the initial Sangu concept to design several pieces that make up the collection. The first of piece has been brought to life in collaboration with Adriaan Hugo, the designer and co-founder of the award-winning design studio, Dokter and Misses. Watch the video above to see the process, the final bench, and to hear Tshuma share some lessons from his experience.
