The annual two-day Business of Design seminar will take place in Cape Town from 11–12 October and in Johannesburg from 18–19 October 2017.

The seminar has been arranged by four key industry leaders, including Trevyn and Julian McGowan of The Guild Group, who were recently voted in the 100 most powerful figures in the art and design industry by American Art and Auction magazine, and Cathy O’Clery and Laurence Brick, who are the creative duo behind 100% Design South Africa and the Platform Creative Agency. Laurence is a co-founder and director of Loads of Living while Cathy is a former magazine editor.

Between these four there is an impressive 80 years of in-depth experience in their respective fields. The seminar has been designed to share with local businesses the tools to successfully commercialise their brands. The focus is also on how to grow a business in dynamic and original ways. Ideas will be shared on how to move forward with immediate changes, and local successful entrepreneurs will also be talking about how they have reached their goals in their respective fields.

The speakers include designer David Krynauw, Hannerie Visser of Studio H, Jeremy Stewart of Source IBA, Macio Miszewski of Van der Merwe Miszewski Architects, Mduduzi Simelane of Blacknation Media, Rob Stokes from Red & Yellow and Chris Weylandt of Weylandts. View the full speaker line-up here.

*VISI reader offer: Pay only R3 500 instead of R3 950 for the two-day Business of Design conference in Cape Town (11 – 12 October) or Johannesburg (18 – 19 October). To take up this offer, email tracy@businessofdesign.co.za with VISI as the subject. To view the full programme in each city, visit businessofdesign.co.za.

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In the latest issue of the magazine (VISI85) we’ve rounded up a sneak peek of some of the amazing works you can see at 100 Beautiful Things, as a part of 100% Design South Africa and Decorex in Johannesburg. Here are another 7 you can feast your eyes on.

1. Arkivo Faceted Light

2. Mungo Bed Throw

3. Zahira Asmal’s Movement

4. Haldane Martin and Ergoform Soft Furniture Range

5. Hoi P’loy’s Molecule 8 in Gunmetal Grey

6. Melkweg Studio’s Robot Shelf

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7. Tutu 2.0 Light by Mash.T Design Studio

100% Design South Africa will be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from the 5 – 9 August 2016 from 10am – 6pm. Tickets to 100% Design South Africa give visitors full access to Decorex Joburg. Tickets for adults cost R110. Tickets for pensioners and students (with a valid student card) cost R90 and children’s tickets (under the age of 12) cost R20.

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The Business of Design Conference is back for its third instalment in Cape Town and Johannesburg this spring.

The two-day conference is set to inspire with talks from a variety of industry experts and professionals, including international speaker Jim Brett, president of US homeware retail firm, West Elm (in Cape Town).

The conference will be in Cape Town from 7 to 8 October 2015 at Inner City Ideas Cartel at 71 Waterkant Street. The Johannesburg conference will run on 21 and 22 October 2015 with the venue still to be confirmed.

‘Business of Design appeals to all industries,’ explains co-founder Trevyn McGowan of Source, Southern Guild and GUILD. ‘We’ve not only had designers and architects attend, but people from retail, accounting and marketing. Because the programme is geared towards both business skills and design thinking, it bridges the divide between the two, encouraging new ways of going about one’s work.’

The 2015 lineup of speakers includes:

Trends to Track in 2016: Chris Reid, International Trend Institute

The Secrets to Developing a Brand: Mike Schalit, Net#Work BBDO (CT)

The Art of Curation: Cathy O’Clery, 100% Design South Africa and Platform Creative Agency

Funding – How to Tap into Resources: Kgosi Monametsi, African Century Ventures

Feeding Creativity: Lianne Burton, Creative Consultant

Case Study – Keys to Success: Kirsten Goss, Kirsten Goss; Di Marshall, Wonki Ware in conversation with Julian McGowan, Source, Southern Guild, GUILD

Africa – Growth of a Continent: Terry Behan, Social Entrepreneur and Brand Builder

Designing a Customer Experience: Laurence Brick, 100% Design South Africa and Platform Creative Agency

Right Product, Right Price, Right Market: Trevyn McGowan, Source, Southern Guild and GUILD

Stand 47 – A Study in Lifestyle Innovation: Gavin Rooke, The New Order in conversation with Malibongwe Tyilo from VISI

Don’t Go Into Food – A Cautionary Tale About Food Packaging Design : Paul Raphaely, NOMU (JHB)

Top 10 Tips to Running a Creative Studio: Adrienne Sparks, Mr Price Home

Special International Guest Speaker: Jim Brett, President of West Elm (CT)

Want to see what went down last year? Watch the video below.

Expect more talks to be added to the programme. Visit businessofdesign.co.za to keep up to date and to book your tickets.

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Expect the best in both local and international design at 100% Design South Africa + Decorex, set to take place from 6 to 10 August 2015 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Joburg.

What to look forward to:

• 100% Colour, in association with Plascon, portraying how colour is a vital part of the design process.
• 100 Beautiful Things, in association with VISI is an exhibition carefully curated by Cathy O’Clery, displaying 100 top designs made in South Africa during 2015.
• 100% Upliftment will exhibit work from Cape Town’s Art in The Forest ceramic studio. Pieces sold will fund clay workshops for underprivileged children.
• Workspace trends from Europe will be revealed by the headline sponsor of 100% Design, Dauphin HumanDesign® Group.
• 100% Talent will showcase emerging local designers selected by the 100% Design team.
• The theme for Decorex Joburg this year is “The Home of Great Ideas,” featuring over 700 decorators, designers, furniture suppliers, kitchen manufacturers and paint specialists.
• This year’s Feature Designer is Renée Rossouw, known for her bold and colourful graphic patterns applied to furniture and wallpaper designs. She will be showcasing a brand new portfolio of designs and products.
• The Spice Route Bar by Mia Widlake is the perfect setting for a glass of wine and networking.
• Geberit will be also be exhibiting at Decorex, where they will be introducing Keramag, a new brand in their stable.

100% Design South Africa will run alongside Decorex Joburg from Thursday 6 August until Monday 10 August 2015. It will cost you R100 to get in to Decorex and 100% Design South Africa. It’s R85 for students and pensioners and R15 for children under twelve.

For more information, visit 100percentdesign.co.za.

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Cape Town may be World Design Capital this year, but there’s no denying that the local design scene is flourishing in SA as a whole.

As the design industry grows and new players come onto the scene, it becomes evident that there is still a lack of training, which often leads to failed businesses. Enter Business of Design, a two day seminar facilitated by four design industry experts: Trevyn and Julian McGowan of Source, Southern Guild and Guild, and Laurence Brick and Cathy O’Clery, both of whom are creative partners behind 100% Design South Africa.

In addition to Trevyn, Julian, Laurence and Cathy, some of the speakers you can look forward to hearing from include South African Fashion Week founder Lucilla Booyzen, Business and Arts South Africa’s Michelle Constant, clothing label Fabiani’s Arie Fabian, designer Marianne Fassler, Frazer Parfum’s Tammy Frazer and Marie Claire editor Aspasia Karras.

They will cover a range of subjects, from time management and brand strategy, to practical issues like cash flow and accounting systems through to marketing, exports and dealing with international orders.

The Cape Town leg of the seminar is sold out, however, tickets are still available for the Johannesburg seminar, which will be held on the 22^nd and 23^rd of October 2014 at Sage Technology Park.

To register for the seminar, visit businessofdesign.co.za.

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In the lead up to Colour Nation, Plascon’s colour forecast that will be featured at Decorex Cape Town from 25 to 28 April, Plascon’s colour manager Anne Roselt and 100% Design South Africa’s programme director Cathy O’Clery gave us a sneak peek into what we can expect from this year’s palettes.

Autumn is here and winter is looming but, just because the skies are grey and leaves are starting to turn brown, does not mean your home’s colour scheme should stick to brown and grey too. According to Anne, bold colours are the way to go: “This year, purples, oranges and reds are coming through very clearly, and decorators and consumers are being much braver with stronger colour than they’ve been before.” 

African influence also has quite a role to play in the new palettes, she goes on: “The world of colour is drawing tremendous inspiration from Africa and, using that inspiration to assist the third world in return.” 

Admittedly, not many of us are about to completely redo our homes because of the change in season, however a fresh coat of paint could be as good as a makeover, and addition of colour through affordable decor accessories could turn your home into a sanctuary from the harsh winter weather.

“In the past, there was a trend towards featuring one accent wall in your home. Now we are seeing complimentary colours on the other walls instead of a safe neutral,” points out Cathy, who also consulted on the Plascon colour forecast. She also added that while tones of grey were still quite popular, they work well with colorful pastels.

“Consumers are much more confident these days and a lot more educated than ever before. With social media platforms like Pinterest, it has enabled us all to edit our own style and head out to the shops knowing what we want,” she asserts. 

When it comes to Cathy’s choice of the strong colours and accents for this season purple was one of the top colours on her list. Incidentally, Radiant Orchid is the Pantone Colour of the Year. This winter’s biggest metallic accent is copper: “It came down from northern Europe, where the Swedes and the Danes started to use copper. It is now most definitely the metal of the moment and works so well with this season’s pastels,” explains Cathy.

Look out for more colour inspiration at the Plascon stand at Decorex Cape Town, where experts will be on hand to demonstrate paint effects as well as advise on the best paint for your needs.

plascon.co.za, decorex.co.za

Read the full Plascon colour forecast for 2014 here.

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