WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Supplied

They’re known for their bold, multidisciplinary approach that blends art and design with storytelling. Their work pushes creative boundaries, often exploring themes of identity, humour and social commentary. They seamlessly move between graphic design, installations and conceptual art, with a unique style that combines local influences with global relevance. They’re admired in both design and art circles. They’re Studio Jana + Koos…

How did your partnership begin, and what inspired you to start Studio Jana + Koos together?

“We met while studying in Pretoria, immediately became friends, did a lot of projects together… and haven’t really ever stopped.”

Describe your design philosophy and the core principles that guide your creative process.

“Start fresh every time. Trust your gut. What’s obvious to you isn’t obvious to everyone else, so honour the small and silly thoughts. Don’t overwork or over-polish for the sake of it. Recognise and go with the happy accidents – they are little gifts along the way. Imperfect is sometimes (mostly) perfect. Trends are trendy, and pass.”

Any local or international designers who have had an influence on your work?

“We’re both more influenced by culture and artistic references than purely design – perhaps because we both wanted to do something else first. But we’ve always loved that we can share weird references from film, fashion, nature TV or Reddit as inspiration for projects. [Koos: “I never feel shy or scared to show Jana a strange, hilarious meme as a legitimate base or idea for work.”]

“Some influences overlap, but mostly not – and we love that. There are also many South African creators that make us want to be better at everything we do. Among them are Lukhanyo Mdingi, Brett Murray, iJusi Magazine, Wanda Lephoto, Hoick, Johannes Kerkorrel, Manthe Ribane, Trevor Noah, Athi-Patra Ruga, Casper de Vries, Dokter and Misses, Meghan Ho-Tong, Moonchild Sanelly, Daniel Ting Chong, AKJP Studio, and Peet Pienaar.”

How does being South African, and more broadly African, shape your approach to branding and design?

“We’re learning more and more as we’re getting older and doing this for longer, how fortunate it is that we were born in South Africa, and that we got to spend time in Pretoria, and start our career and path in Joburg at the height of what felt like the creative awakening. That we moved to Cape Town, and have travelled locally and internationally. And just how special and diverse the mix of influences is that we have been exposed to and look(ed) up to.

“Even when we try to be more ‘professional’ and emulate others, we are this weird cocktail of places, people and two individual tastes and preferences that end up making something unique to us. Sometimes we don’t even recognise it; someone will point it out to us. With time, we’re both learning to recognise and hone in on this texture that makes us, and appreciate more and more the role that South Africa and Africa keep playing in that mix. We’re both a bit underdog-spirited and ‘otherwise’ at heart, and South Africa is a great place for that. Or maybe it made us this way… We think it’s a good spirit to keep alive for a studio that’s not new any more, and that wants to keep going for a while still.”

What types of work does Studio Jana + Koos specialise in, and how do you ensure that your projects stand out in a competitive industry?

“We’ve done it all through the years, and it seems like the more fun we have, the better the reception. So we try to keep things on the interesting and under-sweated side. We specialise in turning businesses, products and services into brands that are given a real direction and meaning (research and strategy) and a stand-out personality (visual identity development), which serves as the starting compass for a brand to enter the marketplace (brand book). We specialise less in a type of work than in a type of client.”

What kind of client, then, is typically drawn to your studio? And what do you think sets your client relationships apart?

“We’re lucky by virtue of the fact that we’ve been around long enough for clients to seek us out because they’re looking for something strategically or aesthetically unexpected. Their business success may have come from a similarly left-field approach. Perhaps this sounds obvious, but many clients know exactly what they want and need – and they just want it executed well by a design studio.

“We have a running joke that we act more like therapists day to day, especially when it comes to bigger clients with many shareholders who all have very different frustrations and objectives. Our job is to hear them all out, and present something strategically sound and creatively surprising that makes everyone feel heard and addressed. That, and the fact that we are incurable people-pleasers, contributes to good
client relationships.”

What are your plans and goals for 2025? And how do you see the studio evolving in the next few years?

“We have always believed in a slow-burn mentality and approach, and feel really proud of the year-on-year growth in the type, character and level of work that we do, rather than growing in size or scaling up as a studio. So, looking forward, we’ll just keep going with this ‘blinkers on’ approach – but with consistently better planning, scheduling and time management. We look forward to having more time and space to go deeper, try new avenues and experiment – and to always bring the art and artistic angle to the mix.

“We love the almost 50/50 local-to-international project ratio that we’ve had in our stable for the past few years, and we want to keep this going, but obviously build on the global tentacles, make new connections and keep working with people we can also learn from. We’re part of starting a South African graphic design directory called Full Cream that’s super-exciting in terms of talent, new connections and industry support.

“We’ve always dreamt of being able to take three months off per year to travel, rest, make art, do a residency, explore other avenues of making… This is the ultimate dream, largely because it’s so important how the ‘not-work’ part influences our work and attitude and style of creative output. We’ve been working together for 15 years, and we look forward to many more, whatever form or shape that may take.” | janaandkoos.studio

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The post Inside the Boundary-pushing World of Studio Jana + Koos appeared first on Visi.

A collaboration between creative duo Jana + Koos and award-winning interior designer Tristan du Plessis of studioA has resulted in a beautiful new retail space in Norwood, Joburg.

Now You See Me is a high-end independent optometrist and eyewear store headed up by specialists Neels and Ilse Prinsloo, who wanted to create a store where eyewear is treated like art.

Jana+Koos took control of the creative direction, brand identity and concept design, while Tristan took the shop from a strong concept to a reality.

“Whenever studioA gets together with Jana+Koos the projects are fun, brave and authentic,” says Tristan. “The brief was to create an out-of-the-ordinary optometry and retail experience, created with unique elemental design,” says Tristan, who made use of a combination of both locally designed furniture and lighting, including Dokter and Misses, as well as international design brands like Lee Broom and Seletti. “This was definitely not a copy and paste design project.”

The shop, which originally existed as an optometrist for over 35 years, boasts a carefully considered layout, sophisticated design pieces and a beautiful colour palette, all of which fits effortlessly with the space’s more whimsical elements, including a full mirrored ceiling and illustrative wallpaper created by Jana+Koos, which features subjects from classical paintings sporting trendy eyewear.

“A beige colour palette is not what usually comes to mind when envisioning a contemporary retail space, however we felt this colour was well suited to an unusual brand,” says Tristan. “We balanced it out with concrete textures, as well as mirror and deep red marble.”

The interiors aren’t the only thing that stands out about this store, which features a raw concrete facade. Two large round windows, reminiscent of eyes, invite you in to the store from the outside.

Love this space? See more of studioA’s projects, here.

The post Cool Spaces: Now You See Me appeared first on Visi.

Celebrate the festive season by supporting local! UPDOG is a Capetonian collaborative pop-up shop showcasing some of our best local talent.

From the 28 November until the 6 December 2014, from 10am until 5pm, UPDOG will be featuring the work of 10 local creatives at the Belle Studio at The Old Biscuit Mill.

Participants include Simon and Mary, Jana +Koos, Herschel Supply Co, SUPER by RETROSUPERFUTURE, MOSCOT, Pichulik, Paige Smith, Me.plus.one, Illesteva and Matter of Fakt.

For more information, visit popupdog.co.za.

The post What’s Up Dog? appeared first on Visi.

Our final Fresh Talent profile for Youth Month is on hard-to-pigeonhole Joburg design duo Jana + Koos.

Punching illustration and graphic design out of its two-dimensional straightjacket is Jana + Koos. The talk-of-the-town Joburg duo recently finished work on a Nike concept store in Braamfontein and were responsible for hat brand Simon & Mary’s launch campaign. Earlier this month, on 5 June, they also took their exhibition, City of Gold Diggers: JHB Hates You, for a well-received one-night-only show in New York. We caught up with them to chat all things “here and now”.

There’s a definite edge to your work, which says “here and now”. What is it about your approach to the design practice that sets you apart from the pack?

Our approach is simple. It’s concept driven and about strategic ideas. We will never do something purely because it looks nice or because it’s “cool”. We work as a consulting team who works with the right (best) suppliers to realise ideas, but this is important because it means that we are 100% invested in the brands and projects that we take on. A big part of setting up our business was to allow time for personal projects and collaborations, including art and fashion, and our keen interest in culture is probably what reflects as “here and now”.

Do you think you would be producing vastly different work if you didn’t live in Jozi?

Yes and no. On the one hand, we fight hard against having a “style” that is uniquely ours, because briefs come as problems to solve. You build a personality and brand image based on who and what that brand or project is, and not based on who or what Johannesburg or Jana + Koos are.

On the flipside, Johannesburg is really important to everything we do in a personal capacity (side projects, art, collaborations). It’s a city that allows you to experiment and try new things and push, because it’s in that state of defining itself, and coming into its own. This is evident in the underground music and art scene that has a uniquely Joburg look, feel and sound. The kind of side projects we do start to influence the commercial side of what we do because it brings in brands and projects that are after that sort of influence, and many of the brands we work on are Joburg based.

Do you two take on different responsibilities in your business?

We do have vastly different skills, interests and personalities, polar opposite at times, and we naturally divide work with regards to who writes better, who illustrates better, who presents better, who designs better and who is the least hungover. But, the majority of the time – and the thing that amuses people the most – is that we actually both work on every job. We brainstorm and develop concepts together, and then actually pass design files back and forth, adding to and changing each other’s work. We know we’re on to something good when we reach the point where we have stopped screaming at each other and poking holes in each other’s ideas, and heated debate becomes genuine excitement.

What are some of your career highlights?

Taking the leap to leave our jobs and do things in a new way, and still be going strong more that three years down the line, will always be our biggest career highlight. It felt like a big scary risk, especially because we were trying to create something that to our knowledge didn’t exist or function the way we do now, back then. The fact that we get recognition for the work we do is icing on the cake for us. 

janaandkoos.com 

Celebrate Youth Month with us and browse more of our Fresh Talent profiles here.

The post Fresh Talent: Jana + Koos appeared first on Visi.

The next in our series of Fresh Talent profiles celebrating Youth Day on 16 June is hat designer Dean Pozniak from Simon & Mary.

Fedoras, trilbies, Panamas, porkpies, cloches, Gainsboroughs and Bretons… You’d better brush up on your headgear terminology because hats are back. This autumn is the launch of the Simon & Mary millinery brand in Joburg. Dean Pozniak tells us about the brand that’s named after his grandparents, and of his contribution
to a family business that has been producing and exporting felt hats for 40 years.

What sets your hats apart?
Authenticity with a rich heritage. We take pride in each hat that leaves our factory – moulded and made with the very same machines as those that made and moulded the styles of the 60s.

Aren’t you worried hats might be a passing fad?
Over time, the hat has become a less essential item, but it has always remained significant in expressing individual style. For us, the hat has never been unpopular, and definitely not enough so to cause concern.

How did you manage to capture that special Joburg spirit so well in your visual campaign?
We worked with design team Jana + Koos, who were excited about a genuine heritage brand from Joburg and insisted that a large part of telling our story would be to drive home the idea of “made in Johannesburg”. So we cast real people, the modern hat wearer – Joburg’s creatives, bloggers, artists, stylists, fashion designers, curators and so the list goes on.

simonandmary.co.za
janaandkoos.com

Celebrate Youth Month with us and browse more of our Fresh Talent profiles here.

The post Fresh Talent: Simon & Mary appeared first on Visi.

Joburg-based Illustrator Koos Groenewald (of design duo Jana + Koos) explains how he started drawing in the first place and why his “cute and crude” illustrations continue to gain popularity.

(Video via Jameson SA)

The post WATCH: Koos Groenewald on Broken Foot Drawings appeared first on Visi.