Johannesburg's edgiest design and décor exhibition took place from the 19th to the 21st of May 2022 at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg with the Design Joburg Collective fringe events which took place in Kramerville & 44 Stanley, presented by Sanlam Wealth co-locating with the Hotel & Hospitality Show.
The most spectacular designs including architecture, interiors, fashion, art, innovative technology and sustainable design practices were exhibited and the show was attended by many professionals from across the creative industries, design enthusiasts, media, and buyers.
One of the features I anticipated the most about this year's Design Joburg edition was the Design Dialogues and here's a thing or two that stood out the most which I think every other emerging creative should take note of:
The mindset of an emerging creative, is intuitive, open, proactive, ready for growth, and effort- driven. Be prepared to immerse yourself early as possible into your career, if you're an undergraduate student, do not wait for final year or the time when you have to get into a graduate program or into an internship - be curious and proactive. Start working on your portfolio as early as in your first year of studies, build your profile, consider job shadowing during vacations or ask a professional in your field who is established to mentor you. Improve your skills and network!
The word "collaboration" often came up during most of the sessions of the Design Dialogues and the importance of collaborating was immensely emphasized. It was said that collaborating is imperative for progress whether it's with a brand or another designer or another creative. So go out there and put your best foot forward, you might just be surprised where that might land you.
Innovation and keeping up with current trends to create sustainable designs which helps us connect with nature and the external environment as well as developing sustainable practices that are going to help with conserving our planet. Also, adapting to the digital world and innovative technology, many designers spoke about how using technology and new media has helped them and their businesses stay afloat during hard lockdown.
One last thing that I consider to be important which was mentioned is embracing our culture and heritage mosr especially as black emerging creatives. There is a lot of inspiration that we could draw from where we come from, how we have evolved, where we are going, and finally being able to tell our stories authentically and with originality using any platform or medium that is accessible to us to do so and how we could do all this through creativity and by creating spaces, objects and content that tell these stories and allow us to be able to express ourselves authentically. This phenomenon is apparent in so many South African and many other African creatives whom their work now is recognized globally. Possibilities are infinite.
Superb post! I really enjoyed reading it and looking forward to your next post. Thanks for sharing. https://hancockssignetrings.com/signet-rings