There’s no better place to experience African talent and creativity than at Design Indaba Expo. Design Indaba inspires and empowers people to create a better future through design and creativity. This year, the theme was #MAKECHANGE which served both as a theme and a call to action. The Jupiter Drawing Room, based in Cape Town, created a campaign that set out to inspire people in a way that was simple enough to make it doable. The team stepped away from their Macs and went back to basics using paper, a lot of paper, and their imagination.
Joanne Thomas, the executive creative director of design at Jupiter, explains: “We wanted to keep it as simple as possible for people to go out there and #MAKECHANGE. So we chose paper as the base to bring our visuals to life and gave the campaign a very ‘hands on’ feel – it’s an un-intimidating material and accessible to everyone. By using paper, you get the impression that the illustrations were created on someone’s desk somewhere – which they were…by hand. In our office.”
Press Light
Notice the detail
Joanne Thomas further explains: “A paper spokesperson delivers the #MAKECHANGE manifesto showing how simple it is to make a difference through a chain reaction of events in a paper world.” The message was also pulled through to the TV ad. Watch below.
Over the course of a 5-month period, Jupiter’s Creative Director, Carla Kreuser, and her team meticulously tore, folded and glued paper buildings, backdrops, props and everything else that was seen during the Design Indaba in Cape Town and the weeks leading up to the conference.
Postcards
Postcard
Postcard
Reading about the creative campaign, #MakeChange, is inspirational. We are truly excited about this campaign and want to contribute to spreading this message and encourage making change through simplicity, small changes and design. Noting people out there finding creative solutions to daily problems that are creating real change in this world. Design Indaba’s 2015 creative campaign #MAKECHANGE embraces this movement and celebrates these initiatives of “design activism”, because small changes can make a huge difference.
Want to see other examples of impactful small changes being made? Let’s share a few with you #beinspired
- Haven Night Shelter in Cape Town:
Understanding that some people just need a second chance or a ‘leg up,’ a collaboration between the Jupiter Drawing Room and Design Indaba assisted the Haven Night Shelter in Cape Town in reconstructing their website. It now offers people at the Haven an opportunity to profile their skills and work experience through an online CV. Joanne Thomas stated that “we are hoping that by showcasing their experience, people will have the opportunity to find their feet and reintegrate with society again. Everything comes back to #MAKECHANGE, and they are all simple initiatives with big impact that help someone or change something for the better.”
- Sleeping Bags from Weekend Newspapers
Using print advertising, The Jupiter Drawing Room started to introduce the people who already #MAKECHANGE in their communities. One of those people is Jo Maxwell and her fellow Red Hat Renegades who recycle old newspapers to create sleeping bags enclosed in plastic for the homeless. A genius invention made at very little cost. The ad appeared in the Sunday Times and cleverly showed readers how their weekend paper could keep someone warm.
Sunday Times Print Ad
- GROWbag
Cape Town-based organisation GROWbag is making waves with its environmentally friendly planters.
The discarded billboard vinyl, from which the planters are made, is combined with a special wax coated polyester thread to create planter bags in varying shapes and sizes. The combination of materials ensures that each bag is not only 100% recyclable but durable in all weather conditions.
These environmentally friendly planters help low-income communities grow their own food.
These environmentally friendly planters help low-income communities grow their own food.
Grow bag
- Retail Therapy for the homeless
Billed as “the world’s first rent-free, premises-free, free pop-up clothing store for the poor”, The Street Store not only provides clothing to the homeless – it gives them a sense of humanity and individuality. This is because the people who “shop” at The Street Store choose their own garments, style them together as they like and take them all home for free. For many of the shoppers, it is the first time they’ll have had the opportunity to choose an outfit for themselves.
A participant is kitted out in Street Store-branded gear in Cape Town.
Clothes on “sale” at the inaugural Street Store on Somerset Road, Cape Town.
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Are you inspired?
The call to action is simple: find something that needs fixing, bettering or beautifying, come up with a creative way to do it, document your #makechange moment and share it with Design Indaba on their Facebook page. Found out more about #MAKECHANGE campaign here: Website
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About The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town:
The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town celebrates 21 years in the business in 2015. After having opened its doors in 1994 with three founding members, Kevan Aspoas, Joanne Thomas and Ross Chowles, and one client, it has grown over the years to be recognized and celebrated as one of South Africa’s most creative and awarded agencies.
All images are courtesy of ©The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town and subject to Copyright.
