Glass is a new company launching in Spain and the US, focusing on canned wines. Realising that this was a new idea for consumers, they made the decision to use real images of wine glasses on the packaging, to reinforce that it was in fact wine inside the can. This design was executed masterfully by Spanish agency, Puigdemont Roca.
This is such a simple way to deal with the issue, especially in a market where people are not yet used to the idea of canned wine. We love it!
What a special piece of work by Heimat Wien for Gardena. They used botanicals to create typical garden insects, with the line: Passion for Life. What a great position to work from for a brand like Gardena – incredible brand building!
Check them out below!
We are so proud to announce that for the first time ever we have TWO finalists in the top 10 of the student category of the annual Sony World Photography Awards. We first began entering the competition in 2014 and have had top 10 finalists for the last 5 years running, but this is the very first time we’ve had two and we’re over the moon!
From Sony’s site:
The Student competition rewards and showcases the work of the world’s most talented photography students.
Open to academic institutions worldwide, students are challenged to submit a series of five to ten images responding to a particular brief. Ten shortlisted students are then chosen (one from each continent and four judges’ picks)
2021 First Brief: Building a better future
For the first brief in the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 Student competition, we’re challenging you to show us a story connected to building a better future. While 2020 has been a challenging year, there are those who are working towards a better future for all. We want you to tell us their stories.
The ten shortlisted students are each given a Sony camera to shoot a new series of images to answer a second brief. From this work, one overall Student Photographer of the Year is chosen and receives €30,000 worth of Sony digital imaging equipment for his or her institution.
For more info and to see all the finalists, you can visit their site here.
Our finalists are Claudia Mauderer with her work Engelhande – “Angel Hands” and Coenraad Torlage with his work My Local Leaders.
We felt it best to let them describe their work in their own words.
Engelhande – “Angel Hands” | Claudia Mauderer
The downturn in South Africa’s economy has affected the livelihoods of all citizens and will take many years to recover from. The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it many difficulties, but few have tried to help those struggling most. Sprouting Minds is a non-profit organisation run by three individuals from a local church, whose aim is to educate members in the Fisantekraal area of the Western Cape on the importance of nutrition, by means of a subsistence vegetable garden. This project is a call to action on the issue of South African hunger and the effects that Covid-19 has had on the surrounding township.
You can see Claudia’s work on the Sony website here.
My Local Leaders | Coenraad Torlage
For this project, I went in search of the most philanthropic leaders in my local community of rural Dundee in Kwazulu-Natal. Through their work, they make an enormous difference without asking for anything in return. My subjects were carefully chosen and hailed from diverse walks of life, ranging from Zulu royalty to a humble ‘gogo’ (the isiZulu word for grandmother) living in an informal settlement. Each has changed me in some way, and all have one thing in common: they are working to help build a better future. They set an example I want to share, proving you can contribute to building a better future no matter what your social standing.
Using a full-frame camera and speedlights, I took these photographs in and around Dundee KwaZulu-Natal during the lockdown when travelling became less regulated.
You can see Coenraad’s work on the Sony website here.
Well done Claudia and Coenraad – we can’t wait to see what you create in the next round!
So Lazo is an illustrator and tattoo artist from El Salvador with a style we can’t get enough of. We especially love how she’s taken her illustrations and applied them in new ways – it’s not just about prints but she’s designed apparel and even blankets. We especially love the Icarus inspired one!
You can see more of So Lazo’s work on Instagram here.
Or if you’d like to buy, their Etsy page is available here.
After taking some time off over the the festive season, we’re kicking off the new year with Morgan Mulholland in our alumni series. Morgan is one of our photography graduates and he is quickly making a name for himself in the world of wildlife photography. Today, we’re sharing his story in his own words. Take it away Morgan!
I am a photographer based out of Cape Town, South Africa. Currently I am working as a camera operator for WildEarth. I have been based in the Sabi Sands area but I’m currently getting ready to leave for Tswalu Private Game Reserve in the Kalahari Desert, where I’ll be for the next month. WildEarth live broadcasts two live safaris daily to SABC, DSTV and YouTube from various locations throughout Africa.
Since leaving the Stellenbosch Academy I have been part of the Sony World Photography Awards (student focus category) and worked with Sony & WPO (the World Photography Organisation) on the Sony Student Grant programme. Since then I have been lucky enough to take part in multiple exhibitions, both local and international, as well as a finalist in the Africa Photo Awards.
During lockdown myself and more than 80 other globally renowned wildlife photographers have come together for the Prints For Wildlife campaign/fundraiser to donate one limited fine art print for sale. 100% of the proceeds were donated to the non-profit conservation group African Parks so that they would be able to continue to protect wildlife and deliver benefits to local communities during the COVID pandemic. So far, the fundraiser has managed to raise over R 9 000 000 for conservation.
You can visit Morgan’s personal website here.
And to see what he’s getting up to on Instagram here.
This work from OnfireDesign for Finery is such a great example of using restraint to make a bold statement. With a very simple colour palette and strong typography, they’ve created a look and feel for this drink that timeless, modern and desirable all at once. We love the shoot too, where they’ve kept that reduced palette and included the ingredients in such a visually appealing way.
Spot on!
Here’s an interesting collab we might not have expected just a few years ago – The North Face recently teamed up with Gucci to create a limited run of garments.
These were released along with the following shoot and video – highlighting some really exquisite fashion photography and art direction, with an outdoor twist. What a breath of fresh air!
Burger King has recently undergone a full rebranding exercise, where they looked back to their history for inspiration not only from a look and feel perspective, but typography too. We love it!
It’s such an interesting example of using nostalgia and ‘the past’ to find new things for a brand. At the same time, this provides a feeling of familiarity and safety for consumers. It will be interesting to see how this ages as we (hopefully) move out of the COVID-19 era and into a proposed new roaring 20s. Will this kind of design feel comforting to us when the world opens up again (whenever that is)? Only time will tell.
Check it out below!
To celebrate MG’s 95th birthday, Porta Chile created these gorgeous print ads. Using highlights from MG’s past, they illustrated four executions in this campaign. We love how they not only paid homage to older illustration styles, but even the layout of the ads too. You can see that these were really well thought out.
Top notch work!
What a fun one from Rethink Canada! As a direct marketing idea for Coors Light, they created ‘Chill Starters’. These fire starters are made entirely from 2020 newspapers, so when you start your fire you can hopefully exorcise some of the headlines and difficulty we all had to endure over the last year.
The Official Stellenbosch Academy Blog 