Winning an award once is admirable. Winning it twice is even better. Winning it again and again is a feat.

Students and graduates of the North-West University’s (NWU) Graphic Design subject group shine in national and international awards competitions year after year. Showing incredible consistency, they have been bagging awards through their distinctive creativity and skills.

This year, true to their tradition, NWU designers again excelled at the international Loerie Awards and the Student Gold Pack Awards.

The Loerie Awards acknowledge excellence in the brand communications industry in Africa and the Middle East. Graduate Tamara Kirsten won a Gold Loerie Award in the Design for Logo and Identity Programmes category in the student division, as well as a Craft Certificate for Illustration. This was for her project on the rebranding of South African National Parks (SANParks).

“As a graphic design student, you eat, sleep and breathe your projects by putting in a lot of hard work. To receive such a prestigious award confirms that this is the career that is meant for me. It is very rewarding,” says Tamara.

Gold Pack Awards opens door to packaging industry

Five NWU students stood out at the annual Student Gold Pack Awards. These awards aim to expose students to the packaging industry. They not only acknowledge their skills and creativity but also offer insights into the role packaging plays in the supply chain and marketing of products.

NWU students Chané Botha, Ashley du Rand, Mari Kritzinger, Marni Marais and Zeda van der Merwe were among the finalists for the awards.

Zeda received the gold trophy for the Enjoy Your ‘Braai’ Sustainably project and Marni Marais received the bronze award for her Barbie Dreamhouse Package in the Packaging is Not Trash project category. Marni was second in this category and third in the Fit for People, Fit for Purpose project category.

“I would like to encourage fellow students to allow themselves to keep on growing when working on their projects,” says Zeda. “Do not view it as a failure if something does not immediately work out, rather learn from the experience and embrace the opportunities it gives.”

Marni is humbled by her achievements at the awards. “I really did not expect it. It gave me a whole new perspective of what can be achieved. I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”

Lecturer Danelle Heenop says the Graphic Design subject group is very proud of the students. “We are especially excited about the involvement of industry specialists with our students and subject group,” she says.

Tamara Kirsten explored layers of history, biodiversity and geological structures of each of the South African national parks in rebranding SANParks. The inspiration for her logo design is the origin stories of the Nguni people and the making of myths in which the spirits of the elements created the earth.

Marni Marais created Barbie Dreamhouse packaging that can be used to assemble rooms in Barbie’s dreamhouse. The rooms can be stacked or placed in any way and connect through built-in magnets on the side of the packages.

Zeda van der Merwe focused on eco-friendly kitchen disposables with her Enjoy your ‘Braai’ project. The first product in the range is disposable dinner plates made from bagasse, which is the fibre remaining after the extraction of the sugar-bearing juice from sugar cane.