Search Speakers: Design Indaba 2003

Tholoana Qhobela is the director of strategic planning with Ogilvy & Mather Rightford SeerleTripp & Makin, one of South Africa’s largest communication groups, which has interests in advertising, design, promotions, event and reputation management.

Stefan Sagmeister formed the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. Having been nominated five times for the Grammies he finally won one for the Talking Heads boxed set.

Sujata Keshavan Guha received a full merit scholarship from Yale University School of Art, US, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design in 1987. She has won several awards for her work including the Eastern Press award and the Schikle Collingwood prize for outstanding work in graphic design.

Stefano Giovannoni has excelled as both an industrial and interior designer. At times graciously utilitarian, his plastic designs often exhibit an impish playfulness. His pop-coloured tableware for Alessi is a prize example. Fruit Mama, his deliriously quirky reinterpretation of the fruit bowl, also suggests his avant garde leanings.

Born in 1931, Sir Terence Conran is one of the world’s best-known designers, restaurateurs and retailers. He founded the Habitat chain of stores that brought good, modern design within reach of the general population.

Simon Sankarayya is the founder of AllofUs. His daily role as art director sees him casting an eye over all projects in terms of look and feel, while working on creative direction and helping to form the recently conceived R&D offer.

Sabine Zemelka is the head of BMW’s material and colour design department. Zemelka has a broad educational background, having studied interior architecture, industrial and product design, as well as art history and sociology.

Robert Nakata has produced award-winning work for both Nike and Microsoft but to prove that design need not only give impetus to big brands, he has designed a beautiful series of 80cent stamps for the Dutch postage service.

As Adobe’s worldwide product evangelist from 1997 to 2004, Peder Engrob was responsible for presenting and positioning the latest Adobe technologies to design professionals and members of the press. Engrob was behind the many partnerships which Adobe developed, examples of which include Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Real Networks and Apple.

When ordinary people need a suit, they tend to head for ordinary tailors. When Samuel L Jackson or Matt Damon need a suit, they go to Ozwald Boateng.