This project proposes South Africa as the potential host country for the 2025 EXPO. It began with in-depth research into the country's food, people, and landscape, resulting in a vibrant color palette uniquely inspired by South Africa. From this foundation, a range of deliverables was developed, including Postcards, Posters, Food Truck Designs, Food Packaging, T-shirts, Stickers, and more.
The dominant colour in South Africa is yellow which reflects the colour of gold which has roots in the history of South Africa. The supportive colours are cyan and blue. They can be found in traditional costumes, buildings and crafts.
I chose a split complementary color harmony, highlighting the dominant yellow of South Africa, alongside complementary cyan/blue-green tones. Drawing inspiration from the Ndebele tribe, an ethnic group in South Africa, I crafted a color palette with moderate saturation. To enhance the design, I incorporated more lines to evoke a crafty and retro vibe.
Each postcard embodies one aspect of the triad: food, people, and landscape/architecture. The challenge lies in seamlessly integrating the chosen color palette and maintaining a consistent visual language across all designs. Sketching plays a significant role in this project, as I create as many hand-drawn thumbnails to experiment with various styles, layouts, fonts, and text positioning.
In the food-themed postcard, beloved dishes such as boerewors, biltong, and koeksisters are featured on the left, while potjiekos is highlighted on the right. The people-themed postcard showcases illustrations of a woman and man adorned in traditional attire and face paint. The architecture postcard emphasizes the iconic Cape Dutch architecture alongside a traditional thatched-roof building.
A symmetrical layout was employed for the postcard set to effectively showcase these three aspects, using different tints and shades of colors to achieve a rich design. However, the color choices were carefully controlled to ensure they were distinct, maintaining a sharp, vivid look.
One challenge I encountered was balancing the colors. Aiming for a retro aesthetic rather than an expressive look, red tones are used for food and skin. To balance these red tones, I incorporated green in the background and reversed the colors in the architecture postcards to maintain consistency. Additionally, recurring elements like dots, lines, and shadows were used to create a more cohesive design.
The typeface I selected is Icone for its excellent readability and its assertive, retro aesthetic.
Ceremonial dance holds a pivotal role in South African culture. To honor this tradition, I incorporated a vibrant dancing scene into the poster design, highlighting the dance moves to convey movement and adding detailed costumes. Additionally, for the food truck design, elements such as dairy cows and fresh fruits were integrated to enhance its visual appeal and captivate the audience's interest. The food truck body is painted turquoise green, a bright and eye-catching color for outdoor spaces. The overall mood is fun, appetizing, and interactive.
Travel stamps are a favorite souvenir at EXPOs. To create a welcoming vibe, I used patterns from Zulu shields and ceremonial drums, complemented by clean lines and dots that maintain their delicacy even at a small scale. The monochrome color scheme enhances this effect. The stickers feature stunning South African landscapes, including Table Mountain, Hole in the Wall, and Victoria Falls. Loose lines and large color blocks were chosen to make the designs vibrant and engaging.
Consistency and the application of a cohesive color palette were the main focuses of the project. Throughout this process, I gained valuable insights into selecting my color palette by conducting research and experimenting. Extracting colors from various sources such as buildings, costumes, and artworks significantly enhanced my understanding of color harmonies. Instead of making random color choices, I learned to utilize online tools like Adobe Color to select colors and adhere to established guidelines.
In addition to maintaining a consistent color palette, I practiced other skills to ensure a cohesive design, such as using the same visual language (lines, dots, textures, shades and tints, layouts, fonts, etc.), applying similar proportions of colors, and repeating core elements.
Lastly, conducting in-depth research on a country and uncovering its various aspects was both enlightening and inspirational. Choosing the right themes or objects for a specific product requires thoughtful consideration of the usage, behaviors, and cultural connections. I aimed to cover every aspect of the country to create a thorough and effective cultural communication.
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