Brand the beloved country is an idea fashioned to reflect how South
Africa has become one of the most liberal societies in the world. The idea
belongs to Ravi Naidoo, the founder and managing director of Design Indaba. He
came up with it in 2001 and the name was inspired by Alan Paton's book Cry the Beloved Country which is about race-torn South
Africa during apartheid. The turn of democracy in the country and homage paid
to the book by Design Indaba would indeed have made the author proud. Despite
the turn of events, what Design Indaba noticed is that the country is still
rife with old stereotypes, opinions, and outdated facts. Basically the nation
was still and still is being judged by circumstances which it overcame years
ago. The country was and still is in need of a branding campaign, hence the
Brand the Beloved Country initiative by Design Indaba to give the country an
image well suited to its current status.
The revelation came to Ravi Naidoo after working on a project for
the World Cup bid prior to South Africa winning it in 2004. He realized that
global perceptions of the country were farfetched and the country was thought
to be Afro-pessimistic. With this information Design Indaba set out on a quest
to find a solution to this problem by Commissioning three of the top design
agencies in the country at the time in 2005 to come up with a branding campaign
for South Africa. They then had to pitch this campaign in 2006 to a wide panel
of judges. The premise to this branding was "Real Freedom". With the
knowledge, creative freedom and ample amount of time given, each design house
set out to create a unique solution. The Results are as follows:
The first idea from HKLM
They decided on using the idea of a viewfinder for the logo to
depict real freedom. It allowed them to capture a range of elements that
reflect South Africa from the diverse heritage to the warm smile of the people.
For the typeface they found a letter that Mandela had written to his daughters
while incarcerated on Robin Island. In the letter he had written the words
'South Africa'. They then extracted these two words to create a unique
logo-type.
The second idea from Two Tone
They chose to look at all the national symbols in the country and
chose one which would embody freedom and be easily recognizable. They decided
on the national bird, The Blue Crane, and then fused it with the vibrancy of
the flag to create a new identity. The brand extension is of international
quality sure to lure in new investors.
The third idea from Switch
Although none of these was implemented, each one has a unique
element and styling to it. The first one is unique and very conceptual with
little element that make it distinct. The second one by Two Tone is of
international standard, you can see it amongst the big boys holding its own
ground. The third one is just fun and it ignites a feeling of happiness in the
right direction. This initiative was a step in the right direction towards
South Africa finding an identity that works.
Refference and images:
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