The basics
Nicholas is a Berlin-based, Johannesburg-raised recovering entrepreneur and designer with 14 years experience.
His career has taken him from editorial design in 2009 through to identity design, web design, and brand consulting as well as spatial design and illustration. Alongside his design career he has been lucky enough to start a few businesses (Father Coffee, The Bread, The Bakery, Http.Studio) all of which have added value to my design approach.
Education
- BA in Brand Communications from VEGA The School Of Brand Leadership in Johannesburg, South Africa. Graduated at the end of 2009.
Services
Product design
Creative direction
Web design
Identity design
Career Timeline
- Current: Designer for hire
- 2020-Nov. 2022: Joined mad.ac as a senior designer, working with the team to build digital products and identities.
- 2019-now: Founded Http.Studio, an experimental design and development studio for glowing rectangles, ****with long time collaborator Nikolai Sivertsen.
- 2018-2019: Joined Kontist – a German banking startup catering to Freelancers – as a brand and graphic designer. I have assisted their design lead in refining Kontist's identity, managing illustrators and animators, and creating visuals for web and mobile.
- 2013-2020: Co-founded **Father Coffee** in Johannesburg, one of the most loved coffee roasters and cafe companies in South Africa. I created the brand's identity as well as assisted with spatial design and strategy. In my time there I have waited tables, been a barista, run our social media, and done day to day admin. I left the company in 2020 after moving to Berlin in 2017.
- 2016-2017: Co-founded digital development agency The Bakery as a sister company to The Bread.
- 2014-2017: Co-founded The Bread, ****a creative brand consultancy that specialised in helping brands like Levi's, Vans, and Ray-Ban execute their global campaigns in the South African Market. In my time there I managed the business, directed and managed store builds, created brand identities, and oversaw events.
- 2010-2012: Co-founded Says Who, a 3-person illustration studio catering to the advertising industry. I left it to my partners at the end of 2012. In my short time there we worked on projects with Network BBDO, Draft FCB, Ogilvy, and more.
- 2009: Worked as editorial designer at Student Life, a 50-page magazine that sold 30 000 copies a month. It covered everything from music and tech, to fashion and travel.
- 2006-2008: Worked as a sales assistant at South Africa's only semi-licensed Apple store.
Stack:
Figma
Notion
Loom
Linear
Tinkering with:
Blender
Framer
Webflow
Shopify
Languages
English