The projects begins at shared tables in campus studios, tutors moving between screens, MacBooks and sketchbooks, and briefs that ask for scrutiny and clarity. From there, the work travels to the Loeries and returns with two Golds (including one Craft Gold), seven Silvers (including one Campaign Silver), three Bronze awards and one Craft Certificate. The tally spans general design, typography, radio, logos and identity, integrated campaign and out-of-home. Red & Yellow secures 30 nominations across competitive categories, says the school. 

Full List of Red & Yellow Winners:

  • Craft Gold: Renée Pedegana for "Foundation Work" — Print and Design Crafts: Typography.
  • Gold: Emma Blomerus for "Skoerrrt" — General Design.
  • Campaign Silver: Lin Ncube, Maria Du Toit, Nadine Van Doesburgh for "Just Don't" — Out of Home.
  • Silver: Amy Mills for "Museums" — Radio Commercials & Branded Content.
  • Silver: Emma Randell for "Try For Her" — Out of Home.
  • Silver: Caitlin Woldu for "Skarrel Soema" — Logos and Identity Programmes.
  • Silver: Ethan Luke Stadler for "Gag on It" — General Design.
  • Silver: Renée Pedegana for "Foundation Work" — General Design.
  • Silver: Dario Yesca, Johny Sathekge, Ethan Stadler, Georgina Forde, India Trapman, Jade Horn, Neo Mthudi, Qadira Oaker for "Buzz off Dave" — Integrated Campaign.
  • Bronze: Emma Rubé for "Frayed Stories" — Out of Home.
  • Bronze: Maxine Carr for "Don't Be Seen Be Heard" — Digital Media.
  • Craft Certificate: Emma Blomerus for "Skoerrrt" — Print and Design Crafts: Illustration.

"These results speak to the programmes, our faculty and industry experts that lean in to what makes Red & Yellow the number one creative college in Africa and the Middle-East," says Verusha Maharaj, Managing Director at Red & Yellow. "The Loeries recognise creative standards across Africa, and for our students, the recognition is reflective of the calibre of talent that is synonymous with this school."

Copywriting lecturer Craig Strydom adds context on why young talent entering the job market is making headway. He notes that the set of wins reflects the realities of agency life. This includes individual skills sharpened through critique and team projects delivered to deadline. "In advertising, awards are a kind of currency. In the job market, they carry serious weight."

Behind the work is a local network of industry experienced lecturers who keep one foot in practice and one in the classroom. The school acknowledges the contribution of Strydom, Heloise Bottomley, Nini van der Walt, Liz Pienaar, Wilna Combrinck, Stephanie Simpson, Di Charton, Henriëtte van der Westhuizen and Kirsten Seymour. This group includes those who spend late afternoons guiding concept, typography and radio edits until the idea holds, says the school.

Cape Town's students are drawing on street-level observation, layered identities and a design culture that values craft. It aims to do this through the way type is handled, how identity systems are built and how ideas are tightened rather than inflated, adds the school.

For the city, it aims to signal a strong junior pipeline: graduates entering agencies, in-house teams and start-ups with work that's already been tested on a public stage. For the students, it aims to be a portfolio marker that travels with them and proof that Red & Yellow training holds up under national scrutiny, says the school.

Griffiths frames the outcome as part of a longer arc, concluding, "The point is to teach a process with a briefing, concept, critique, revision and to let the outcomes follow. The wins are a snapshot of that rhythm."

For more information, visit www.redandyellow.co.za. You can also follow the Red & Yellow Creative School of Business on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor