We have all heard the saying ‘Like a Phoenix rises from the ashes’ this year’s Wild bean Café Design-A-Cup winners creatively brought to life the spirit of Mzansi on a cup, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Themed ‘A Story in Every Cup,’ the competition attracted over 300 entries across 16 tertiary institutions nationally. Visual arts students had the opportunity to draw inspiration from the top 5 Mzansi stories announced earlier this year. These stories encapsulated themes only Mzansi could offer.
After much deliberation, the winning designs have been selected and we are excited to announce our top three winners! But first, let’s look back at the journey that culminated Wild Bean Café’s ‘A Story in Every Cup’ campaign.
The first phase of the competition gave South Africans an opportunity to tell their unique stories about what they love most about Mzansi.
According to Danielle Croza, Head of Wild Bean Café South Africa “The competition was launched in 2019 and this year we have gone double 'espresso' by introducing the first phase aimed at bringing more life and excitement to the campaign through A STORY IN EVERY CUP. There is so much goodness in Mzansi and we wanted to give South Africans a platform to express their love and passion for Mzansi in their own unique way.”
Each of the top five winning storytellers received a bean-tastic Wild Bean Café hamper consisting of a coffee machine, a supply of Wild Bean Café coffee beans and a R2000 bp shopping voucher.
The official winner announcement was hosted virtually on bpSA’s Facebook page on Friday 4 September, and has recorded an overwhelming response of over 243K views in three days. The winners of the 2020 Wild Bean Café Design-A-Cup Competition were announced as follows! In first place is an ambitious young man from the North West University, Kabelo Diphoko ,who walks away with a cash prize of R100 000 towards his tuition fees plus an all-expenses paid coffee experience for two in Tanzania.
Kabelo’s design took inspiration from Hope Moteane’s story, which highlights South Africa’s cultural diversity, through language and ethnicity. Winning the competition has had a great impact on Kabelo’s life.
“I was worried about how I would pay for my third and final year at university and this is an answer to my prayers,” said an elated Kabelo.
In second place, is 20 year old Gayla Raff, from the University of Johannesburg who won a 13 -inch MacBook Pro alongside a one-year Adobe CC license. Also inspired by Hope Moteane’s story, Gayla’s design showcases vibrant colours, with a multitude of textures that illustrate Mzansi’s cultural diversity.
“Take every opportunity that comes your way, if you fail you learn and if you succeed you reap the rewards, says Gayla with great excitement.
In third place is Ashton Heldsinger, a final year student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. For her design she chose Chantel August’s Mzansi story with the theme of evolution in music, from traditional African beats to modern sounds. How amazing that this coincides with the trending 'Jerusalema' hit song and dance routine, which has taken the world by storm and put South Africa on the global map. Ashton walks away with a 13- inch MacBook Pro.
“I included South African traditional music instruments to the latest DJ mix music. I also brought in dance from the traditional dances to pantsula and the Amapiano genre. This resonates with me and my love for SA music -plus no one can beat our dancing.” Says Ashton
A big congratulations to our winners on creating remarkable and eye-catching designs which will be featured at more than 200 Wild Bean Café stores across the country for the next six months. "A huge thank you to all our storytellers and designers who entered the competition. We’ll see you next year with yet another exciting edition of Design-A-Cup competition as Wild Bean Café celebrates 20 years of serving delicious coffee to Mzansi," concludes Danielle Croza.
We invite you to view the winner announcement video here https://www.facebook.com/BPinSouthAfrica/videos/752731668912133, leave a comment and share on your platforms in celebration of Mzansi's young talent.
Alvi Gordon PR, +27 83 474 2847, thabo@alvigordon.com
bp Press Office, South Africa, +27 87 357 9374, nelisiwe.masina@bp.com