Meet Masonwabe Ntloko, the designer behind the new Yogi Sip Limited Edition packaging and your favorite musician’s cover art. by Madzadza Miya
ISHUUU ISSUE |BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Masonwabe Ntloko, 23, is a graphic designer, creative director and illustrator from eDutywa in the Eastern Cape. He is responsible for some of the art covers for artists like Simphiwe Dana, Mafikizolo, Zoocci Coke Dope, Nduduzo Makhathini and Moozlie, just to name a few. Mosonwabe has collaborated with brands like Castle Lite, Hype Magazine and most recently Yogi Sip. In 2017 he held his first solo exhibition in Johannesburg and 2018 saw him being selected as one of Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives. In 2019, he was selected as a winner of the Yogi Sip Young@Art exhibition to design limited edition packing for Yogi Sip.
Fresh off the reveal of the Yogi Sip packaging, I caught up with Masonwabe to chat all things ishuuu! in the design world and what his journey has been like as a young ‘21stCentury Black Man’ - as he likes to refer to himself. Cav the convo:
Q: Growing up eDutywa can you recall what your first memories of and possible firts encounters with art?
A: My first reference of art was through DBZ (Dragon Ball Z), I grew up watching DBZ like any other kid, became obsessed with it then started drawing (the characters). I quickly realized that my drawings were better than the drawings of the other kids in my school, through people letting me know and hyping me up. People started knowing me as the guy that draws and that title sort of carried on and I knew that I couldn’t let that go. https://instagram.com/masonwabentloko?igshid=jb60xziut536
Q: What made you choose to study art further in an institution of higher learning and how did you convince your parents about your decision?
A: I gravitate(d) towards art, in general. When I was in Grade 4. I used to make toys using cardboard papers and just became more artistic while growing up. From then, I could see that this is probably what I’m gonna end up doing for the rest of my life but obviously growing up in a place like Dutywa, you don’t have that much information about having a career as an artist. It was through an Arts and Culture assignment that I learnt of Graphic Design and then started researching and finding more about what it entails. I knew from the jump.
I’m lucky cause I had a mother who understood me, all it took was me sitting her down and letting her know that this is what I want to study. For her, all she needed to see was that I’m serious about this and she didn’t hold me back from it or force me to do something else. My parents didn’t really get it at first, but my mother respected it.
Q: From the time you were enrolled at university to when you were an intern at Maxhosa By Laduma, having an exhibition, being selected by Design Indaba and finishing your degree. What are some of your take-aways and lessons about art and yourself, from that stage of your life.
A: In Varsity, I had to apply myself and teach myself software’s like Photoshop and Illustrator as I was not exposed to them before then. Through research, I got exposed to branding and positioning which made me put myself out there and made me move like a brand from my first year. Throughout varsity I just found myself and learnt to act like whatever I want to be in the future. The PE experience was a beautiful experience, I always tell people that PE is the best place to find yourself without external influence as the pace is less hustle and bustle – the only thing you can focus on is yourself and there isn’t a lot of people who tell you “you shouldn’t be doing this, you can do this and that”, which is a beautiful thing.
At Maxhosa By Laduma, I learnt a lot and it was a beautiful experience. I went there to understand the insides of the industry, from someone who has a black-owned business that is thriving internationally. The questions I was asking are not “how is this made?” but “how do you interact with international clients? How did you position yourself in a way in which people feel the need to represent your brand without you asking them?”
The exhibition was basically a way to introduce myself to the Joburg market and create value around my illustrations.
Q: From the projects you’ve worked on which ones are some of your favorite and what makes them so special to you?
A: My favorite project to date is Zoocci’s Anxiety project. We built a communication – I don’t think it’s even a friendship, I think it’s deeper than that. We basically sat down, him trying to understand me and me trying to understand him. Hence, I was within in a zone where mentally we were in the same space, from the time we started it until the end. I always try and make sure that the covers always speak to the music.
The Simphiwe Dana Bamako project is also one that I would describe as one that speaks to the music. A lot of people connect to it and they have been telling me that it’s my best work. For me personally, that project didn’t require much from me. I was at my village when I did it and the inspiration came easy; it was when my lil brother was umkhwetha…
“I am a person who believes I am brave, I am a person who believes I am the future and I am a person who believes I am cultured.”
Q: What went behind the creation of the Yogi Sip packing designs and how was that experience like?
A: The campaign was a very beautiful campaign because I came in as me. In a lot of things that people ask you do to; they always have an idea of who they think you should be. If you really look at the campaign itself, it is just me. They didn’t ask me to go outside of myself. The work was me, it represents who I am and my values. The anchor of the entire campaign is “I am a person who believes I am brave, I am a person who believes I am the future and I am a person who believes I am cultured” and those things can work hand in hand. I believe every young South African person has those qualities so that was the important thing for me to put out. They just told me if I feel like I am happy with it then they are happy with it. There is nothing more beautiful than working with people that trust the person that you are or the person that you can be.
Q: Tell us more about your company, Create Studios and what made you start your own company instead of being an independent contractor?
A: I’ve always had the words ‘CREATE’ on my Instagram, even when you scroll all the way down on my Instagram, I just kept putting the word there and I wasn’t aware myself. It’s just a word to me that I just liked, it’s one word that just describes what I’m trying to do – I’m just tryna create. I then decided to use the word as the name of my company. However, for quite a while there was this struggle of what exactly I was going to start because I have all these talents, but I couldn’t just put all of them into one thing. So, I continued to build my personal brand – Mansowabe Ntloko, where it’s just me illustrating. Create Studios is a combination of passion which is music and my talent being design. I had to find a way to design and create a value for what I do so I just started approaching labels. I had Universal Music as one of my first clients then I did covers for DJ Stokie, Lady Zamar, PH Raw X, Mafikizolo and so on.
Q: If you had to talk to your younger self, what would you probably say to him?
A: The first thing I would say is “you are not crazy” and “it’s okay for you to think the way that you do”, because you must understand that I grew up eDutywa ekasi so people don’t really understand and they would say things like ‘iyaboniswa le’ which translates to ‘you’re dreaming’ (not in a positive way). The most important thing I would say is “don’t put a ceiling on your dreams, it’s very important for you to dream big – continue dreaming”.
