June 2025: Spotlight Africa! 🌍 Maxime Manga, Yay Abe, TDK Events and More!


Spotlight: Africa!

June 2025

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Artwork by Reamoleboga Legae
TDK Award Winner 2024

Hey Reader!!

We’re back with another monthly round-up of brilliant design work from across the globe β€” and this month, we’re shining a light on creative talent from across Africa! 🌍

From bold, culture-rich storytelling to cutting-edge visual styles, African designers are redefining the global design scene. One of our absolute favourites? Maxime Manga from Cameroon β€” his work is electric, playful, and completely unforgettable. Make sure to check him out in this month’s feature.

On the ground in Australia, TDK Director Dimitri Antonopoulos just wrapped up hosting The Design Conference in Brisbane. Missed it? No stress β€” you can stream the whole thing on demand right here:

πŸ‘‰ Watch The Design Conference on Demand

And speaking of great design β€” we want to see yours! You can now upload your work directly to the Share Your Work section in our online community:

πŸ‘‰ Share Your Work with the TDK Community!

We’re also teaming up with some great designers from across the globe, featuring their posters in our new online shop. Check it out here. New posters will drop very soon!

On our Instagram, we’re constantly sharing design inspiration daily, so follow us to keep tabs on what’s happening around the world β€” and don’t forget to tag us and use #tdkpeepshow to spotlight your work.

The Design Kids Team πŸ’™


Support TDK: The Design Kids relies on your support to create community, connection and impact for emerging graphic designers around the world. If you would like to sponsor an issue of TDK Monthly, just hit reply or learn more here.

Celebrating the Designers of Africa

Maxime Manga

Maxime, from YaoundΓ© Cameroon, is a pioneering Afrofuturistic digital collage artist whose vibrant work explores the beauty in imperfection and cultural identity. Since beginning his practice in 2016, his striking compositions β€” layered with photography, traditional African art, botanical elements, bold geometry, and vivid colour β€” have earned collaborations with global names like Adidas, The New Yorker, Adobe, Crocs, and The Academy. In his recent talk at The Design Conference, "The Art of Embracing Error," Maxime shared how intuition and uncertainty fuel creative innovation.
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Check out his amazing work on Instagram​ & Behance​

Yay Abe

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​Yay Abe is a Cape Town-based illustrator and multi-disciplinary artist known for his bold colours, playful forms, and joyful energy.

Having collaborated with some of the world’s top brands, he’s now focused on bringing his personal work to a global audience. Each piece captures everyday moments through a lens of optimism and imagination β€” inviting viewers into the vibrant, magical world of Yay Abe.

Jana and Koos

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This creative branding and design agency is led by Jana Hamman and Koos Groenewald.

For over a decade, they’ve shaped bold, culturally-relevant brand identities for hotels, restaurants, cult favourites and global heavyweights. Whether building from scratch or guiding a brand through evolution, their concept-driven work combines strategy, style, and a signature touch of irreverence.

Why South Africa, Morocco, and Latin America Inspire Reamoleboga’s Work

"I'm drawn to destinations with incredible nature and/or rich cultural significance. So, of course, South Africa is number one! I'm biased, but I absolutely think we deserve the hype. Lately, I've also had my eyes on Morocco and the Latin American region."

Would you like to see more?

​Pop over to our online community and jump into this post this celebrates even more amazing design from the African region.

#TDKtuesdays: July 1

Our City Hosts bring their design communities together on the first Tuesday of every month for meetups, live events, panels, studio tours, presentations and sometimes, for a few laughs!

​Jump in here and RSVP to the next #TDKtuesdays event in your city!

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Meet our Cape Town City Hosts!

Whether your a creative, a studio or education provider looking to get involved in our monthly events, reach out to us, we'd love to collaborate.
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Maybe you've been thinking about becoming one of our city hosts? Get in touch, we are looking for collaborators from all over the globe.

Louise NΓΆthling

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Hello! My name is Louise. I’m from Bellville, South Africa and I'm an independent designer, maker, storyteller, observer, artist and plainly put: a creative.
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Say hi here.

Jess Middleton

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Hey there! I'm Jess.

I'm an artist-designer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Collaborating, connecting, and learning around design are right up my alley.

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Send me a message.

Missed The Design Conference in Brisbane?

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No stress β€” you can stream the whole thing on demand right here:

πŸ‘‰ Watch ​The Design Conference on Demand​ ​

Go from Amateur to Pro

An online course that helps creative professionals with the foundations for meaningful, profitable work. From marketing to sales, to positioning and building your studio brand. Jump into this 5-week self-paced course, and connect with the other students who have completed it in a student-only area of the TDK community.

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β€œYou take students through these complex business concepts in a way that is easy to understand and ready to put into action.” Product Designer, Kenya

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Stuff we love ❀️

Inspiration

​African Digital Art​

A vibrant platform showcasing digital art from Africa and the diaspora.

Featuring a diverse collection of graphic art, collage, AI art, photography, 3D art, animation, and digital painting, African Digital Art highlights the innovative works of artists across the continent and beyond, exploring the evolving landscape of digital creativity.

​Have a look​

Learn

​She Designs​

A dedicated platform offering a UX Foundations course

Covering essential design principles, user research, and testing skills, spanning everything from user personas to usability tests. She Designs fosters career growth in UX, boasting flexible self-paced learning and testimonials from graduates now thriving at leading tech companies.

​Explore more here​

Exhibitions

​100% Design Africa​

Celebrating the pulse of African creativity.

This dynamic showcase unites key players in the interior design industry, presenting a curated mix of contemporary African designs across furniture, product design, technology, and art. It's where brands are launched, trends are set, and the future of design is shaped.

​Immerse yourself here​

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Exhibitions

​Design Week Africa​

Africa's premier international design showcase, celebrating the pulse of African creativity.

This annual event provides a dynamic space for attendees, exhibitors, and partners to engage with keynotes, workshops, and innovative centers focused on experiential design, materials, research, learning, and smart technology. Design Week Africa fosters collaboration and innovation, shaping the future of design across the continent.

​Find out more​

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Job Alert ❀️

Junior Designer, Sydney NSW, Australia, Full Time Link on our website.​

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Support TDK: The Design Kids relies on your support to create community, connection and impact for emerging graphic designers around the world. If you own a studio, business, product, service or school that supports designers and would like to sponsor an issue of TDK Monthly, just hit reply or learn more here.​

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