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Art & Design Lifestyle

Chasing the ‘Screen Dream’ – Nando’s HYD Talent Search 2024 entries are now open!  

May 21, 2024
Nandos HYD

Nando’s Hot Young Designer (HYD) Talent Search 2024

The Nando’s Hot Young Designer (HYD) talent search is back and invites young creatives to chase their ‘Screen Dreams’! Each iteration of the biennial talent search seeks relevant new product designs for Nando’s restaurants around the world. This year, entrants have been challenged to design their own sensational screens. 

Since 2014, the best young creative talents in South Africa have shared their designs for: 

  • lights
  • patterns
  • benches  
  • servers 

Nando’s interior designers across the world have then gone on to utilise these creations in hundreds of casas (as Nando’s calls its restaurants). It has created an ecosystem of linking young designers with commercial opportunities. 

Nandos HYD
Woven ceiling panels by John Vogel, ceramic beaded screen by Studio Kalki, Terra-cotta central planter by Plantr, green planter by TheUrbanative, woven benches by John Vogel, woven lights by Ashanti Design. Location: Nando’s Central Kitchen, Johannesburg.
Photographed by Elsa Young.

Nando’s HYD legacy

In 2022 Nikhil Tricam and Nindya Bucktowar of Kalki Ceramics were the winners for their flora-inspired Fynbos Server. 2020 and 2018, respectively, saw Katlego Tshuma and Agrippa Mncedisi Hlophe taking home the title of ‘Hot Young Designer’. The first edition of the talent search was a shared win between Thabisa Mjo and Samantha Foaden.  

Mjo of Mash T Design Studio, who described the competition as having ‘changed the trajectory of my entire life’, went on to make history when she became the first South African designer to have her work placed in the permanent collection of the Louvre’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France, in 2020. Mjo most recently participated in Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘Gen D’ exhibition at Milan Design Week 2024. 

Nandos HYD
Wall-mounted steel woven screen by TheUrbanative at Nando’s Central Kitchen, Johannesburg. Photographed by Elsa Young.

The fifth edition of the talent search returns with a new commitment to the future of young South African designers. HYD 2024 will not only serve as a platform for stand-out design and creativity, but as an opportunity to unlock mentorship and business acceleration. As such, the 2024 search is looking for designers and makers who are also entrepreneurs with a desire to understand the business of design. As both creatives and entrepreneurs, candidates will be assessed by their readiness to face the challenges of the commercial design sector. 

The process

Ten finalists will be chosen by a carefully curated panel of judges against the application criteria. They’ll go on to participate in a design immersion followed by a pitch session. Thereafter, five designers will be shortlisted to take part in ‘The Laboratory of Learning’ – a focused mentorship and business programme linked to prototyping their design. A finalist will be chosen based on the quality of their participation in the Lab and will go on to access more in-depth one-on-one business mentorship.

With this new structure, HYD 2024 will present a winner who is not only an exceptional creative talent, but an enthusiastic entrepreneur, and an ambassador for South African design. The winning screen will also be listed on The Portal to Africa – the Nando’s online marketplace. Here, interior designers working on Nando’s restaurants around the world can shop for original pieces of furniture and lighting – all designed and manufactured in South Africa.

Nando’s HYD is establishing innovative ways to link young designers to creative and commercial income-generating opportunities in an effort to foster a more inclusive design sector. The Nando’s HYD talent search is managed on behalf of Nando’s by Clout/SA, a creative agency and business-to-business market-maker for South African design, and sponsored by Nando’s. 

Enter now to chase your Screen Dream

Emerging young creatives are encouraged to chase their own ‘Screen Dreams’ and submit decorative yet functional screen designs that capture a uniquely South African aesthetic. 

Tracy Lee Lynch, Creative Director of the Nando’s design programme and Clout/SA, will be participating in IID Student Design Conversations 2024 Cape Town on Friday, 17 May 2024 at the All Office in Salt River. She’ll address design students and the public interested in the creative field with more information about HYD 2024 during the 10h00 to 11h00 morning session. RSVP to Maria to secure your spot as seating is limited. 

Nandos HYD
Lasercut powder-coated screens by Sifiso Shange (Afri Modern) at Constitution Hill. Photographed by Malibongwe Tyilo

Visit Clout SA Design.co.za for the online entry form and entry details. Entries close on 18 June 2024. 

To find out more about Clout/SA, follow @clout_sadesign #clout_sadesign on social media.

Featured image: Screen by TheUrbanative, beaded lights by Mash T, planters by Naturalis, ceramic mural by Studio Kalki. 
Location: Nando’s Central Kitchen, Johannesburg.
Photographed by Elsa Young.

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