Blog
Unfiltered notes from inside the industry.
11 stories
Who Invented the Vuvuzela? South Africa Has More Than One Answer
A fan’s bicycle horn, a company’s plastic version and an older tradition: the vuvuzela’s origin story deserves more than one hearing.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
The South African Idea That Helps Tradespeople Build a Business
Fix Forward helps construction tradespeople turn practical skills into businesses, with training, coaching and support to get the work underway.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
Three South African Creatives Who Made Us Look Twice
Esther Mahlangu, Laduma Ngxokolo and Katherine-Mary Pichulik show what happens when familiar skills and materials find an unexpected setting.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
David and Goliath
Brandon Thomas brought AI to a software fight and gave creatives something to talk about
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
South Africans Built an AI Companion for the Journey. Our Traffic Has Kindly Provided the Time.
HeyJabba, a voice-first AI companion from Johannesburg's Black and Yellow Group, offers a little conversation for the long, slow drive home.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 5 min
The Old Phone in Your Drawer Could Have Been a Robot Bird
African Robots brings wire art and retired cellphone parts to life — a reminder that fresh creative ideas can start with the skills and materials already around us.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
A Brilliant South African Idea Turns One Creative Day Into Books for Children
Twelve hours can disappear surprisingly quickly when you work in a creative job. There is the idea, the other idea, the file you saved somewhere sensible, and a lunch that somehow becomes a packet of biscuits.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 4 min
The Art of Creative Procrastination
Or how doing nothing is our greatest creative superpower.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 7 min
South African Tag Artistry – Cultural Grit Meets Urban Canvas
From Falko One’s township elephants to Tapz’s ghost tags — the street artists rewriting South Africa’s story, one wall at a time.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 5 min
How to Look Like a Creative Genius When You’re Fresh Out of Ideas
Sometimes, the ideas just aren’t flowing. Cue the panic. But you don’t need divine inspiration to look like a creative genius — with the right moves, you can trick everyone (including yourself) into thinking you’ve got it all figured out.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 9 min
10 Signs You’ve Been Working In Advertising Too Long
You started fresh-faced and full of creative energy, ready to take on the world with groundbreaking campaigns. But somewhere between the third pitch meeting this week and the fifth cup of coffee today, you started to feel… different.
Al Chapo Tshabalala — 9 min