Nando’s Hot Young Designer talent search has just revealed the top five finalists for 2024. Big shoutout to Kirsty Moolman, Tanisha Neill, Simphiwe Mlambo, Mpumelelo Nyuswa, and Walter Train.
These rising stars will now head into an intense “Laboratory of Learning,” where they’ll develop their skills before one standout winner is chosen for ongoing mentorship and business coaching.
The HYD (Hot Young Designer) competition, run by Nando’s and Clout/SA, is all about finding fresh design talent in South Africa. This year’s theme, Screen Dream, challenged designers to create stylish and functional screens or room dividers. Almost 200 emerging designers from all over South Africa entered the competition.
At the start of August, 10 designers were shortlisted. Along with the five finalists, the shortlist included Nicky van den Aardweg, Josh and Pia McFindlay, Margo Kritzinger, Annabelle Brown, and Sarafina Maluleka. These designers got the chance to attend a special one-day event in Johannesburg. There, they met each other, learned about design, and pitched their creations to a panel of judges.
The judges – a mix of Nando’s team members, design pros, and previous HYD winners – had the tough job of selecting the finalists after the live pitch session. Now, those five lucky finalists will join the mentorship programme, where they’ll turn their designs into real-life prototypes and sharpen their entrepreneurial skills.
One finalist will be crowned the winner based on their progress in the lab. The prize? A chance to dive into one-on-one coaching and potentially see their winning screen design featured on The Portal to Africa, an international marketplace showcasing South African design to the world.
HYD isn’t just about cool furniture. It’s about showing off South Africa’s creativity on a global stage. As Nando’s Design Director Michael Spinks puts it, “It’s a way to share a different perspective of South Africa through design and creativity.”
* Stay tuned to 10and5 to see who takes home the top prize.
