An article in False Bay Echo prompted 25-year old art director, Karl Moss to enter a competition to design a new logo for the Cape Town Photographic Society (CTPS). And he won, walking off with the R10 000 prize.
After more than 100 years, South Africa’s first amateur photographic society felt it deserved a new emblem. The old logo dates from around 1906, when it was designed by a minter in Birmingham for a medal awarded in South Africa’s first photographic salon.
It not only bore an unfortunate resemblance to the crest designed for the Cape Colony in 1899, and has several inaccuracies, but also combines a heraldic emblem with other elements like nature scenes, which is considered a malpractice in heraldic circles, says deputy director, Marcel van Rossum.
The current CTPS council didn’t want to repeat the sins of their forefathers and therefore decided to enlist the talent of modern designers through a competition, which received wide publicity in the Echo and its sister titles.
A total of 123 logos were entered by designers from across all communities in Cape Town. The strong visual references to both Cape Town and photography made Mr Moss’ design the obvious winner.
Mr Moss said Leonardo da Vinci’s famous quote, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” strongly resonated with him and it echoes throughout his work.
After graduating with a degree in visual design from the AAA School of Advertising, he has been working as art director on several well-known brand campaigns at two advertising agencies.
