The new studio is intending to emulate the success earned by his former company, Orange Juice Design Studio, which had quickly earned a reputation for being one of SA's best design studios after it opened in 1994, both locally and internationally, before being bought out by Ogilvy South Africa.
The new Mister Walker studio started late in 2008 and is 100% owned and managed by Walker himself.
Walker says, “It's a fallacy that design doesn't matter when times are tough - if anything, now is when the decisions consumers make are determined by brand loyalty. We see ourselves as being able to offer our clients that competitive edge, having designed everything known to man over the past 30 years and a proven track record of successful brand development.”
Walker has acquired a reputation as a promoter of South African graphic design internationally and his design magazine iJusi will continue to be produced with collaborations across all media.
The new Mister Walker design venture has recently exhibited at the 2008 Saint-Etienne International Design Biennale in France. Currently, Walker is co-curating the opening exhibition in the new Holon Design Museum in Israel, which is nearing completion. According to Walker, this is the first-ever overview of global design to be hosted by a museum, and Walker has ensured that South Africans are well represented.
A believer in collaboration, Walker has worked with many of the country's best architects, photographers and writers. Mister Walker is actively seeking to collaborate with industry players, Gauteng-based advertising agencies with an in-house high-end design capacity, in particular.
Mister Walker sees its particular strengths in the fields of brand development, identity, literature and packaging design. The company believes that the fact that costs in Durban are very much lower than the national average will be an added benefit.
For more information, go to www.misterwalkerdesign.com, www.garthwalkerphotography.com and www.ijusi.com.
