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After completing his post-graduate studies in Information Design at the University of Pretoria School of Visual Arts, Johan joined influential motion graphics design studio start-up, Delapse, in 1996 where he lead the design and animation team for the next six years.

The most prominent projects from this period were the development of the on-air identity and character design of Children's TV channel, Tube, the identities and title sequences of more than twenty shows for the SABC and DSTV (including 7de Laan, Carte Blanche, Isidingo and Egoli), Identity programmes for seven TV channels (including the acclaimed 2001 Ya Mampela 'Red Cities' campaign for SABC 1) and Loerie winning Interactive Media projects for editorial brands Insert, Matrix and Nedbank 'Serious' and Delapse's own on-line presence.

Johan is one of only a handful of designers active in identity design for print, television and digital media in those early days of the web.

During the next six years Johan worked as a freelance consulting creative director under the name 'The Free Agent'. The major broadcasters remain prominent, but clients now also include communication agencies like Eject, Fever and Delta Bravo, production companies like Combined Artists as well as media companies like Media 24 and TBWA. Johan continued to be active in broadcast design with identity and promotional projects for DSTV (Channel O, NatGeo Wild), but also worked in exhibition and event design for clients like BMW, ABSA and Revlon. During this period Johan also designed the covers of fifteen books for publishing house Human & Rousseau (including five for acclaimed author Ingrid Winterbach). Branding projects included Look & Listen and New York based gallery, Amaridian.

Johan is currently Director and Executive Creative Director at branding and stakeholder communication consultancy, HKLM, a company he joined in 2009 as Creative Director for its Graphic Design division.

During the more than four years at HKLM his projects have included identity projects for companies such as Gijima, Investment Solutions, Datatec, Cennergi and Bankserv Africa, advertising campaigns for the University of Johannesburg, promotional and identity projects for Nigerian companies suchs as Glo, Conoil, Heritage Bank, FCMB, Kenna Partners and Aquila and motion graphics projects for SASOL.

In addition to these there are identity re-fresh, illustration, image library, stakeholder communication, corporate art, environmental graphic design, interactive media and motion graphics projects for longtime HKLM clients like Anglo American and Exxaro.

At present Johan is creatively directing Investment Solutions' most expansive above-the-line brand advertising campaign, the redesign of Exxaro's internal communication guidelines, the implementation of the extensive new Nedbank Brand corporate identity programme (after a three year development period) as well as Nedbank's first image library that addresses the visual language needs of the various wholesale and retails clusters within the bank through predominantly bespoke photography and illustrations.