Making a country’s story accessible.
Scope
I led the brand and digital experience design for Our Constitution, an interactive archive exploring South Africa’s history and the making of its Constitution. Over three months, I worked across brand identity, web design, social assets, and physical collateral to make an extensive collection of stories, photographs, documents, and artefacts feel accessible and worth exploring.
The goal was to invite people into a complex and deeply human history, balancing the warmth of an engaging brand with the gravity of the stories it holds.
Approach & collaboration
I approached the archive as a place for discovery. Oral histories, personal perspectives, and historical documents offered different ways into the story, allowing visitors to follow their curiosity and make connections for themselves.
The central design challenge was creating an experience that felt welcoming while respecting difficult subject matter. I drew on South Africa’s energy, colour, and diversity to develop a visual identity that felt bright and human. Contemporary typography, archival imagery, and considered editorial layouts gave the content structure without losing its emotional weight.
Across the website and supporting materials, I refined how colour, type, and imagery worked together, building a consistent identity that could hold many different voices while keeping their stories at the centre.
Outcomes & impact
Our Constitution was distributed to schools across South Africa as an educational tool, helping students connect with the stories behind their Constitution. The international project became a platform for previously unrecorded accounts of apartheid and a core resource for South African historians, preserving personal testimony alongside archival material.
The work was praised for its engaging approach, emotive and poignant design language, and deeply personal tone. It invited people into the stories with warmth while holding the gravitas that South Africa’s painful history deserves.
We later expanded the platform to include the We the People movement and other Constitution Hill initiatives, extending its role in education, remembrance, and public engagement.
