News & Awards

SEED | African Innovation Foundation | 2016

Creative Direction and design


Con/struct

After the successful exhibition in Cape Town, the Con/struct work has been incredibly well received by the press and social media, incl. CNN.com, Wired.com, Designboom.com and Colossal.com 
Read more about the exhibition here

I have been incredibly honoured to have the Skyscraper print participate in extremely prestigious international exhibitions including:
Making Africa  - at the Vitra Design Museum / Germany
Making Africa - at the Guggenheim Museum / Bilboa Spain
AFRICA - Big Change Big Chance - Triennial Di Milano / Milan, Italy
AFRICA - Big Change Big Chance - CIVA / Brussels, Belgium


Papercuts Exhibition

I'm excited to showcase new work at the Papercuts Exhibition at The Cabinet, 64A Wale Street on Thursday 5th December.


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Beerhouse launches on Long Street, Cape Town 2013

Justin's love of beer and design merged in a wonderful opportunity to design the Beerhouse brand, interior and marketing. The bar has rapidly established itself as a great venue, catering to the many different target audiences who are drawn to Long Street. Check out the project here.


New York’s Collective.1 design fair & Design Miami/Basel 2013

 

The Loves Me Loves Me Not table was exhibited along with Southern Guild's collection of South Africa's top designers at the New York’s Collective.1 design fair, and then again in Basel, Switzerland as part of Design Miami/Basel 2013.

We were featured in the local press and international design blog Core 77 as a result.

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The 2012 Southern Guild Design Foundation Award

John Vogel and Justin were thrilled to win the 2012 award for Object That Moves for our Loves Me Love Me Not table. The gala event was sponsored by ArcelorMittal and was held at the Everard Reed Gallery in Johannesburg. Justin couldn't resist the opportunity for a photo op with Francois Pienaar, who was wonderfully encouraging and kind.

 


Design Days Dubai

May 2012

John Vogel/Justin Plunkett’s “Loves me loves me not” table garnered extensive global media coverage at the Dubai Design Days exhibition.

We were showcased on prominent Middle Eastern Blog Khaleejesque, we were also featured in the UK Financial Times and global design magazine/website Wallpaper.


Design for Electric ‘Theatre of Life’ restaurant

2011 

 

In collaboration with Irish strategic branding consultancy Changeagents, Justin created the branding, signage and exterior, website and menus for an exciting new restaurant perched on the banks of the river Lee in Cork.

Electric ‘Theatre of Life’ gives a grand old Art Deco building a dramatic new look and offers diners innovative experiences like movie screenings while they enjoy the world-class bar and restaurant.

The design very much took its cue from the Art Deco heritage of the building. This was carried right through from the structural renovations to finer details such as the menu design.

 

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The Fabulous Fabric Company wins top marketing award

2010

We’re delighted with the news that The Fabulous Fabric Company won the prestigious Gaeilge Marketing Award for the best marketed company in Ireland!

Justin was commissioned by Irish strategic branding consultancy Changeagents to create an updated brand for the Fabulous Fabric Company. His fresh interpretation was tactile and playful but appropriate.

The new brand was then applied to all elements, from business cards, website and shopping bags to the interior and exterior of the building itself. Innovative new signage helped build brand awareness and capture attention of customers driving between Cork and Killarney.

 


loves me loves me not’ table debuts at Southern Guild

2010 

Justin was invited to collaborate with leading designer John Vogel on a new product to be unveiled at the prestigious Southern Guild exhibition at the recent Joburg Art Fair. Their playful nest of side tables was called ‘loves me loves me not’ and each piece was in the shape of a single petal, with a grouping forming a full flower.

 


DESIGN magazine interview

2009 

 

DESIGN magazine, which seeks to inspire the design conscious and the design curious throughout Africa and beyond, ran a great piece on Justin and his work. Read it online here.

 


Bronze Loerie for Santam - "Philosophy Brand Books"

2008

Draft FCB asked me to illustrate a book and 'animate' a flipbook as part of an internal communication campaign resulting in an effective, and award winning result. 

Link

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Bespoke interior for Idendesign

2008

Having created their brand and positioning, Justin was commissioned by Bahrain-based branding consultancy Idendesign to design the interior and custom furnishings for their new studio space. The result was a workspace perfectly in synch with the brand.

 


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Dwell to feature Joom products

2007

We received word from Dwell magazine in California that they were planning to use Mooj and the Springbuck for an upcoming feature. Dwell is one of our favourite design magazines and we were over the moon to be featured. We were also pleased to be included in exciting Taiwanese lifestyle magazine, Eslite Reader.

 


The Animirrors show up in a music vid

2007

 

One of our favourite local South African bands, Freshlyground , asked to use our Animirrors in their latest music video, ‘Pot Belly’. We love their exuberant, eclectic and infectious sounds and were very happy to oblige. (Kudu mirrors at 2:12)

 


In the news locally

2007 

We were thrilled to be featured in several local magazines in May and June. Some of the publications who featured our range included House and Leisure, Visi, Femina, Sarie and Reader’s Digest.


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Fame at last for the Springbuck

2007 

 

The Springbuck toy was featured in I.D. magazine , one of the world’s most highly-regarded and prestigious design magazines. I.D. is published in New York but read around the world, and showcases innovative products and technologies for readers who are at the forefront of shaping the world through design.

 


Mooj at the Design Indaba Expo

2007

The Mooj bookcase was one of half a dozen products featured in the multi-million Rand advertising campaign for the 2007 Design Indaba Expo. The campaign comprised TV ads, an outdoor campaign and full-page ads in several leading design magazines and newspapers.

 

Mooj was then named a finalist in the ‘Most Beautiful Object in South Africa’ competition, held at the Expo. All finalists were nominated by a high-profile curator panel made up of leading South African designers and critics, stylists and editors, and judged by renowned Dutch designer Jurgen Bey . Also in this exciting period, Italian Glamour magazine and City Magazine Hong Kong featured Joom products in their latest issues.

 


Runner-up at the Mondi Awards

2006 

 

Justin’s illustrations of Jake White and Mark Shuttleworth for GQ magazine earned him a place as a finalist in the category of Visual Impact at the prestigious Mondi Magazine Awards.

 


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Lots of Loeries!

2005 

Justin won three Loerie Awards for his work on Cell C’s ‘Art of Conversation’ campaign. The Loeries are South Africa’s foremost marketing and communication awards.