About 300 visual art students from 16 tertiary institutions across the country took part in a competition to create designs for coffee cups under the theme “A story in every cup”.

The winner was Kabelo Diphoko, an aspiring multimedia designer from Klerksdorp, North West. He won R100,000 towards his tuition fees at the North West University where he is a student, and an all-expenses paid coffee experience trip for two in Tanzania.

“I entered the competition because I don’t have a bursary and when I first saw the prize reward it motivated me to enter and try my luck,” said Diphoko.

Diphoko, 23, said he received a lot of support from his family who encouraged his artistic journey from the onset, adding that his design for the Wild Bean Cafe competition drew inspiration from ubuntu, the spirit of giving and welcoming, which he values a lot.

“What inspired my design was the diversity and ubuntu in South Africa which I value so much and I wanted to translate it visually in a way that people would relate to while enjoying their Wild Bean [Cafe] coffee,” he said .

Diphoko still has two years to finish his degree, so his win means a lot.

Second position went to Gayla Raff who got a MacBook Pro and two-year Adobe licence. She said she heard about the competition from her lecturer and thought that this was good opportunity.

“I still cannot believe that I came second in this competition; it was such an incredible opportunity and awesome experience to be part of. With these two prizes I plan on using them to their full advantage by continuing to create and design.”

She said that her design underpinned the significance of tradition and culture in South Africa.

 Ashton Heldsinger from Cape Peninsula University for Technology in Cape Town took the third position, and also won a MacBook Pro.

“I decided to take a chance as I had nothing to lose and it was for a well-known international company,” said Heldsinger of Pelikan Park, Cape Town.

Her visuals drew from the story of evolution of South African music from drumbeats to the modern gqom. She  she is fuelled by the dream to become the best version of herself in everything that she does.

“I live life as humble as possible. I come from a single parent home and therefore always want to be the best in everything that I do. I plan to use the prize for my study and freelance work.”

Heldsinger says she thinks of herself as minimalist visual artist.