It has realigned its content strategy to stand alone as a fully-fledged online media platform and unveiled a smart new look to navigate users through the experience. It is focusing its efforts on delivering impactful, intelligent and well-researched stories from the worlds of design and innovation every day, at least three times a day. It has implemented this partly in response to the results of a reader survey conducted in April 2014.
With so much clutter in the online space, it has set itself apart by devoting the bulk of the content to original stories that have not been told anywhere else or that probe popular issues from a fresh angle. To its regular Interviews, Profiles and Q&A, it has added Next Generation, which introduces emerging talent from around the world and Design Frontiers, which heralds inventions and applications that are breaking new ground.
Continuing the momentum of the 'Africa Is Now' exhibition, which debuted at Design Indaba Expo 2014, the website is the key medium through which it is uncovering the best examples of creativity on the African continent. At least half the content is now about Africa and of those stories, many are being told for the first time on the website. The fortnightly African Report shines a spotlight on futuristic fashion designers from Dakar, conceptual architects from Luanda, film junkies in Rwanda and master carpenters from Sierra Leone, reported by someone on the ground. Another hallmark of the editorial focus is design activism, a common thread running through the entire Design Indaba brand. The company searches out stories that demonstrate the power of creative thinking to solve everyday problems, uplift communities and broaden access to innovation.
The site seeks design, film, music and creativity that redefine their discipline, changes the way one encounters the world and adds something unique. A curated music feature, Track of the Week, has been added to the regular offering that already encompasses short film in #FilmFestFriday and product design in Product Spotlight.
One of the key findings in the reader survey was that the site's writing lacked a strong sense of voice. In response, the company has set about finding people who can contribute distinctive points of view in writing. It has tapped its network of leading designers and seasoned thinkers to tell how they work, what the future holds for the industry and what is important to them. They will write first-person Opinion pieces, give rapid-fire assessments of a pressing issue in Hot Topic and review major international events.
The Design Indaba platform has provided a wealth of insight into the realities of making it in the industry, from the challenges of running a small business and juggling commerce with creativity, to the perils and potential of retail, manufacturing and self-promotion. Some of the big names will provide input for Inside View, which distils their expertise into key lessons for industry people.
For more information, go to www.designindaba.com.
