I believe we are living in a time of opportunity. Democratically established and constitutionally sound, South Africans have created a platform for opportunity on an unprecedented scale. Within this framework South African designers are beginning to show their mettle.

Over the last few years we have seen some exciting work from both established and emerging designers in a variety of disciplines from fashion to product design. We have always been inventive creatures. We are continually solving problems and developing new technologies at an astounding rate. We are forward looking beings set on breaking new frontiers. We have the ability to predict many of our future needs.

We are also able to determine what options we have at our disposal to rectify our problems. We teach our children about our problem-solving techniques, our technologies and our solutions to the issues of the future. And our inventiveness can sometimes surprise. For example: the potters wheel; metallurgy; vaulted domes and arches; the bathroom; the drill bit; the arched bridge; steel; the pulley; poison gas for use in warfare; the lighthouse; concrete; the air gun; the differential gear system; modern principles of mathematics, science and astronomy… these were all invented or discovered before Christ was born.