Vector illustration

Wedding invite

As an illustrator, Konrad loves working on the small details.

This wedding invitation card was vector-illustrated, then printed on light cream card that had a subtle sparkle when held up to sunlight, giving the brown ink a bronze sheen.

Digital paint & photo illustration

Oil crisis?

The headline for this Rode's Retail Report edition read "Potential time bomb". Konrad and Rode's CEO, Erwin Rode, loved how this editorial illustration turned out.

The US occupation of Iraq had been going on for a while now, and an oil crisis was possibly looming. Konrad used digital finger paint to get that oily feel on the barrels, and kept the colours desert-like, sludge-like.

Commissioned by Rode & Associates Property Consultants.

Comic-style illustration

Book: Martin Tudhope

"Welcome to the Martin Tudhope Show!" by Sarah Britten won a silver prize for her story of a bright middle-class teenage boy growing up in a family of women and his infatuation with a rich girl at school. Many of the humorous situations are easily identifiable with the readers' own experiences.

Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature 2002 (Silver).

Commissioned by Tafelberg Publishers.

Digital pastel illustration

Nature's Valley

The brochure this illustration was made for, was designed to advertise a personal growth project specifically aimed at recovering addicts in need of some introspection – a spiritual retreat.

The service involved a trip to Nature's Valley near Plettenberg Bay, known for its exquisite natural beauty and serenity. We tried to capture the essence of that valley and the calm the clients would experience during these outings.

The brochure was distributed at rehabs in South Africa.

Commissioned by Journeys in Self-Reflection.

Pseudo-3D illustration

CBD Dawn

For this economics publication cover we illustrated an imaginary city centre occupied by insurance companies who stand to benefit from the news in the headline, "Cape Rates: Some Positive Signs." The sun's rising, there may be good news.

This was one of our first illustrations for Rode & Associates.

Pseudo-3D illustration

Sad Smiley

For this retail economics publication cover we illustrated a large emoticon drifting in a grocery store, tears running from its cheeks.

It was a bad time for retailers, and sales were really down at the time.

Commissioned by Rode & Associates Property Consultants.

Illustration

Faerie

This was a personal project of Konrad's circa 2000. The idea was to capture the essence of a very beautiful acquaintance of his in a fairy caricature, but rendered in Japanese comic book style a.k.a. manga.

All he had to go on, was her face in his memory, but because the nature of this style is not about accuracy, all he really needed to get right were her eyes, eye brows and hair, well, in a caricature kinda way.

Digital paint & photo illustration

Book: The Waterbearer

This book by award-winning South African / British author Dianne Hofmeyr ended up being a pet project of Konrad's.

It's one of those books that are so rich in visual elements that your imagination goes wild. This "traditional media" illustration was created using a mouse – not paintbrushes or pen tablets.

The book was aimed at teenagers and young adults and published by Cape Town publishers Tafelberg.

MER Prize for Best Youth Publication winner 2002.

Line art illustration

Medical centre brochure

For this brochure, Konrad created simple, vector based "felt pen"-style illustrations to represent themes such as addiction care and other disciplines.

Commissioned by Kenridge Medical Centre in Durbanville.

Map illustration

Paarl Wine map

Paarl Wine (Paarl Vintners) commissioned Konrad to illustrate a map explaining how to get to PW's member wine farms. Konrad particularly liked the golden, low set sun's reflections. Illustrating maps vs rendering them can make such a difference! It can make a map look attractive, even delicious, like you *want* to go there.

Photo-illustration

Book: Karoo

"Op die Wye Oop Karoo", a collection of short stories by Abraham De Vries, a well-known South African writer, was published in 2002. The title translates as "On the Wide, Open Karoo". The Karoo is a large semi-desert area, a place with character.

The book cover illustration was absurd, reflecting the hilarious situations often described in the short stories. Design-wise, the colours and fonts were chosen for the retro feel it lent to the cover. De Vries' readers are characteristically of the older Afrikaans generation and the style reminds one of a time gone past.

Commissioned by Human & Rousseau Publishers.

Lynette Smit
Marketing manager, Rode & Associates

"A creative genius..."

Pieter De Waal
Sole proprietor, Hermit on the Hill

"A stickler for detail, Konrad appreciates the difference between good and great, and won't stop tweaking till the end-product meets his exacting standards.

His offbeat sense of humour, coupled with his ability to transform this into his designs, makes it a pleasure to brainstorm new concepts with him.

Konrad has been a key member in developing my brand, and I always look to him for inspiration and creativity."

Tania de Maine-Oosthuizen:
Manager, Tharagay Addictions Services

"We love his work, from initial ideas to final designs! What he has done for us, was simple, yet elegant, and purely beautiful".

Zeki Hilmi
Sole proprietor, Chelsea Village Framers and Antique Shoppe

"Konrad has this exceptional ability to develop illustrations.

We were so thrilled by the work he undertook for us that we employed Konrad to design our wedding invitation, which, through collaboration and Konrad's outstanding knowledge of graphic design, he designed for us exactly what we were looking for. All our guests commented and said, "what an amazing wedding invitation!"

I recommend Konrad to everybody and will use him in the future again."

Sanett Uys
Marketing manager, Colliers International (SA)

"The work Konrad did for us has been outstanding! His customer service is great and his creativity exceptional. He is willing to think out of the box and come up with new ideas, which we love."