Creative Director, Green Robot

At 28 years old, Kgomotso Mautloa, creative director at the Johannesburg-based design agency Green Robot, has already achieved much of what he set out to do when he was a youngster back at school.

“I always wanted to be involved in this industry and set out to create with my partners a full-service design agency that took all components of branding and messaging – including social web strategy and marketing – and put it all under one roof. We now want to take it a step further and form collaborations with other up-and-coming companies and work together with a sense of common purpose,” he says.

“I think it is important for South African companies to develop a sense of collaboration rather than adversarial or competitive relationships.”

Mautloa grew up in Alexandra, the son of two performance artists, whom he regards as his heroes.

“I also have a great deal of respect for the people I work with – peers of mine who have shared my experiences and walked in my shoes. We have a common set of values, which includes a strong work ethic and a determination to do well in an industry that is brimming with possibilities,” he says.

There are quite a few obstacles to being successful when you are young, he says, but he believes an eagerness to do well combined with hard work goes a long way towards overcoming a lack of know-how.

“Our small agency now employs eight of us full-time at our Newtown offices and our body of work in all spheres of branding, multimedia and web design is growing fast.”
— Greg Gordon

Twitter: @greenrbtdesign