Afrotemperate Identity by Open Window

Afrotemperate Identity

ACADEMIC ESSAY

MARIÉ VAN URK

231043

24 OCTOBER 2025

List of Figures

INTRODUCTION

As a designer and illustrator, I am motivated and inspired by conceptually layered projects, good brand communication, and eliciting emotion through visuals. I’m passionate about pursuing a career in this field because I enjoy sharing my creativity and am fascinated by different perspectives and interpretations of art in all forms.

In the following essay I will be reflecting on my creative process filtered through the theoretical lens of glocalization and creolization.The theory of glocalization (Robertson, 2006, p. 476) combines the concepts of ‘local’ and ‘global’, referring to the hybridity of how the experience of ‘the global’ is mediated by a local perspective, effectively blurring the line between the two concepts. The idea of creolization ties into this as it refers to the merging of cultures. I will be applying these theories to better understand my own practice, and consequently, what distinguishes me as an artist in a postcolonial society.

I will be using an artwork I created and the path I followed to resolve it as an example. The project I will be using is an illustrated label for a promotional campaign for Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream. The campaign was centred around South Africa’s favourite flavours.

THEORY OVERVIEW

Roland Robertson (2006, p. 476) defined this term for use in the social sciences, which makes his work a valuable source for this essay. “The term ‘glocal’ and the process noun glocalization are formed by telescoping global and local to make a blend”, as explained by Robertson (2006, p. 479) The word telescoping here effectively encapsulates Robertson’s idea that although the local and global appear closely connected, they are simultaneously very far removed from one another. However, it must be kept in mind that the concepts of local and

global are not homogeneous. Rather, it suggests that local ideals and views influence how the global is perceived, producing hybrid identities and a personal and stratified perspective of the local and global combined.

The word glocalization further suggests that the local actively participates and shapes trends established by the global (Robertson, 2006, p. 479). This positions the concept of glocalization in alignment with post-colonialism, as it focuses on the act of reclaiming and decentering trends, as I will expand on later. These trends can be further interpreted as simultaneously addressing power dynamics and inequality, as no attempt is made to deny the fact that globalisation establishes them (Robertson, 2006, p. 480). In addition to this, the interaction between localization and globalization amplifies local differences as it exposes the variety in personal perspectives and reinvention of global trends (Robertson, 2006, p. 480).

I will discuss the idea of creolization as argued by Hall. He explores the phrase through historical and social contexts, as well as post-colonialism (Hall, 2015, p. 3). Hall firstly establishes the distinction between the phrases “creole” and “creolozation”. Creole, as explained by Hall, is “the vernacular form of language which developed in the colonies” (2015, p. 1). Creolization refers more broadly to the mixing of cultures under colonial oppression, which in turn creates a new hybrid cultural identity produced by what Hall refers to as “cultural entanglement” (2015, p. 3). This ties into the Creoelite movement which originated in the French Caribbean, celebrating the idea of hybridity as realistic, while rejecting the idea of pure or singular cultural origins (Hall, 2015, p. 3). While the ideas of vibrancy, creativity and character are embraced, however the themes of complexity, trauma and lack of historical closure are not neglected within this movement. I will now use these ideas to reflect on my creative process.

Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream

illustrated promotional packaging label 1

Note: Maria van Urk 2025.

Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream

illustrated promotional packaging label 2

Note: Maria van Urk 2025.

FIGURE

REFLECTION

In order to fully understand the motivation behind my design choices for this project and to conduct a subsequent self-reflective analysis, I would like to briefly discuss the prompt we were provided for this project. The objective of this campaign is to highlight South Africa’s rich and diverse culture and the flavours associated with them.

The first point that I would like to reflect on is the general discomfort I feel around designing or illustrating for campaigns that aim to highlight South African diversity. In spite of having done large amounts of research, and identifying as a South African I feel “underqualified” to accurately represent diversity in my work. This is a consequence of being a white South African and being aware of the fact that race and consequent experiences are informed by the global influence within my identity, which within itself can be seen as glocalized (Robertson, 2006, p. 479). I feel that my skin colour therefore places me squarely on the global side of the glocalization spectrum, which in a binary context would thus render me underqualified to represent the local.

However, Hall’s explanation of creolization vehemently rejects this point of view as it clearly interprets the fusion of cultural identities as valid, regardless of personal anxieties surrounding the binary local/global dialectic (Hall, 2015, p. 3). Learning about the ideas of creolization will alter how I approach projects such as this one in future, as Hall argues that the positives of creolization can be celebrated without disregarding the inherent negatives of colonization. In my case this will mean that I confidently represent the South African influence on my identity and design process going forward.

When I started the research process I considered two creative directions. The first option was to frame South African flavours through the lens of different desserts eaten by the diverse cultural groups. The second possibility was exploring South African flavours through

indigenous plants, as South Africa has one of the most diverse biomes in the world. I decided on the second option, as a considerable part of my identity as a South African is based on my love of nature as well as the fact that I believe our respect and admiration of nature is something that unites us as South Africans regardless of cultural sub-divisions. A similar idea was described by Hall 2015, p. 5), when describing the idea of the third space. As the phrase implies, this refers to a physical space that is mutually appreciated regardless of cultural division.

Additionally, I felt that the first option placed too much emphasis on the differences between cultural groups. In a sense the application of the concept in this way seemed like a westernised digestible take on diversity. This idea ties into a phenomenon associated with glocalization, as the global trend amplifies local differences more than it celebrates relocalization (Robertson, 2006, p. 480). This is directly linked to my awareness of the influence of westernization, as the concept of dessert as whole is a by-product of colonization and would therefore only add to the global influence of the campaign.

When I started researching I quickly realized that there were very few sources available on the use of indigenous plants in the South African food industry, which clearly illustrates that the local is represented strictly through what is valued globally (Robertson, 2006, p. 479).

Many indigenous fruit names are the product of linguistic integration during early colonial

times - this example of Hall’s creole, in combination with the previous idea of global value, clearly shows that more integrated examples of glocalized culture are placed at a lower value compared to more digestible examples of cultural integration.

In future projects I intend to continue researching as widely as I did for the Paul’s Ice Cream project. However, going forward, acknowledging the layered concept of creolization will be an asset to my creative process.

As the project progressed, stylistic and colour palette choices were necessary. I anticipated that this would be one of the most difficult phases of the project, I did not want to make the design draw too overtly on South African patterns and mark making. Instead I focused on the shapes and lines created by paper cut, drawing inspiration from the ideas of brainstorming and collaboration. At the time this decision was conceptually driven, but on reflection I realised that this decision was also shaped by avoidance and discomfort. I wanted to avoid using African pattern and mark making because the existence of Paul’s as a brand in South Africa is a direct consequence of colonialism. Hence I feel that using a South African stylistic approach would have relocalized the project too much. I consider this as a negative outcome, as it would have moved the project away from the creolization movement in my opinion by disregarding the complex and traumatic themes associated with colonialism and its legacy. I think using this approach would have effectively ignored the years of hardship endured under the colonial and later apartheid regimes by pretending that this company would have existed and had a client base without colonial interference. As a South African creative I will reflect more on this more in the future when deciding where exactly to position campaigns locally in terms of the brand and as a whole.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, after familiarising myself with the theories of Robertson and Hall, I reflected on my creative process and decision making. Throughout this process I realized that I feel quite a bit of discomfort associated with decision making in terms of these ideas throughout my creative process. After conducting research I realised that I had a very basic understanding of how layered post colonial identities are, and subsequently felt that I had to ignore parts of my own complex identity as a white South African creative. After critically evaluating my creative process through the lens of these theories I could more clearly distinguish how my identity actively shapes my decision making process and in what ways it would be an asset or disadvantage within the South African design industry.

REFERENCES

Hall, S. (2015). Creolite and the Process of Creolization. In E. Gutierrez Rodriguez & S. A. Tate (Eds.), Creolizing Europe: Legacies and Transformation. Liverpool University Press

Robertson, R. (2006). Glocalization. In B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths, & H. Tiffin (Eds.), The postcolonial studies reader (2nd ed., pp. 477–480). Routledge.