I’ve always had a flair and admiration for the art of literature. Over the years, writing has become an extension of myself. A limb that organically sprouted from the rambling and talkative child I grew up as. Storytelling, in particular, is a medium in which I always found comfort and solace – be it in the form of an article, a song, or a poem. It is also the one art form I find myself in a state of continual growth and awe.
Art in itself plays an integral role in my identity. It has been how I’ve always been able to find sense in our ever-shifting reality and express any and every emotion I’ve come across as I traversed through adolescence or adulthood. Whether it’s textual, visual, or digital art – there’s something about being able to create in and across these mediums that makes it almost cathartic and detoxing in a world where our lives fit in our pocket. It also somehow connects us more to our digital lives in a way few other things truly can.
It’s the interplay and intersections of these art forms that shape and define brands. Whether that brand is a business, item, or person – there’s a lot of information and messages you can convey through some writing or visual art in just a few characters or pixels. You get to create an entire story that can be told and shared in a quick swipe or scroll. This is what always draws me back to this calling of storytelling – the ability to master something that allows someone to pause their scrolling – even for a moment – to appreciate and take in a new story they’ve yet to hear.
Since my studies, I’ve been able to explore the digital medium space quite extensively. During several of my undergrad and Honours courses at UCT, I had to produce content across the mediums – thinking not just in a textual manner but also visually and digitally and how best to blend them all. I have dabbled in logo and brand design as an occasional side hustle for events and businesses that look for customised and personal designs that fit their brand (@mogoslogos – https://www.instagram.com/mogoslogos/).
Beyond my practical studies and side projects, I’ve served as an editor for Varsity Newspaper at UCT (since 2014) and officially joined their editorial Collective in 2017. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of both producing and editing content and learning from the experience. The thrill of helping other writers better their writing skills was also an incredible feeling and task.
I got to start living out my content creation dreams in 2018 with the Traveller24 team as a contracted content producer intern for a year. Working with the various mediums actively – textual, photographic, videography, and social media content and looking for ways to make them all mesh and work cohesively was quite an exciting and rewarding learning curve.
In March of 2019, I found myself fortunate to learn the world of native and branded writing through my position on 24.com’s Brand Studio 24 team. I got to explore a new form of writing that I was unfamiliar with before and came to enjoy it just as much as non-native or branded content production. During my time here, I’ve been able to hone and grow my skills in writing, coding, content management and tracking, as well as graphic design. I’ve been able to actively write, manage, and work on award-winning campaigns – such as Outsurance’s Anthem Project that was wrapping up when I joined the team and the ongoing series of Sponsors of Brave seasons with Adcock Ingram OTC. Aside from these, I’ve been able to explore writing on a wide range of content topics. From incontinence to travel to new tech to fashion and sports – it has been a process I’ve tremendously grown and learnt through and believe is an asset for me going forward. Being able to create content I enjoy and stories that are unique and inspiring through my work has been some of my best career highlights so far.
With this growth and experience in mind, I firmly believe content creation and storytelling is my calling. It is the only career field I can envision myself in – even if I did take a detour through Architecture for a year in 2013 – another experience that I learnt a lot from regarding visual layouts and formatting.
If I’ve learnt anything about myself on my journey from student to intern to content creator, it’s this:
- I am a quick learner and adapter,
- I always try to find the best and most captivating way to tell a story – no matter the topic,
- and I always value the teamwork that makes the dream work.
