Karabo Poppy Moletsane (born 1992) is a South African illustrator, graphic designer, and street artist.[1]

Karabo Poppy
Born
Karabo Poppy Moletsane

1992 (age 31–32)
Vereeniging, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
EducationThe Open Window (BA in Visual Communication)
Occupations
Years active2012–present
Movement
  • Drawing
  • Painting
AwardsThe Loeries (Craft Gold Award. 2014)
Websitekarabo.behance

Early life

edit

Poppy was born in Vereeniging. She studied at Open Window Institute in Pretoria and has a degree in Visual Communication.[2]

Career

edit

Poppy has done work for the Wall Street Journal, Google, Coca-Cola, and Nike, including designing shoes worn by LeBron James.[3] She created the graphics for the first African series on Netflix, Queen Sono, and When They See Us.[4] She collaborated with RICH MNISI on a unisex clothing collection, called Running Errands, in 2020.[5][6] Her Utah Jazz mural is installed in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2021, she was commissioned by Wikipedia, along with Jasmina El Bouamraoui, to design 101 symbols for the 20th anniversary of Wikipedia.[7]

Her murals are displayed as urban installations across Johannesburg, and have appeared in Times Square, in music videos, and on the Soweto Towers.[8]

Professional awards

edit

She was listed on Forbes “30 Under 30” list in the 2019 creatives category.[9] Her 2019 designs for Nike won the BASA Beyond Border Partnership Award. In 2020 she was named “Creative of the Year” by Between 10and5.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "'Find something unique about yourself and build that'". BBC News. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  2. ^ "How Karabo Poppy Moletsane is permeating the real African aesthetic worldwide". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  3. ^ Michelle Cohan. "Illustrator Karabo Poppy's take on sneaker culture celebrates African design". CNN. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  4. ^ Kabwe, Suwi (6 March 2020). "Karabo Poppy Teams Up with Netflix & Strong Black Lead for New 'Queen Sono' Illustration". Between 10 and 5. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Rich Mnisi X Karabo Poppy Capsule Collection: Running Errands". Visi. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Multi Award-winning Illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane Collaborates With Nike". WaAfrika Online. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Karabo Poppy Moletsane and Jasmina El Bouamraoui create a suite of customisable symbols for Wiki's 20th birthday". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "The One Club / ADC Annual Awards - Archive of Past Winners". www.oneclub.org. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  9. ^ Mwendera, Karen (1 July 2019). "#30Under30: Creatives Category 2019". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 24 February 2021.