ANC designer hopeful about the party, #CR17
IN 1983, the ANC’s longest serving president, Oliver Tambo, ordered three people to design a logo that would modernise the feel and look of the then banned movement.
According to one of the graphic designers who was part of the logo’s creation, Oupa Mokou, Tambo wanted the image of Africa’s oldest liberation movement to be brought into the future.
The organisation’s old image of a black man holding a spear and shield had to change to something that would resonate with a wider array of people and position the party as the leader of society, Mokou said in an interview with Independent Media.
The old ANC logo is still used today as the brand image for the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association.
“Tambo wanted to, in a way, modernise the organisation – to provide impetus to the organisation. One way to achieve this was through graphic design,” Mokou said.
Mokou related a story of when he accompanied Tambo to London from Lusaka in Zambia, where he had to carry “something” for Tambo that he was not supposed to carry. “But I won’t mention what that was,” Mokou joked.
Mokou, whose graphic design studies were sponsored by the ANC in England, was told by Tambo on the flight that he should use his skills to rebrand the organisation.
Explaining the ANC’s logo, Mokou said: “The colours of the movement (black, green and gold) represent the African people, the land and the minerals.”
“The wheel is a symbol of unity and the spear represents our fight against a tyrannical system such as colonialism and apartheid, with the shield a symbol of protection.”
Mokou was speaking to The Star on the sidelines of the ANC’s 54th national conference last month, where he asserted that the party’s image had been battered over the past 10 years.
He said he was part of the ANC Veterans League’s conference, which was held in October in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, as well as the consultative conference of the organisation’s veterans and stalwarts, which was held in Joburg in November.
At both these conferences, Mokou said, the veterans emphasised that President Jacob Zuma’s leadership was denting the party’s image.
Mokou said he believed that the recent election of Cyril Ramaphosa as president of the party would begin to renew the party’s societal standing.
“The other day (shortly after Ramaphosa was elected ANC president) I was walking to my local mall in Wonder Park, Tshwane, and I was wearing a CR17 cap and T-shirt. You know, about five people I don’t know came to greet me, saying: ‘Comrade, comrade’,” Mokou enthused.
“That showed me that we (ANC) are beginning to regain our image to our people – our people regard us as an asset to this country. In the past, I felt that every time the ANC’s name was mentioned, it was like a swear word – that’s how I felt.
“But, today, I think we are getting our pride back. With the new man at the helm of the ANC, I think the organisation will have to be revived and made into what it was,” he added.