Khokovela T-shirt

This one-of-a-kind graphic tee was designed by the learners of Khokovela Primary School + designer Rich Tu. When you wear this Khokovela t-shirt you’re not only empowering 350 learners to continue to shine but you’re continuing to grow dreams with Dreamfields in rural communities throughout South Africa. Go head, represent Khokovela + become a part of our team.

 KHOKOVELA PRIMARY SCHOOL 
Khokovela has 773 learners and 26 educators. More than 5% of the children are orphans and raising HIV / Aids awareness is challenging in the face of stigma. 6 known children live completely on their own in children-run households.
School Motto: “Arise & Shine”
Charity Case: Donations are only valuable when you know first-hand the need they fill. When we arrived at Khokovela, the school had 20+ brand new computers that were “donated” by a big corporation. They sat untouched, covered in 4 years of dust – as there was no one at the school that could teach the children how to use them.

 TEAM LOGO 
+ Rich Tu / art director + artist
Rich Tu is an award winning artist based in New York City. He received a Master’s Degree in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in 2009. He was awarded the prestigious “Young Guns” award with the Art Directors Club and has exhibited at galleries and
festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, as well as the prestigious SCOPE Miami festival, during Miami’s Art Basel week. Commercially, his clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Business Week, Alfa Romeo, Bombay Sapphire, G-Shock, NPR, NorthFace Purple Label, Skype, Fuse TV, and Bravo TV, among others.

artist’s note
I envisioned the students of Khokhovela as future princes of their world and was inspired by their enthusiasm and artistry. There was such a vast expanse to draw from, with several occurring themes like animals, hearts, as well as the sport. I wanted them to feel like their own influences had a direct effect on their kit while also expressing the location’s natural tapestry with the combined elephant and zebra motif.

Many of the children related towards heart imagery, therefore I wanted to place a crown around their “heart” and tip my hat to the royalty I envisioned for them. For the motto, I wanted to build upon the Khokhovela’s original (“Arise and shine”); and create a call-to-action to their future selves. The inherent thought was that the lessons we learn today, will create who we are in the future. Additionally, I wanted the school name to be fun and energetic. Specifically, I was inspired by the classic brand Coogi and felt the energy of their lines and patterns were analogous. When combined all these influences made a memorable logo.