3. ThoughtCapital was established in 1993 as a graphic design and
communications consultancy. Guided by the ever-changing nature of
the visual communications industry and our desire to offer a single-
source solution to our clients, ThoughtCapital has evolved into a
full-service branding and digital agency where creative professionals
collaborate daily on a variety of visual projects.
We offer expert solutions within the areas of Branding, Graphic
Design and Production, Print and Digital Advertising, Digital and
Website Design and Development, Search and Social Media.
INTRODUCTION
From graphic design studio in 1993
to brand consultancy and digital agency in 2016.
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A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT OURSELVES
OUR SHARED VISION
OUR DAILY MISSION
To create world-class brands by means of
visual communication.
We are realising this vision by pro-actively identifying and
utilising world-class visual communication opportunities
on behalf of our clients.
ABOUT THOUGHTCAPITAL
OUR VALUES OUR TEAM OUR CLIENTS
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IN THIS SECTION
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OUR VALUES
It is our values that define
who we are and set us apart.
TEAMWORK
We respect the skills our colleagues bring to our
team, and realize that without them we wouldn’t
be able to offer our clients world-class, holistic
creative solutions.
We set ourselves apart by consistently striving
towards excellence. Even the smallest brief is
seen as an opportunity to better ourselves and
the service we deliver.
We believe the mark of a good artisans is the
ability to recognise the value that is added when
attention is given to the smallest detail.
A strong client service team supports our high
standard of creative work. We are proud of the
lasting relationships and irreplaceable brand
knowledge we’ve built up through the years.
CREATIVE
EXCELLENCE
ATTENTION
TO DETAIL
OUTSTANDING
CLIENT SERVICE
ABOUT THOUGHTCAPITAL | OUR VALUES
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OUR TEAM
#teamthoughtcapital
Our team is led by founder and MD James Hemphill. His right hand is Sam Moe,
who keeps all the creatives in line. Michelle Nicholls makes sure all our clients are
happy and kept in the loop. In the studio Vasthi Strydom comes up with all sorts
of creative ideas, assisted by her right hand - and social manager - Dene Nell.
Digital projects are led by back-end developer Deejay Pyoos, who relies on Tanya
Hoffman’s brilliant digital design solutions and Cornelias Nkokha’s clever coding.
We look to Des Williams and Nick Galpine to add words to our creative ideas.
Merriam makes sure our office runs smoothly, and Janet Littlewood and Nick
Moore keep tabs on the finances.
MICHELLE NICHOLLS
Client Service Director
Michelle graduated in 1995 with a COTAC
diploma, and since then she’s been working
in client services. Her career started in the
aviation industry where she worked for top
international airlines as well as our national
carrier before switching to the fascinating
world of digital marketing in 2007.
JAMES HEMPHILL
Founder & Managing Director
After completing his studies in
Commercial Art in 1990, James wasted no
time in opening ThoughtCapital’s doors.
Since then he’s worked on some of South
Africa’s leading brands and today he
manages our agency with his authentic
minimalist style and passion for creative
excellence.
DEEJAY PYOOS
Senior Web Developer
With his easy manner and bursting
laugh, LAMP developer Deejay perfectly
complements the creative minds he works
with at ThoughtCapital. With 9 years of
development experience he heads up our
development team and breathes life into our
websites and digital projects. Deejay works in
PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript and JQuery.
VASTHI STRYDOM
Creative Director
Vasthi graduated with a BA Honours in
Information Design from the University of
Pretoria in 2009. Since then she’s evolved
from designer to brand consultant. At
ThoughtCapital she leads the creative
teams ensuring that our work is of the
highest possible standard.
CORNELIAS NKHOKA
Junior Web Developer
Strong and silent Cornelias graduated from
UNISA in 2013 with a BSc in Computer
Science. Cornelias is proficient in JQuery,
Javascript, HTML, PHP, CSS and AngularJS.
The perfect understudy for Deejay!
TANYA HOFFMAN
Digital Designer
Tanya graduated in 2008 from Greenside
Design Centre with a BA in Multimedia
Design. At ThoughtCapital she seamlessly
fills the gap between designers and
developers. Her trained eye and mature
design skills are a valuable asset to our
team.
DENÉ NELL
Graphic Designer and Social Media Specialist
With a BA from The Open Window in
Visual Communication, Dené takes on a
wide variety of creative design projects in
our design studio. Apart from creatively
supporting Vasthi and James, she also
manages our Social Media offering to
clients, from content design to community
management.
SAMANTHA MOE
Estimating / Traffic / Production
Samantha has spent more than 20
years in the creative industry, and the
many responsibilities on her plate are
always handled with enthusiasm and
professionalism. Apart from Estimating
and managing Production, Sam also
makes sure our studio operates effectively
and optimally.
ABOUT THOUGHTCAPITAL | OUR TEAM
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OUR CLIENTS
20 years of creativity
We simply love meeting new clients and working on new brands, but there’s
nothing better than looking back over 20 years of creative work and seeing how far
we’ve brought our most loyal clients. We are proud of the lasting relationships and
irreplaceable brand knowledge we’ve built up through the years.
ABOUT THOUGHTCAPITAL | OUR CLIENTS
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IN THIS SECTION
ABOUT THOUGHTCAPITAL
OUR SERVICE
OFFERING
Our experienced team of creative professionals collaborate on
a wide range of visual communication projects each day. These
span across diverse creative disciplines.
View our updated portfolio online at
www.thoughtcapital.co.za
BRANDING PRINT DIGITAL
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9. 1716
BRANDING
ADDING VALUE
PRINT
AUDIT STRATEGY MAINTENANCE
ADVERTISINGPRODUCTIONDESIGN
SEOWEB
DEVELOPMENT
WEB DESIGN
PPC SOCIAL
AN OVERVIEW
CONCEPTUAL
WRITING
PHOTOGRAPHYCONTENT
DESIGN
SERVICE OFFERING | OVERVIEW
DIGITAL
ThoughtCapital has grown into a full-service agency where our digital designers and developers work alongside
traditional graphic designers and print production teams to offer solutions across all visual communication platforms.
Every client has unique requirements, but our services can be formally divided into three categories, namely Branding,
Design and Production and Digital.
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SERVICE OFFERING | BRANDING
BRANDING
Allow our brand consultants to get to know you. To identify the essence of
your business, of who you are and exactly what you’re trying to do. Let us
package it visually for consumption by a targeted audience. Then watch us
reach, speak, listen and respond to that audience effectively.
Finally, experience the value we add to your business as we turn your
audience into loyal brand ambassadors influencing others on your behalf.
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the
unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
Hans Hoffman
Thought
“
Our approach
They say the best ideas come when you least expect it: in the shower,
at the gym or while waiting in line at the bank. Yes, we realise that
creativity doesn’t keep office hours, but the thing is: you do. So in
case that Big Idea doesn’t come in time to meet your deadline, we
rely on a thorough Brand Audit of your business, its history and
current communication strategy to reveal where you’re missing out
on communication opportunities with your target audience, or why
they’re not responding the way you want them to.
These findings will guide us through the next step in the process:
Putting together a Brand Strategy. The objective of a Brand Strategy
is to identify appropriate marketing methods and channels to reach
your desired audience, and to create a visual language that they will
understand and respond to. Our expert teams will roll out your brand
on prescribed digital and printed platforms while our strategists keep
an eye on the market to monitor their response.
By this point our teams will understand your brand inside out, and
pro-active Brand Maintenance is part of the deal with ThoughtCapital
on your side. Apart from keeping your brand on track as per your
Brand Strategy, we will also be on the lookout for new and innovative
ways to keep you consistently ahead of the pack and in the minds of
your customers. Our digital teams are passionate about continually
delivering best-practice solutions throughout your digital ecosystem,
and our strategists remain on-trend no matter the season.
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BRAND AUDIT
SERVICE OFFERING | BRANDING
Before tackling a rebranding project, it is vital that we (and you) understand exactly what
we’re up against. Not just in terms of what your competition is doing, but also in terms
of your target market’s ever-changing consumer behaviour, their preferred communication
channels, changes in the economy and other trends and factors that may uniquely influence
your audience. Each business is different, and each rebranding exercise highly circumstantial.
As such, you’ll need a tailored approach to repositioning yourself in your specific market.
ThoughtCapital’s brand consultants will – with your help – delve deep into your company’s
specific situation, and guide you along the layered path to greater brand awareness, and
ultimate business growth
Whether you are rebranding an existing business or coming to us for help on your start-up’s
visual language, when rolling out a fresh new look for your brand it is important to follow
a detailed and tailored strategy, guided by the findings of your Brand Audit. Branding does
not happen overnight: it is a carefully designed blueprint on how to communicate a crafted
message to the correct audience. It takes planning to define how you will lead them to action
in a respectful and transparent manner. Another part of the challenge is to do this without
alienating your existing client base.
Having created and built your visual identity to this point, ThoughtCapital will be perfectly
suited to look after and maintain your brand’s integrity going forward. Your audience will
continue to be influenced by the changing world around them, and we will ensure that you
remain relevant to them.
A Brand Workshop with your management teams will teach us all we need to know about
your business. Understanding what you’re trying to achieve and the values with which you
do this will go a long way in ensuring we create an appropriate visual personality for your
business: one you and your teams can be proud of and your clients can relate to.
Having decided on the message and the channels through which we will be communicating
to maximise our reach, the visual design process can start. Our brand consultants will work
closely with our print and digital designers while they develop a fresh new identity for your
business.
BRAND STRATEGY BRAND MAINTENANCE
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01
12. 2322
PRINT
DESIGN, ADVERTISING & PRODUCTION
We are proud of our roots as a graphic design agency, and even though
our services now include a full digital offering, our first love will always be
expertly crafted graphic design, beautifully printed on high quality stock.
SERVICE OFFERING | PRINT
Deliverables
Our print design and production team takes care of any of the
following elements:
GRAPHIC DESIGN
• Logo Design
• Corporate Communication Design
- letterheads
- business cards
- email signatures
- newsletters
• Corporate Literature Design
- company profiles
- brochures
- reports
- presentations
PRODUCTION
Includes professional printing of all above-mentioned designed material.
ADVERTISING
Print advertising for all publications (magazines, newspapers).
• Promotional material
- flags
- gifts
- posters
- flyers
- banners and signage
- vehicle livery
• Packaging design
- gift bags
- boxes
- labels
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GRAPHIC DESIGN PRODUCTION
WE ARE BIG PICTURE THINKERS.
Our experienced design team is committed to delivering world-class creative work, and in
our studio we believe that graphic design should never happen in isolation: it forms part
of a bigger communication strategy working towards a predefined, common goal. In other
words, a successful piece of design is never only visually appealing, but also acts as a creative
tool supporting your bigger business goals.
It is within this engine room that our agency’s values truly come alive:
Creativity multiplies exponentially when we work as #teamthoughtcapital. We rely on a
mixture of our founder’s experience combined with the raw energy of our youngsters to
deliver creative excellence: unique and relevant design solutions to the wide variety of briefs
that land on our boardroom table.
Our studio runs on state of the art professional design hard- and software, and our design
team holds qualifications from the top design schools in the country. Our #alwayson attention
to even the smallest detail in our work means we deliver our service with unwavering
confidence. We are a potent team who takes great pride in our work.
WE ALSO PRINT BIG PICTURES.
Our skilled and reliable production department has built solid relationships with a wide variety
of suppliers across Gauteng. With their expert help we offer only the best in the printing of:
• Corporate stationery
• Corporate literature
• Brochures and reports
• Promotional material such as banners and flags
• Branded gifts and clothing
• Outdoor signage
• Packaging solutions for different types of products
Besides traditional tried-and-tested printing solutions, we have also designed and produced
many unique products to client specifications as well.
Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.”
Paul Rand
Thought
“
SERVICE OFFERING | PRINT
GRAPHIC DESIGN, PRODUCTION, ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING
As a result of the longstanding relationships we’ve built with our clients we’ve acquired a
deep understanding of their businesses and audiences, which in turn results in accurate
advertising messages, cleverly published through appropriate marketing channels.
Today’s consumers no longer accept advertising messages as truth. The instant availability
of information leaves marketers at the mercy of the most informed, educated consumers in
history who increasingly demand transparency and social consciousness from their brands.
At ThoughtCapital we make it our business to understand and respect current and future
consumer trends and behaviour, which means our advertising is always relevant and effective.
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DIGITAL
The opportunities in the digital world of visual communication are already
endless. Who knows where the future will take us? …And does it even
matter? All we know is that we’re excited to be part of the digital revolution,
and at ThoughtCapital no stone is left unturned in our mission to offer the
very latest digital solution to our clients.
SERVICE OFFERING | DIGITAL
Logging on
In an effort to move our design skills online, ThoughtCapital invested
in a handpicked team of talented individuals, who spend their every
waking moment searching for the next Big Idea in digital. Our print
designers were quite taken aback at the arrival of large black boxes (we
think they call them PCs, but we stand corrected) at our offices. What
followed were “developers”: strange creatures that amazingly seem to
understand how to work these black machines. The deal was sealed
as soon as we realised their skills transform flat designs into seamlessly
functional, best-practice websites. The move from ‘graphic’ to ‘digital’
studio was seriously underway!
#alwayson
Today our digital service offering includes:
• Digital design
• Website development
• Intranet development
• Search engine optimisation
• Pay-per-click advertising
• Social media management (including social strategy
development, content generation, content design and
community management)
Our digital studio is kitted out with world-class hard- and software, and
it has grown into a space our agency respects deeply. Our developers
are highly effective and experienced individuals, and easily interface
with some of the world’s most prestigious custom programming
systems.
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SERVICE OFFERING | DIGITAL
DIGITAL DESIGN
Our designers know how to make things look great. That’s obvious. But more importantly,
they also understand the functional world of digital: user journeys and user experience is
at the centre of everything they create. Beautifully designed digital assets function across
multiple devices to deliver content that is aligned with the user’s intent on the device of
choice.
Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what
it looks like. That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just
what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Steve Jobs
Thought
“
WEB DEVELOPMENT
Whether you need a website, application development or a responsive mailer, our
development team is at the forefront of the digital world, coding our digital creations in line
with best practice guidelines.
CMS installation, front end-development, custom component development, responsive
development, API integration… Geek Speak, right? This is what our development team thrive
on! We place strong emphasis on the user interface and create digital eco-systems designed
to deliver on your needs and goals.
CREATING EXPERIENCES
On a daily basis our attention is directly connected to digital tools and
information. How often have you gone to use a website or a new app
and found that the frustratingly poor user experience makes you close
the site or uninstall the app? You expect your digital experiences to be
efficient, engaging and meaningful; to get you where you want to go,
to give you the information you need, right now. Escape the chaos. We
ensure your interface will have a positive impact on the way people
interact with your brand through technology.
We pride ourselves in creating digital eco-systems that at the core
boast websites that are not only beautifully designed but are also
technologically savvy. Our expert design and development team think
out of the box and use the latest design trends and technology to
create an outstanding user experience. We are performance-driven
and take responsive websites to the next level.
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SERVICE OFFERING | DIGITAL
SOCIAL
The proper and effective use of Social Media is to build community and form relationships
with your audience. This modern - and often misunderstood - communication channel
present significant opportunities for any business. If you are not currently engaging on social
media you are missing out on opportunities to engage with clients and fans alike. You could
be making use of this unique medium to optimise existing marketing and branding efforts.
Through consulting, strategy and execution we direct the proper implementation of relevant
Social Media channels that will further build your brand and enhance customer loyalty.
The conversation is happening, with or without you.
You can’t choose to opt out, but you can choose not
to participate.”
Matt Jacobson | Head of Market Development at Instagram
Thought
“
SEO
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
PAY PER CLICK
MARKETING
Having a beautiful and functional website is great, but the next step in the process is making
sure that people can easily find it. There are many ways to ensure that your website ranks
high when being searched for online, and our teams are experienced with the best-practice
demands from the world’s leading search engines. We’ll make sure your site gets optimal
exposure online and is found through relevant keywords by the right audience.
Good things come to those who wait, though, and sustainable results take some time.
In most cases increased traffic to optimised sites are recorded within 2-4 months. After 6
months your site will be performing optimally and you will reap the rewards.
Pay Per Click Marketing (known to us as PPC) is a fantastic tool in the online marketing
toolbox. The goal of PPC is to ensure you are easily found when a keyword relevant to your
business is searched for on search engines or on social networking platforms. It’s an accurate
and measurable way to target the correct audience.
If you want to drive qualified visitors to your website with an immediate positive return on
investment, then PPC is for you!
17. 38 2nd Avenue, Parkhurst, Johannesburg, South Africa
PO Box 1792, Parklands, Gauteng, 2121, South Africa
+27 (0)11 442 5359 | james@thoughtcapital.co.za
www.thoughtcapital.co.za
