Established in 2002, the South African Cities Network (SACN) encourages the exchange of information on city management and promotes shared-learning partnerships. Ink Design is privileged to design publications for SACN that add value and perspective to their research.

Since 2012 Ink Design has collaborated with the Network to produce their Annual Report, displaying both the financial and non-financial performances innovatively, while keeping to yearly themes and on brand.

Published every 5 years, the State of Cities Report, requires a design strategy that is dynamic and fluid, to ensure the publication identity is recognisable yet adaptable for all media outputs.

For the 2016 report, Ink Design created icons for each of the main cities in the report that have continued to be used throughout SACN’s knowledge products in the 5 programme research areas.

This programme requires design support for research reports, policy briefs and other orthodox documentation for city officials, as well as toolkits to encourage engagement and guide the development of action plans. During 2019, we designed the Citopoly logo and other resources for the official game launch - watch the product launch!

Policy frameworks and papers require strong communication design solutions to engage stakeholders and generate conversations. Visual representation of urban data indicators were carefully illustrated to aid analysis and foster a shared understanding across government and society. 

One of the challenges this programme addresses is making the local economy accessible and socially inclusive in South African intermediate cities. A design approach was established for the series cover concepts, case studies and dashboard of data graphics, that allowed for adaption through the research series to reflect emerging themes and cues from the urban policy environment.

A sustainable city manages and uses its environmental resources to support a viable economy while meeting the needs of society. Booklets, brochures, posters and info graphics were designed to create public awareness for energy efficiency, waste management and building resilience to climate change.

Research and analytical reports required graphic design solutions in the form of diagrams, icons and meaningful graphs to engage stakeholders. Supporting conference material - booklets, brochures, flyers and posters - inform a wide target audience about emerging trends and key messages.

The South African Cities Network through research, knowledge sharing, peer learning and innovation, is at the forefront of efforts to achieve the urban futures vision outlined in the Integrated Urban Development Framework [IUDF] and the National Development Plan [NDP].