BIO
(The short version)
Karlien de Villiers was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1975 and always had a keen interest in reading, storytelling, drawing and picture books. She studied Graphic Design at Stellenbosch University and started her career as a designer at Orange Juice Design Studio at the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather in Cape Town. In 2006 she received a Master's degree in Information Design from Pretoria University. After completing her postgraduate studies, her graphic novel, My Mother was a Beautiful Woman, was published in translated editions in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. In 2006 De Villiers was appointed as a Lecturer in Illustration and Graphic Design at Stellenbosch University where she taught full-time until 2017, before embarking on an independent illustration career. Since 2021, she returned as a part-time lecturer in Visual Communication Design and Illustration, and coordinates the postgraduate Honours Illustration course at the Department of Visual Arts, SU.
Education
2006
MA Information Design
University of Pretoria
(Cum Laude)
1997
BA FA Graphic Design
University of Stellenbosch
(Best Final Year Student)
Course Work: Design Theory, Design Thinking, Semiotics, Research Methodologies, Theoretical Frameworks.
Research Project: Practice-led Theoretical Dissertation.
Research Topic: Narrative Identity in Graphic Novels.
Graphic Design, Illustration, History of Art, Printmaking, Photography, Drawing, Colour Theory, Typography, History, Industrial Psychology.
Work experience
(Condensed)
2000 — 2005
HOD Design | Lecturer
Open Window Design Academy
Head of Department Design: responsible for developing
the Design curriculum, SAQA accreditation application,
course content, management of ad-hoc staff and budgets.
Lecturer: Visual Communication Design, Layout and Web Design, Illustration, Multimedia, Drawing, and Concept development.
2003 — 2006
Lecturer
Pretoria University
Lecturer: Information Design: Campaigns, Editorial, Publication design, Layout, Web, Print, Typography, Illustration, Drawing, Narrative, Animation, Reportage, Multimedia, Video, Comics, Packaging design
2002 — 2004
Illustrator
Breinstorm Brand Architects
Johannesburg
Illustrator: client-specific solutions, illustrations and product branding for advertising campaigns. Clients include: Nandos, MTN, Vega School of Design and Marketing, Kulula.com.
2019 — 2020
Lecturer
Stellenbosch Academy of
Design and Photography
Lecturer: Visual Communication Design (Viscom), Applied Illustration and Design (AID), Art Direction (AD). Campaigns, Editorial, Publication design, Layout, Web, Print, Typography
1998
Graphic Designer
Orange Juice Design |
Ogilvy & Mather International
Designer: responsible for creating client-specific design solutions for product and brand marketing concepts for
layout, print, packaging, corporate identity and advertising campaigns. Also responsible for art direction and client presentations. Clients include: American Swiss, Old Mutual Group, Volkswagen SA, Jordan Shoes, Mount Nelson Hotel.
1997
Technical Assistant
Stellenbosch University
Technical assistant: screen-printing. Overseeing screen-printing studios, maintenance of the exposure equipment, emulsion, screens, filling up chemicals, checking bromide machines in the darkroom, selling of photographic film and paper to students on behalf of the Visual Arts Department
2021 — Present
Lecturer | Coordinator
Stellenbosch University
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Coordinator: BA VA Honours in Illustration
Lecturer: VCD, Illustration, Printmaking, Web, Editorial, Type
Theory of Art and Design: supervisor - research articles
Supervision: MA Visual Arts candidates - theory and practice
2006 — 2017
Lecturer
Stellenbosch University
(Permanent)
Lecturer: VCD, Illustration, Printmaking, Web, Editorial, Type
Theory of Art and Design: supervisor - research articles
Supervision: MA Visual Arts candidates - theory and practice
Creative outputs: Local and international exhibitions
PHD RESEARCH TOPIC
Preliminary Title: Borderlands: Drawing on Lived Experiences — Fiction and non-fiction in autobiographic graphic novels. Autographic portrayals of women and motherhood through graphic self-representation in selected autobiographic novels.
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Autobiographic comics and graphic novels emerge as a borderland between fiction and non-fiction, a fertile territory that has been referred to as “autographic” by Whitlock (2006), where the author, narrator and protagonist become the same person, but each reader’s experience of the narrative is unique. The autobiographic comic narrative becomes a multiple voice conversation, where the graphic (visual) narration creates uncertain meanings related to the reader’s experiences, cultural, historical, and political background (Manrique 2012). Most contemporary discourses on graphic novels rarely include analyses or discussions on the day-to-day lived experiences of women and mothers (especially in the global south) that challenge existing normative, "western" assumptions about femininity and motherhood, and dominant ‘good mother’ ideologies based on racial and gender stereotypes often prevail.