Registered Designs

South Africa has many talented designers active in the field of furniture and lighting, cutlery, crockery, textiles, jewellery and wine and product labels. South African designers and their product designs are highly regarded both locally and internationally and many of them have exhibited, and sold their products overseas. Some of the local trend setters are Haldane Martin, Heath Nash, Gregor Jenkin and Anatomy, to name a few. Many local architects have become involved in designing furniture and interiors to complement their designs. Architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens are pioneers in this field.

Design registration is an area that is often underestimated and ignored by local designers. Aesthetic and functional designs can be registered in South Africa. Functional designs are designs that have features which are necessitated by the function of the article to which the design is applied and are to a lesser extent relevant for this discussion. Aesthetic designs are more common and very relevant in the world of designs and can be utilised to obtain strong statutory protection for a period of 15 years.