My story: I couldn't find Christmas greeting cards in IsiZulu, so I made my own

They say necessity is the mother of invention and this holds true for Johannesburg creative Nokuthula Vezi, who has designed festive greeting cards, in IsiZulu.

Nokuthula (28) works as account manager in the advertising industry. When she couldn't find the right kind of greeting card she wanted, she decided to design her own.

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“I just could not find one that I liked. I could not find anything that resonated with me as a young person. They were either too old fashioned, too childish or too corny. I did not understand why I could not buy a greeting card that says ‘unwele olude’ (long life) for someone’s birthday.  So I registered my business but I never got it active until now,” she says.

Nokuthula says her experience in the advertising industry has helped to open her eyes about the markets want.

“I knew I wanted African, but not African for international tourists, but African for Africans. I wanted something modern and on trend.”

And so she started designing.  Last week she posted her work and has been overwhelmed by the response from South Africans.

“It is amazing. People have been so responsive. I posted my work on Wednesday and now less than a week later, I already have about 80 orders.  I really did not expect this response.

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“The more cards I do, the more I will be able to experiment with the designs. Now because it is still the pilot project I decided to stick to IsiZulu which what I know and I am comfortable with, but in future I would like to work with other creatives on projects with other languages,” she adds.

The cards are R30 each and in future she will be working on other events like Easter, mother’s day, father’s day, birthdays, congratulations and get well soon.