ABOUT ME
My career has always sat at the intersection of strategy, storytelling and visual communication. With Master’s degrees in Psychology from the University of Natal and Business Administration from De Montfort University in the UK, I began my career in management consulting more than two decades ago. That foundation continues to shape the way I work today: understanding organisations, identifying what matters, and finding the clearest and most compelling way to communicate it. Over time, I became increasingly drawn to the editorial and creative side of corporate communication - shaping stories through words, photography, design and print. In 2016, I founded SLDV, an independent consultancy through which I work with a select group of clients across brand and communications strategy, editorial direction and publishing. My particular interest lies in projects with depth: uncovering an organisation’s history, expertise, people and ideas and transforming them into communications and publications that are thoughtful, distinctive and made to last. Beyond my corporate work, the equestrian world has become an important personal source of creative inspiration. Through my daughter’s showjumping, I have developed a deep appreciation for its heritage, beauty and visual culture - and a particular interest in equestrian photography, storytelling and publishing.
MY PROCESS
My approach begins with discovery - understanding an organisation, its people, its history, its work and where it wants to go. I look beyond the immediate brief to uncover the ideas, stories and details that give a brand its character and meaning. From there, I distil and shape. Strategy provides the framework; editorial judgement determines what matters; and storytelling gives it a compelling narrative. Whether I am developing a communications strategy, working through decades of archival material, or creating a significant corporate publication, I bring structure and clarity to complex bodies of information. I then bring together the right creative team for each project - drawing from a trusted network of writers, designers, photographers, filmmakers, printers and specialist craftspeople locally and internationally. This allows me to remain deliberately independent and assemble expertise around the particular needs of the work. Throughout the process, I act as both strategic partner and creative custodian - maintaining a clear vision from the earliest thinking through to the smallest details of execution. The result is work that is considered rather than formulaic: communications and publications with intelligence, beauty and longevity - created not simply for the moment, but with an understanding of what may be worth preserving.