By Mthokozisi Dlamini and Bonginkosi Zondi
An inventive Durban University of Technology (DUT) student has turned what was supposed to be a basic assignment into a visually engaging children’s book.
Siyaphila Mbuyazi, a second-year Visual Communication Design student, said the class was tasked with creating a children’s book that educates readers about sustainability and environmental issues through a locally relevant storyline. However, later he transformed his academic task into a published visual book.
The Mtubatuba-born student is the proud author of a children’s book, Mkhulu and the Wooden Guitar, which is now available on Amazon.
Mbuyazi says he discovered his passion for visual storytelling at a young age, which led him to enrol at the DUT to hone his talent.
However, the assignment became something much more personal.“I based the book on my late grandfather. The setting is Mtubatuba, where I grew up. I wanted to capture the life of the place and the people I knew, especially my grandfather, who was a big part of my life,” he said
Elaborating on the storyline, Mbuyazi said: “Mkhulu and the Wooden Guitar tells the story of an old man who turns a tree that was taken down by a heavy storm into a guitar, teaching children about creativity and that nature is important while also showing that one thing can have more than one purpose in life.
“The book is a celebration of family, tradition and the simple joys of life. I was inspired by books like The Three Little Pigs, but I wanted to make a story that was more relatable to South Africans,” he said.
Mbuyazi’s lecturer Barry Lottering said the task was to create a creative project that would inspire and teach.
“The task was to write, illustrate, design and publish a children’s book. The book was to tick two non-negotiable boxes. It must have locally inspired narratives and somehow inspire children to be more aware of environmental issues of sustainability,” he said.
Lottering added that he believes that the book will succeed because of its authenticity and relatability. “It is a lovely story with an authentic KwaZulu-Natal narrative. There is a clever rhyming that incorporates delightful names and concepts that I believe will resonate with young readers and their parents.”
He said he is diligently working on enhancing his graphic design skills, blending art and technology to create visually appealing content to convey stories that resonate with audiences in South Africa and beyond.
