New Median named global Art Director of the Year
Meet Christopher Evans, Group Art Director for New Media’s Internal Communications division – and 2024 Eddie & Ozzie Award winner.
Christopher leads a team of five skilled visual storytellers focused on creating engaging content for internal campaigns. They strive to produce work that is visually appealing and informative, capable of capturing the attention of busy employees in their inboxes and newsfeeds. While adhering to strict corporate brand guidelines, the team must also navigate the complexities of the African audience, taking into account its diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.
Clean creativity
Christopher’s 35 years of experience in the media – from his first job typesetting the weekly Times of Hermanus (now the Media24-owned Hermanus Times), through the golden age of print magazines and the dawn of digital communications – have instilled in him a deep appreciation for simplicity and intent in design and communication. His creative style is pared-down, clean and sophisticated – but accessible. It’s this, coupled with a phenomenal work ethic, a candid way with clients and an ability to extract and elevate a message from the surrounding noise that makes him such an asset to our clients and, by extension, our business.
This is why Christopher won the Group Art Director special recognition award at the 2024 Eddie & Ozzie Awards in New York.
New Media CEO Aileen Lamb says:
It’s recognition of a truly remarkable 35-year design career and contribution to content marketing. It’s an acknowledgement of the growing importance of our specialist discipline, employee communications. And it’s an appreciation of the critical role design-thinking plays in crafting truly meaningful communications experiences. I could not be prouder of you, Chris.”
Curiosity and client service
When our clients moved away from traditional printed internal newsletters and magazines in favour of digital channels, Christopher upskilled himself and played a critical role in ensuring a smooth transition for employees.
He remains abreast of the latest developments in design technology and applies that knowledge to deliver greater value for our clients. His early adoption of the HTML5 plug-in for InDesign (In5), for example, reinvigorated internal magazine CCBA Pulse and the lessons learnt there have been applied across our client base, helping to win new business.
Wendy Thole-Muir, Group Head: Strategic Communication and Corporate Reputation for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), says:
As art director on the team developing content for a number of CCBA communications channels and platforms, Christopher has been instrumental in establishing a cohesive, consistent and world-class visual identity for our employee content and campaigns. His designs are thoughtful and accessible, showing deep respect for our diverse, pan-African employee audience, and a crystal-clear understanding of our strategic objectives as a business. His critical thinking, attention to detail and creative flair have elevated the standards of storytelling on our anchor employee comms channel, Viva Engage, undoubtedly contributing to our consistently high adoption and engagement rates.”
Collaboration
Christopher also relishes nurturing young talent at New Media. His colleague Mpumelelo Zulu, a designer on the Internal Communications team, says:
Christopher goes above and beyond to support my growth and development as a young designer. He fosters a culture of continuous learning in our team and leads by example, always researching, upskilling, sharing his learning with us and encouraging us to do the same. I am able to successfully navigate design challenges thanks to his guidance and his ability to provide constructive feedback has greatly improved my performance. He empowers me to take risks in my designs and voice my ideas in client meetings. He also creates a sense of belonging in our team, and his empathy and mentorship inspires me to reach my full potential every day.”
New Media’s Internal Communications team
This 17-strong team is dedicated to delivering world-class internal comms strategies and content to 10 corporate clients from across the African continent and spanning the spectrum of sectors from financial services to FMCG, retail and entertainment.
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