SBT20 is a strategic design studio based in Johannesburg.
We work with organisations that want to compete at the top, turning complex goals into clear brand, digital and campaign systems. We work across Africa and internationally.
We build the work brands need to move faster: identity systems, websites, campaign rollouts, photography, video and content assets.
One studio. One senior creative. Every project is led from brief to delivery by the same person. For larger engagements, we bring in trusted specialists under that same lead. We’ve built work for organisations across financial services, fintech, aviation, publishing, government and the social sector.
Our story
Perception is part of performance.
What a business is capable of and how the world perceives it are rarely the same thing.
Working across aviation, financial services, publishing, government and the social sector, we kept seeing the same pattern. Some organisations command attention before they’ve said a word. Their identity is considered, their message is clear, and everything they put out works together.
Others, with equally strong ideas, talent and substance, don’t make the same impression. Not because the business falls short, but because the way it presents itself doesn’t reflect the quality of what it does.
For established organisations, the risk is different. With every new team, supplier and market, a brand drifts a little further from itself.
Either way, it’s expensive. It shows up in lost pitches, slower decisions and harder-won trust. We also saw what changes when design is approached strategically and applied consistently. The business becomes easier to recognise, its message clearer, its value easier to see.
Design stops being decoration. It becomes a business advantage.
The quality of your presentation should never undersell the quality of your work.
That belief is the foundation of SBT20. We started the studio to close the gap between what a business is capable of and how the world sees it. Not just a logo, not just a website, but one coherent visual language that shapes how a business shows up, from the first proposal to the latest campaign.
SBT20 grew out of years of independent creative work for organisations in those same sectors. The studio brings that experience into one place, with the same senior attention on every project.
Who we work with
Organisations that hold themselves to a high standard, from ambitious founders to national brands and continental institutions. Size and stage matter less than intent. If the work you do is exceptional, the way you present it should be too.
We’re especially driven by businesses building their futures in Africa. Our aim is to help them compete on a global stage with design that stands beside the world’s best, without losing the character, culture and originality that make them different.
Good design doesn’t create the value of a business. It helps the world see the value that’s already there. That’s the standard we’re here to build.
What we do.
Brand Systems
Campaign Rollouts
Websites & Digital
Multimedia Content
A process built for clarity and speed.
Brief
We start with a short call or written brief. We clarify the audience, business goal, message, timeline and success measure before any design starts.
Shape
You receive a clear project shape: recommended scope, timeline, deliverables and investment. No generic proposal. Just a practical response to what you need. Within two working days.
Build
We design, review and refine the work with one clear point of contact. You stay close to the progress without getting pulled into every small production detail.
Deliver
You receive polished final assets, organised files and clear next steps so the work can go live, be shared, printed, uploaded or handed to your team.
Premium but practical. Everything we deliver has to look good, make sense and be easy for your team to own and use long after handover.
Ready to work together?
Tell us what you need to move. We reply within two working days with a clear shape for the engagement.