Johannesburg, August 16th, 2023

Based in Johannesburg, So Interactive is a digital creative and design agency specialising in Strategy, User Experience, Website Design, Product Design, Brand Design, and Content. Its solutions range from creating immersive website designs to award-winning social media brand campaigns – helping brands build value and create meaningful experiences.

Darren Mansour is the Founder and Director of So Interactive. In an interview with TIA, Mansour described life in Johannesburg and the steps through which he created his agency. He also explained the creative culture at So Interactive and how they work with clients, while going through the most effective approaches to crafting interactive experiences.

To kick things off, could you describe some of the ways in which Johannesburg’s natural and urban environments have influenced your lifestyle and creative work?

Having grown up in Johannesburg, I’ve had the privilege of living in various areas on the outskirts of the city, from the East to the North and back again. The vastness of Johannesburg, spreading over numerous diverse areas, makes it a truly fascinating place to live. It’s a city of high intensity, grappling with challenges such as crime, infrastructure, poverty and corruption. However, the people of Johannesburg and many other areas of South Africa exhibit remarkable resilience, persistently striving to make the most of their circumstances. This relentless spirit has given birth to a city that’s rich in tradition and mixed creative culture, from the arts and entertainment sectors to community initiatives. Living here has undoubtedly influenced my lifestyle; our summers are sublime, the dining experiences are next level and the people all share the history of the city; Johannesburg is a place that fuels my entrepreneurial spirit, it’s a place where being resilient is celebrated.

Which neighborhood of Johannesburg have you chosen to reside in? Please describe it.

I am based in the leafy suburbs of Bedfordview, it is a small town with people from all walks of life. The area has fantastic restaurants and coffee shops where people from the community connect. The area offers a couple of high-end malls and outdoor activities.

For those who aren’t familiar with your career, can you provide an overview?

I started my career officially in 2002. I had specialized in Advertising and Graphic Design but my passion was designing and building interactive Websites. Locking down a position during the early 2000’s was rocky and filled with a series of unfortunate events. Therefore, in my earlier career I had to resort to freelancing in web design to keep things moving forward before landing a more stable position at a Web Agency in based in Johannesburg. I worked with multiple industries in my career such as Food and Beverage, Restaurant Chains, NGO’s, Retail Malls, Insurance and Telecoms. It was around mid 2006 when I decided to start a business and build something from the ground up. In 2007 I officially Founded So Interactive.

As a founder, what was the process of starting your own agency?

I started the company with a vision to build innovative, interactive Flash websites that everybody never knew they needed. As you can imagine, this was more challenging than anticipated. My mother stepped in as a silent partner for the first five years. Being an entrepreneur herself, her mentorship was instrumental during the early stages of the business, particularly in navigating legal, HR, and financial matters. I later bought out her shares, gaining full ownership of the agency.

Before the agency became known as So Interactive, it was originally named Space New Media, functioning as a freelance business. We transitioned a few of our initial clients over to So Interactive, which enabled us to begin trading and delivering work immediately.

Once the agency was running, I soon realized that I didn’t know much about running a business. As a result, the journey of starting the company became an educational process in itself. Every challenge that came my way taught me more about myself and the nuances of running a business.

So Interactive initially functioned as a design and build company, focusing on creating high-end web design projects to help our clients grow their online businesses. For the first year, I worked solo, handling all the tasks myself before hiring my first employee in 2008. The decision to hire was a significant shift in mindset, but it propelled me to start building the agency more strategically. Over a period of 5 years, we experienced steady growth, marked by peaks and troughs. From the sixth or seventh year onwards, we began securing larger accounts, and this led to expanding our team organically over time. To stay relevant in the fast-evolving digital landscape, we broadened our services to include digital marketing. This ensures we offer a comprehensive digital experience to our clients, particularly when launching new websites and products. Today, our focus lies in Website, UX, and UI Design and Digital-First Branding.

How would you describe the creative culture of So Interactive?

Our creative culture at So Interactive is anchored in collaboration, innovation, and adaptability, principles that thrive in our fully remote work environment. Despite the constraints of not being in the same room every day, we cultivate open communication and encourage the free exchange of ideas, drawing from diverse cultural perspective. Creative is ingrained into all areas of the agency, it is not just the creative team that live by it, the whole agency drives the creative culture.

Do you handle all development work in-house?

We work with selected vetted development partners and teams.

How much time do you spend with clients?

I am still very operational in the business and building client relationships form a big part of my role and ensuring the accounts of moving in the right direction.

Looking back at the studio’s recent works, which project do you feel best represents the studio’s values and strengths?

A project we completed in 2019 was Homii’s product UX/UI design. HOMii is a highly disruptive and forward-thinking rental and property investment company that is taking the South African Urban Millennial Rental Market by storm.

We recently launched Logitech M171 Campaign in South Africa. This project was really fun to work on, as we got to flex our creative muscle by creating compelling social content to create a connected experience.

How do you work with and lead people who are not like you?

I never recruit people that are like me, I look deeper than face value for people that have unique characteristics and skill that add value and depth to the agency culture and complement are needs. I love working with people that are “not like me” so I can learn from them too. My leadership style focuses on growth and support.

Can you outline three of the most crucial skills any creative technologist should possess?

Creative innovation, critical thinking and problem solving with out of the box ideas helps raise the bench mark on projects. It is important to be able to conceptualise as well and develop experiences. All ideas should be collaborative and come from all teams on a project.

Strong communication and collaboration is important. Our agency thrives on clear communication and collaborative efforts to meet the demand of the industry. It is important that technologist aim for open communication in agile environments. Deep understanding of technological platforms is also important as this forms the basis on the role as a creative technologist.

Considering your vast expertise, what are some of the most effective approaches to crafting interactive experiences that are both engaging and inclusive?

What we’ve observed over the past decade is the evolution of how people engage with technology. As people have become more adept at navigating digital products and smart devices, their behaviours have matured accordingly. This has introduced new levels of complexity, as people now benchmark their expectations based on the digital products they use every day. To solve this, we work with our clients and go deep on the following areas: Business Challenges, Marketing Challenges and People Challenges and identify clear roadmaps to solve these areas.

Every interactive project we have completed started with a clear understanding of the audience; who they are, how they behave and how they interact with everyday technology. Keeping a customer centric strategy in place helps us solve their challenges first and identify how their challenges will drive the business objectives. This approach heavily focuses on creating functional user flows that consider demographics. We strongly believe that the world of Brand Strategy and UX Strategy shouldn’t be siloed as they overlap, it is up to us as an agency to weave the brand story into the experience to keep the experience purposeful. Once we move into the Content and UI Design phase, we always push innovation where possible and implore bold ideas that benefit the brand and the user.

For those who aren’t familiar with South Africa’s creative industry, can you provide an overview?

South Africa is ranked high as a global contender in creative and advertising globally. Our Country has performed very well in Award Shows such as Cannes, Effie’s, Awwwards, Webby’s, etc. Giving the country a global foot print.

The industry has gone through many Mergers and Acquisitions over the past 10 years, this has increased the footprint of “Group Owned Agencies” in country and there is a large segment of independent agencies growing beyond the borders.

We have a strong line of Varsity and Collage Graduates entering into the market that are geared towards digital channels. The market is growing in many sectors, we have seen a spike in eCommerce stores due to the migration to online during COVID. As internet and smart phone access increases across the country, it will give Entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow in the space of design and tech in the coming future.

What kind of news grabs your attention?

• Merger and Acquisition in our industry.
• Economic and Financial Impact on South Africa.
• Elon Musks bold moves.

Who would you name as an influential mentor?

• Simon Dixon
• Chris Do

As someone who enjoys challenges, is there any lesson you’ve had to learn multiple times?

Cash Flow is the bloodline to any business, make sure you know what it is and how to manage it well.

Focus on creating strong ideas based off human insights.

If a close friend from another country were to come to Johannesburg, what essential experiences would you recommend they try?

• Visit the Lion and Rhino Park
• Soweto Tour
• Dine at Marble Restuarant
• Walk 4th Ave in Parkhurst for Great food and independent stores.
• Go to a Rugby Game at Ellis Park if in Season.

Looking to the future, what are you most excited to contribute to?

I am looking forward to seeing the youth of South Africa contributing to this beautiful country, I hope that So Interactive will play a part in contributing to employing the youth of tomorrow.

Thanks Darren!

• Learn more about So Interactive
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