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Every Beard starts somewhere.

Loading Launchpad 2027

Applications close 20 November 2026 ,

Greatness takes off here.

Launchpad 2027 is six months of real work for real clients, with a mentor beside you all the way.

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I.Luckybeard

We’re experience architects.

We design and build brand ecosystems that people love.

Brand experience is everything, and everything is brand experience.

Est. 2014. Studios in Irene and Rosebank.

The team at work around shared desks in the Irene studio
01 Studio
The studio gathered on couches for a talk, with the ping-pong table beside them
02 Talks
A party around the kitchen bar, with green and white balloons
03 Kitchen

Some of our clients

  • Netcare
  • Vodacom
  • Investec
  • Pepkor
  • Telkom
  • OUTsurance
  • SPAR
  • SuperSport

I · Luckybeard

IQ, EQ and AI, rolled into one.

We’re the balance of art and science. You’ll use all three from your second week.

See how Launchpad works

II · The Launchpad

It isn’t work experience. It isn’t six months of shadowing. It’s the real thing.

From your first weeks you’ll be making real things, getting honest feedback on them, and learning how a team of specialists turns a brief into work people remember.

Each of these links to more detail.

The disciplines

Seven ways in. One application.

Each discipline runs its own programme, designed by the people who do that craft every day. They choose who joins, they mentor you, and they help you grow.

Swipe or scroll sideways to meet all seven

  1. Zani, UI designer intern in the Class of 2026
    UI Design

    You’ll work on

    • App and website interfaces
    • Components and design systems
    • Prototypes you can click through

    UI Design

    Interfaces for apps and websites, built to our design standards.

    Apply for UI Design (opens in a new tab)
  2. Cleo, UX design intern in the Class of 2026
    UX Design

    You’ll work on

    • Research with real users
    • Journeys, flows and wireframes
    • Testing ideas before they’re built

    UX Design

    Understanding users and shaping how products work for them.

    Apply for UX Design (opens in a new tab)
  3. Bahiya, full-stack engineer intern
    Engineering

    You’ll work on

    • Websites and web apps
    • APIs and the platforms behind them
    • Code reviews with the team

    Engineering

    Building the products and platforms our clients rely on.

    Apply for Engineering (opens in a new tab)
  4. Project Management

    You’ll work on

    • Plans, timelines and stand-ups
    • Keeping clients in the loop
    • Helping teams ship on time

    Project Management

    Keeping projects, people and clients moving together.

    Apply for Project Management (opens in a new tab)
  5. SEO

    You’ll work on

    • Keyword and search research
    • Technical site audits
    • Reports on what’s working

    SEO

    Helping our clients’ work get found.

    Apply for SEO (opens in a new tab)
  6. Bryce, brand design intern in the Class of 2026
    Brand Design

    You’ll work on

    • Logos and visual identities
    • Campaigns, from posters to social
    • Brand guidelines people use

    Brand Design

    Identities and campaigns for the brands we work with.

    Apply for Brand Design (opens in a new tab)
  7. Mogau, video editor intern in the Class of 2026
    Motion Design

    You’ll work on

    • Logo and brand animation
    • Interface and product motion
    • Social and campaign films

    Motion Design

    Bringing brands and products to life through movement.

    Apply for Motion Design (opens in a new tab)

Can’t pick just one?

You don’t have to.

You can choose more than one discipline in the same application.

Apply for Launchpad (opens in a new tab)

How it works

Six months, three phases.

The rhythm, all six months

Key dates

  1. Phase 01Months 1 and 2

    Foundations

    You’ll learn our tools, our process and the standards we hold ourselves to. You’ll work on something real from your second week, and share your first real piece of work with your team by the end of month two.

    Month 2Your first real piece of work, shared with your team.

  2. Phase 02Months 3 and 4

    Contribution

    You’ll join live client projects, working alongside our teams and taking on more as your confidence grows.

    Month 3A formal review, so there are no surprises.

  3. Phase 03Months 5 and 6

    Ownership

    You’ll own a piece of work from start to finish, then present it, and your six months, to your champions.

    And thenLaunchpad is built to lead to a permanent role.

Who’ll be with you

You won’t be doing this on your own.

A mentor from day one, a one-to-one every two weeks, and a whole team in your corner.

Each discipline has a small group of champions, experienced people who run the programme for their craft. One of them is your mentor. You’ll meet them on day one, then every two weeks for a one-to-one.

  • One of your champions, beside you from day one, with a one-to-one every two weeks.

  • Experienced people from your craft who run your programme and help you grow.

  • They bring you into live client projects and keep everyone moving together.

  • There for anything else, big or small.

III · Values

Be an Exceptional Beard.

Beard is how we behave. It’s what we look for in everyone who joins us, Beardlings included.

  1. Own it.

    Being accountable for the supernova successes and the epic fails, and being fearless.

  2. Positive attitude.

    Knowing positivity is as contagious as negativity, and seeing the glass half full.

  3. No nonsense.

    Letting go of ego and facing the task ahead with confidence and a constructive attitude.

  4. Passion.

    Waking up ready to change the world, the way we do things, and ourselves if that’s what’s needed.

  5. Mutual respect.

    Treating each other the way we want to be treated: respect is always earned, never expected.

  6. MacGuyvering.

    Thinking on your feet, being agile and adaptive, and doing a lot with just a little.

III · Kudus

Values aren’t posters here.
They’re Kudus.

When someone shows what Exceptional looks like, anyone can send them a Kudu, tagged with the values they lived. The whole studio sees it, and the replies are often the best part.

Exceptional is what we grow: Expertise, Talent, EQ, Insight and Experience. Nobody arrives with all of these fully formed, and that’s the point of Launchpad.

Send a Kudu

Pick a value. It’s a demo, so nothing gets sent or saved.

Exceptional

Beard

    Example Kudus

    • An incredible few days. The creativity you’ve all delivered is next level.

      To the project team From a creative director

      Tagged: Talent Passion

    • You asked the question nobody else thought to ask, and it changed the whole idea.

      To a Beardling From a strategist

      Tagged: Insight EQ

    • Sir, you co-ordinated everything until now!

      To a project lead From a developer

      Tagged: Own it Experience

    • The detail in those motion tests is unreal. We all watched them twice.

      To a motion designer From the design team

      Tagged: Expertise Passion

    • You took the project lead role to the max. Amazing to work with.

      To a Beardling From a producer

      Tagged: Own it Positive attitude

    • First crit, first big brief, and you smashed it. Proud of you.

      To a Beardling From a mentor

      Tagged: Talent Positive attitude

    • Thank you for bringing the stories to life, with intent and impact.

      To a writer From the strategy team

      Tagged: Insight Talent

    • You kept the team laughing through a tough week, and still delivered on time.

      To the delivery team From a client partner

      Tagged: Positive attitude EQ

    • Your craft, ownership and care are making a real difference.

      To two designers From a design lead

      Tagged: Expertise Own it

    • Broken build, an hour to go, zero panic. You fixed it with what we had.

      To a developer From a tech lead

      Tagged: MacGuyvering Positive attitude

    • That prototype came together in two days with tape and good ideas. Genius.

      To two engineers From a UX designer

      Tagged: MacGuyvering Expertise

    • The Kudus trophy: a copper and black kudu head on a black base, with a plaque that reads Kudus, peer recognition.
      The Kudus trophy

    • You taught me more about type in one afternoon than I learnt all year. Thank you.

      To a senior designer From a Beardling

      Tagged: Experience Expertise

    • Thank you for checking in on everyone this week. It didn’t go unnoticed.

      To a designer From the studio

      Tagged: EQ

    IV · Culture

    Plenty of room to think. Plenty of people to think with.

    Launchpad is hybrid, with at least two days a week in our Irene or Rosebank office, so you’ll need to be based in Gauteng.

    Meet the people

    1. Three people working on laptops at high tables in the studio, between pegboard walls and potted plants
      Where crits happen
    2. Rows of desks in the open studio, with a house-shaped booth on the left and someone in headphones on the right
      Where heads go down
    3. A studio corner filled with pink balloons and a parked motorbike for a birthday
      Where birthdays get out of hand
    4. The studio bar set out with food, green and white balloons and a row of bar stools
      Where lunch happens
    5. The team gathered on couches and chairs for a talk, beside the ping-pong table
      Where the whole studio pulls up a chair
    6. A DO WHAT YOU LOVE neon sign above shelves of awards and old televisions, with bunting across the studio
      Where the trophies live
    7. Two people mid-rally at the blue ping-pong table, piñatas hanging overhead
      Where the ping-⁠pong rivalries happen
    8. A musician in a cap and dungarees performing at a mic in front of the yellow booth
      Where the music happens

    We’ve got
    gees.

    Gees (n.): spirit, energy, the thing you feel when the whole studio turns up in costume.

    The Gees Cup: a copper and black Viking helmet with curved horns and a braided beard, on a black base with a brass plate that reads The Gees Cup
    • Friends laughing on a couch next to a foosball table and balloons
      Foosball, zero chill
    • Five colleagues smiling in antenna and animal-ear headbands
      Dress code: antennae
    • People in green and orange tutus playing a game in the studio under bunting
      Tutu day. Yes, really.
    • A line of colleagues in green shirts raising drinks under bunting
      Everyone in green
    • The whole studio in green costumes posing in front of a painted rainbow
      Green, head to toe
    • Three colleagues in antenna headbands with a tray of drinks in front of the Luckybeard sign
      Match day spirit
    • Two friends smiling at the camera, one making a peace sign
      Peace, and cake
    • A colleague laughing and clapping in a booth
      Applause from the booth
    • A musician performing at a mic in front of the yellow booth
      Where the music happens

    Dress-up days, birthday tables, team lunches and the occasional ping-pong grudge match. Friendships here last well beyond the six months.

    And when someone lifts the whole place, they take home the Gees Cup.

    Come for the craft. Stay for the people.

    V.Beardlings

    Beards make Beards.

    Our first Beardling was paid in whiskey and biltong. True story.

    The Class of 2026 · 08 Beardlings

    • Portrait of Ryno
      Ryno Full-stack engineer intern
    • Portrait of Bryce
      Bryce Brand design intern
    • Portrait of Mogau
      Mogau Video editor intern
    • Portrait of Zani
      Zani UI designer intern
    • Portrait of Bahiya
      Bahiya Full-stack engineer intern
    • Portrait of Jade
      Jade Brand design intern
    • Portrait of Cleo
      Cleo UX design intern
    • Portrait of Jade T.
      Jade T. UX design intern

    From Beardling to Beard.

    Years at Luckybeard

    1. 2015

      11 or more years.

      Our first Beardling is still here.

    2. 2023

      3 years.

      From Beardling to core team.

    3. 2026

      Half a year.

      Class of 2026, six months in.

    2027 You?

    Start your story (opens in a new tab)

    VI.Apply

    One application. Feedback at every stage.

    Tell us which discipline you’re applying for, and share your CV, your portfolio or examples of your work, and your answers to a few short questions.

    If we don’t take you forward, you’ll always hear why.

    1. to

      Applications open

      Apply for one discipline, or more than one.

    2. By

      Shortlist invited

      Everyone else hears from us with feedback by 4 December.

    3. to

      Get-to-know-you

      A relaxed session with your discipline’s champions.

    4. to

      Discipline challenge

      A week to work on it, then you present it.

    5. By

      Final decision

      You’ll hear our decision, and why.

    6. Launchpad begins

      Six months, 1 February to 31 July 2027.

    Four tips before you apply

    • Show how you think, not just what you made.

    • Lead with your strongest piece.

    • Be specific.

    • Be yourself, we’re looking for spark, not polish.

    Apply for Launchpad (opens in a new tab)

    Applications close 20 November 2026 ·

    Ready for launch?

    The launch

    Six months, paid, working on real projects for real brands.

    Let’s get you into orbit.

    FAQs

    Before you ask.

    The practical bits, in plain words.

    No. We care about your foundation in your discipline and your spark, not how you got them.

    Yes.

    Yes, and yes.

    Launchpad is hybrid, with at least two days a week in our Irene or Rosebank office. You’ll need to be based in Gauteng.

    Launchpad is designed to lead to a permanent role. You’ll hear how you’re doing at every check-in, with a formal review at month three, so there are no surprises.

    Tania Faria in our People team.

    Ask Tania a question

    We’re not looking for perfect. We’re looking for spark.

    Apply for Launchpad (opens in a new tab) Ask Tania a question
    Luckybeard

    Applications close 20 November 2026,