THE HAIRPOLITAN MAGAZINE VOL 6 MAY 2017

Ministry of Works (MOW). She had taken part and
won their logo design competition in her final year at
UoN. She was tasked with applying the logo on their
range of stationery and to oversee its application.
EAT / MOVE
As fate would have it she was once again at the
right place at the right time. The then Commander
of the Presidential Escort to the Late President
Mzee Jomo Kenyatta came looking for a design of a
Commemorative Medal. It was for the Armed Forces
for the 10th Independence Anniversary (1973). “I
had not done anything like that but I did manage to
produce a design that was acceptable and that was
minted at the Royal Mint. I misplaced my sample but
still have a Certificate signed by the Late President.”
Grace went on to do more work for the ministry,
one that earned her employer the Best Government
Stand Design Award at the Nairobi International
Show. However, her stint as an employee ended 18
months later, once she got a full scholarship to study
for her Masters in Graphic Design at the University
of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).
THE ENTREPRENEUR
Grace all dolled up at her daughter’s wedding in
2009.
UNDERSTANDING
OSTEOPOROSIS
by Nina Odongo
She returned home 3 years later and opened Viscom
(a portmanteau of Visual Communication), a design
agency that she run from 1978-2008. “I must say I
was the most exposed in the field of Graphic Design
and was glad to share this with others and contribute
to the establishment of the Design Profession and its
growth in the country. I found many of the projects
exciting and I am happy to see some of the logos we
designed still in use all these years later.”
Towards mid 80’s the pioneer Graphic Designers
started facing challenges. “We were old school as far
as our training went. The introduction of computers
hit us and threatened to drive us out of business,”
Grace says. “As a woman and a single parent I was
a experiencing problems networking and pitching
for jobs. Unlike today when you now have women in
decision-making positions who one can interact and
network with at a professional and social level; back
in the early days it was mostly men in those offices.
I could only interact with them at the office level,
not at the pub or social level. It lead me in search
of a business line that could appeal to the general
public.”
for bringing this concept my way and at that point in
time. I would not have gone into studio photography
if it was not for this concept which greatly appealed
to my creative background.”
I ask her what she would advise someone starting
up a business in 2017. “I would just advise them to
be very committed in whatever they venture into.
The space today is even more competitive than it
was in the earlier years so it is a very different ball
game. They now have the advantage of Technology
and are in a position to do much better in the world
of communication.”
As we wind up, I wonder what would keep her
going to run her design company for 14 years and
the photography studio for 26 years, “As a single
parent of two daughters, I was challenged to make it
work and failing was not an option. If it would have
failed I knew I just had to pick myself up and start
something all over again.”
Now more than ever I finally have a proper
understanding of the magnitude of shoes I, as
Grace’s daughter, have to fill in regards to taking
her creative pioneering to the next level. Clearly my
work is cut out for me but I am comforted that I stand
on great shoulders from which to launch myself.
While her colleagues went into fields such as Interior
Design she was lucky to come across a studio
photography concept called Virtual Backgrounds.
She learned of this concept through her older brother
who had traveled and came back with a brochure.
Grace opened Beta Portrait Studio in Cargen House
on Harambee Avenue. I ask her how she feels about
Bone fracture on bone with mild Osteopenia
having a business successfully run for close to 26
years, “I feel very happy and grateful and thank God
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