Meet the face behind the Transform Africa Summit advert

Mufuth Nkurunziza, 26, is the owner of Guez Show, a graphic design agency which started this year in June. For those who followed the Transform Africa Summit, Mufuth is behind their advert that left many people talking about how great it was. In 2011, he graduated from The National University of Rwanda offering Bachelor of Computer Science and Systems. All he wanted was to get the pass mark so he could concentrate on graphic design and he is now one of the few 3D designers in the country. Patrick Buchana had a word with him.What changed for you after making that awesome advert for the International Transform Africa Summit?It was the most creative and innovative design I have done. When I made it, I wasn’t targeting the money. I wanted visibility to the world; I also wanted to attend the conference in hope of telling and showing everyone what I created. I am also glad to say that I achieved that and right now many big deals are coming through because of the visibility I got during the summit. How did you end up doing graphic design?Since secondary school, I wanted to be a doctor but when I got to university, the competition for medicine was high and I opted for another course. I always had love for graphic design and I thought computer science was good for me. To me, graphic design was the same as computer science and that’s how I ended up there. After being in the class for some time, I realised it was more of computer hardware and software so I decided to do this myself. Having loved graphic design, how did you start your own business? Well, I would attribute all that to God and my love for graphic design. I can’t say I did it all by myself but I also got an internship working on some 3D engineering and mechanical design projects. It was my first experience of a hard and fast commercial environment. I also invested in sleepless nights just to make sure I got here. Luckily within just one year, I have made it to where I didn’t think I would be at this time. What are some of the challenges you had along the way? Realising that there was less design in the computer science class, I used Google to get exactly what I wanted hoping to learn more as I patiently waited for us to start studying design in class which never came. Funny part is that I always wanted to teach myself yet sometimes I didn’t even know how to search for what I wanted on Google. I remember some time I wanted to search for “How to change the background of an image” but the word background gave me a hard time to remember. How would you describe your design?My passion is in futuristic design. So what is futuristic design? It’s kind of like high tech fiction. Which means creating things that don’t exist but making them look real. It’s more of expressing a vision of the future.Are you in a relationship?Not yet. I think a relationship for me is God’s plan and I will wait on that. Your ideal woman?She would be supportive and understand me, with a great personality and a lot of love. Your best moments?When I am with friends having fun and talking in large groups. Your worst moments? When I feel low and think that what I am doing won’t work, it makes me feel very bad. Where do you see yourself five years from now? (Laughs) Five years are quite many because I am planning to already be big in just two years. Well, I want to be in the credits of the latest 3D movie blockbuster, my inspiration comes from Steven Spielberg. Though I want to focus on Rwanda and make a difference in the graphic design in Rwanda.