"Barbara is fantastic to work with. She grasps briefs easily and always asks the right questions – especially in the complex field of B2B. She has a very collaborative approach and prefers to keep you looped in on her creative process and journey so that there are no surprises at the end – something that I quite enjoy. She always takes direction and provides her well thought out point of view when necessary which I appreciate. She is always willing to lend a hand and is brilliant at planning and prioritising. Barbara works well independently and also thrives in a team setting, often mentoring our junior- mid level creative teams, she empowers them with the correct training and has a tremendous amount of patience. Her work is great overall and we love working with her!"

Prianca Pillai, Account Director, Wunderman Thompson

"Barbara has played a remarkable role as a Creative Director for British Council. With her visionary approach, she consistently delivers captivating and innovative concepts that breathe life into every project. Her keen eye for detail and unwavering dedication to excellence make her an invaluable team member. It is a pleasure to witness her talent unfold, and I would recommend her for any creative endeavor."

Wei-Ling Chiu, Regional Head of Exams Marketing, Sub-Saharan Africa, British Council, South Africa

"Barbara’s creative concepts bring a whole new level of value to the ideas and campaigns I create for both corporate and SME clients. Having worked with Barbara on various projects for several different clients, I have come to rely on her consistent quality of work because she always knocks it out of the park!"

Chandré Partridge, independent strategist

"Barbara is the best! She always makes us feel like we are her only client, delivering with a giggle and a smile (we think ;)). Her turnaround times are amazing, no job is ever an issue. Plus she is just an all round 'lekker mens' - we love working with her."

Kato Jansen van Noordwyk, Client Service, Helium Advertising

"It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Barbara van Wyk. I have known Barbara for several years, as her employer at Brooke Pattrick from September 2014 through to December 2015.

Barbara is an imaginative designer, with a discerning eye, a knowledgeable theoretical and practical base, and an original creative flair that produces outstanding results. Resourceful & self­ reliant, Barbara is tenacious & determined in seeing projects through from start to finish. Good­ natured & affable, her direct, polished communication style allows her to tackle complex subjects with patience, boldness and an assured professionalism. Barbara's primary design focus was on Brooke Pattrick's print and digital media brands, working with independent editorial teams.

• The Civil Engineering Contractor - a monthly business-to-business publication catering to civil engineers in Africa.
• African Energy Journal - an alternate monthly business-to-business publication discussing Africa's energy infrastructure.
• WSE - an alternate monthly business-to-business publication discussing Africa's water infrastructure.

Branding
Barbara's real strength, to my mind, was her tackling of the rebranding of Brooke Pattrick itself, helping the business present its good work in a more compelling way. Her intent was to "represent the integrity of the editorial teams employed by Brooke Pattrick, as well as the quality of the content produced," wanting to give potential readers and advertisers a clear and attractive idea of who they were dealing with.

In my view, Barbara achieved this in no uncertain terms, and the business is the better for it.

Barbara's native intelligence for design is among the best I have seen. She has the drive and energy necessary to see complex projects through to completion. She is both a team player and a dynamic individual, a professional who wins the respect of others through her integrity and unwavering desire to bring out the best in her peers.

If I may provide you with any further information in your consideration of Barbara, please feel free to contact me. "

Darren Smith, Publisher, Brooke Pattrick Pubications

"If you're looking for someone that truly cares about the success of your project, takes the necessary time to fully understand your business, its requirements and then produces outstanding creative work, then Barbara is probably who you should be speaking to. We've worked together on many projects both as colleagues and with me as a client of hers and I can comfortably endorse Barbara as a true professional and someone that really cares about what she does."

Ross Allchorn, CEO, ShopCreatify

"It was an absolute pleasure to work with Barbara for two years while at ShopCreatify.

Barbara's a rare individual. I've often worked with digital professionals who are excellent in either design, development, management or strategy, but it's not common to work with someone who can do it all. Barbara's creativity shows in every aspect of her work, from design and code to interactions with people and projects. Barbara is smart, curious and capable, and she can move between systems-thinking and creativity with ease.

Barbara really shines in the areas of strategy and consultation. She can naturally and confidently interface with clients, stakeholders and decision-makers, pull together all the strings and help craft a solution that will tick all the boxes — either by creating something completely new, or leaving something better than they found it.

When I look back on working with Barbara though, what I really remember is the fun we had while working together - getting excited about design systems, geeking out on development frameworks or brainstorming ideas for human-centric processes of different kinds. Most importantly, Barbara is a kind and passionate human who has a way of bringing out the fun and human side of any team."

Quintin Schnehage, Founder, Designer/Developer, Consultant, UX Forge

"I had the pleasure to work with Barbara for 3+ years - the impact she made during that time did wonders for both the close knit team she contributed to and the work we produced together.

Barbara's process is very intentional - she carefully considers the work at hand which speaks of how much she cares, and you will find her continually challenging herself and others by asking if there is something to be improved. This approach resulted in many iterative refinements in process and boosted our efficiency in general.

As a talented creative, Barbara was an absolute pleasure to support as she headed up design and development undertakings as a technical lead. She always made sure that her work was aligned to what was important to the client and their business, and went to great lengths to make sure that she understood all the nuances that contribute to their high level goals. An enviable ally in making sure any digital project is successful and effective."

Jessica Schnehage, Project Manager, ShopCreatify

"I have worked with Barbara on various projects on a few clients and it is always a pleasure. Barbara is always available to talk through any briefing issues and is very solution driven. We generally work to hectic turnaround times and again Barbara always manages to deliver against very short deadlines. I would happily recommend her."

Lynn Miller, Account Manager, HKLM

"Barbara joined our company in October 2012 when at that stage, our studio, was disorganised to say the least. She spearheaded the archiving of old work going back years, organised the studio into a presentable professional workspace, schedule work among the other designers and brought a sense of order to the studio that I have not seen in the time I have run the business.

Her design skills, knowledge and eye for detail, particularly with details like grammar, are first class. Her commitment to 'get the job done' is outstanding working after hours and weekends where necessary and clients are always impressed with her manner and level of service.

We are really sad to see her go, would have no problem recommending her services and want to wish her luck in all future endeavors."

Richard Lendrum, Managing Director, The Future Group