Nasiha Khan
Creative, innovative and resilient uMhlanga resident, Trevan Moodley is showing the world how its done one project at a time. Moodley is seasoned architect who has cemented himself as a designer and has become one of the most sought after architects in the country. The 26-year-old has also climbed the social media ladder with his charm and interactive approach to letting his followers into his world of creativity. Somewhere along the line Moodley has become a familiar face within the industry due his campaigns for a variety of top brands. Durban North News invited Moodley on the couch to dig deep into the mind behind the design.
Durban North News (DNN): Tell us a bit about yourself?
Trevan Moodley (TM): I would describe myself as curious about the world. I am constantly looking, touching, tasting and hearing the world around me.
DNN: What prompted you to pursue a career in architectural design?
TM: Growing up, my parents and I would sit on a Thursday evening and watch Top Billing, it was a ritual. My mum or dad would look around the room and ask, “Hmm, I wonder what the space would look like if this wall wasn’t here?” When I got home from school on Friday, best believe that the wall was gone. Spending these formative years in an ever changing space, I really took to the idea of becoming a designer.
DNN: Tell us the story of how your career blossomed?
TM: I work within two fields, design and digital marketing. I had a feeling back in 2013 upon starting my Instagram, that the platform was to gain mass popularity. I thought to myself that when I started to gain a following, these followers would soon turn into potential clients for me to launch my business. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was a new graduate starting off in very demotivating times. Two weeks on the job hunt, I was approached by a beauty parlour in uMhlanga to design their retail interior. Designing a space where customers would truly be transported to an otherwhere, was my goal. With the patrons of in mind, I set out to understand what would spark joy, using my social media platforms I was able to include the public in the design process through means of Instagram Story Polls. This became the fastest way to do a mass digital survey on design details such as colours, furniture and design features. The more I posted about the project, the more my followers became invested in the design process, thus making the project go viral in a sense, prior to the project launching. Finding a way to be a new a designer while online allowed me to grow an audience and potential client bases. Since the success online, I was being called upon for various projects in different sectors, ranging from retail, commercial, hospitality, residential, fitness and product design. This was the birth of TMD – Treven Moodley Designs.
DNN: What are some the highlights of your career so far?
TM: In February 2022, TMD had been asked to design an Asian fusion dining experience/cocktail lounge in the heart of Sandton’s social scene, Zen-located within the Raddison Blu Hotel. Since Zen’s opening in May 2022, the space has gained popularity among Joburg’s elite and has been featured as a top 5 most instagramable restaurant in the city. I have also recently been honoured with a TBW Award in the youth entrepreneurship category.
DNN: You are also a content creator, how did that journey start and what were some of your most memorable achievements?
TM: Becoming a content creator was not my intention when I started on socials. Originally it was a platform for me to share my travels, foodie diaries and sense of fashion. Originality and staying true to myself was always a high priority, then came the growth in following with brands starting to take notice. I am proud to say that I have worked with some of the largest brands in the country ranging from fashion, beauty, alcohol and lifestyle brands. It was a honour to have been named the face of Ted Lapidus Fragrances, ambassador of the prestigious Pencil Members Club, having my face being used in the Hooch Cider packaging design, recurring campaign work with the Unilever group, Tiger brands and the TFG group and landing an international campaign with Olmeca Tequila.
DNN: What does the future hold for you? What are your hopes and goals with regard to your career?
TM: My aim is to develop a strong design aesthetic that comes from an authentically Durban point of view. As the projects become increasingly more complex, I look forward to the steady expansion of TMD within the South African market. After cementing my feet in the South African design scene, my plan is to be able to work at a Pan-African scale and then later toward gaining a global footprint. I look forward to the process of constantly learning through practice whilst growing my skill sets. Post Covid-19, I want to rethink how design firms could be, taking into account the power of collaboration and how we have learnt to work digitally.
DNN: Do you like to travel, what were some of your favourite destinations?
TM: Travel is something I am very passionate about; it opens my eyes to all that is out there. I have been to 6/7 continents. After having lived and worked as an architect abroad in China, Vietnam and Cambodia, I have grown very fond of Asia and their rich cultures. My favourite destinations are, Positano, Italy, Guilin, China and Kigali, Rwanda.
DNN: Did your travels inspire or influence your work? Tell us how.
TM: I learn the most when I travel and experience life and design outside of Durban. I have been influenced from a fashion and trends POV as well as architecturally. I am intrigued in understanding how successful systems work within a Eurocentric context and how they can be adapted to form an African response that’s contextually appropriate and resilient.
DNN: Where else do you draw your inspiration from?
TM: I enjoy surrounding myself with strange objects of affection. My bedroom is scattering of tchotchke’s that I collect as I travel and shop they serve to spark creativity and evoke emotions that could potentially feed my designs. I surround myself with plants, to serve as a constant reminder of life’s, growth and death cycles. In a weird way, it almost instills a mantra that you have to repeatedly put in the right ingredients to yield a fruitful outcome. I am also an avid people watcher, I love studying people and their behaviours, it helps me design for real people, with real needs.
DNN: Who are some of the people who have influenced you positively in both your professional and personal life?
TM: First and foremost are my parents. Coming from a prominent business family, I was always known as Ruben Moodley’s son, it was only of recent that my dad started getting stopped in public and asked ‘Are you Treven Moodley’s Dad?’. I have always been inspired by my parents whom have carved their own path in business. Their journey has taught me so much in both being a better person and ways to achieve success through networking and hard honest work. My mum has always reassured me that one day I will be great. This has been a big motivation for me and has allowed me to recover from the most stressful situations.
DNN: What fuels your passion for life and what you do?
TM: Having lost my bother quite early on in life, I learnt many lessons on the temporality of life. I have always been interested in growth and learning how far I can extend myself, this constant quest for bettering myself and those around me constantly pushes me to do more while remaining unapologetically myself. My quest for knowledge and experience coupled with a fear of mediocrity fuels me in every dimension of my being.
DNN: What advice do you have for anyone out there with big dreams?
TM: Stop waiting for the perfect time to start. The time is now. Embrace failure, learn from it and strive to always deliver quality work. I believe networking is key. I have spent many years growing my network to a point that I can reach out to people and make things happen. A simple thing that I often feel goes unnoticed, is your first impression, be genuine, make eye contact and have a firm handshake. This has gotten me really far.
