SHORT VERSION
As an academic and consultant, I developed original, research-backed models to address problems related to creativity, innovation, and user experience design. It took 15 years to develop and test my systems, a process that is still ongoing and will most likely never end.
What sets my proprietary models apart is that they are grounded in psychology and ergonomics, while given flight through design, creativity, and instructional design. Where my competitors rely on repurposed versions of existing frameworks, I have built frameworks that cut straight to the heart of problems, while reigniting purpose and creativity in your organization. My approach is holistic and free of fluff and theatrics.
Let’s go to the moon, together, and when we’re there, build an even better ship to explore all the moons in our solar system.
LONG VERSION
My mission is simple: I want to create a world full of astronauts and rocket scientists. These people are resilient and capable, but even more important, they are curious explorers who can overcome any hurdle placed in their path. You have that ability; you just need to realize it.
Moonlander One is a sole proprietorship, operated by myself, Dr Stephan Cloete. I established this business to address a growing problem that I’ve encountered in my capacity as a consultant and lecturer, namely, a lack of creativity in all walks of life – a problem that is going to reach dangerous levels due to the misuse of AI.
I have always been fascinated by creativity. As an eight-year-old boy, I loved coffee table books filled with paintings of dinosaurs, barbarians, and impossible landscapes. As I became a teenager, I started to notice the names of artists, and soon thereafter, authors, and film directors. I became obsessed with creators like Mark Rothko, Terry Pratchett, and David Lynch, and would read every article and book about my favourite creators, in the hope that some of their creativity would rub off on me.
By the time I had to go to university, my mind was set on a career in graphic and multimedia design. My father, a stern accountant and military man, did not agree with my chosen field and told me to pick something “more sensible”. I opted for psychology, since I could then learn to understand creativity on a deeper level, while also gaining an understanding of the consumer.
In my final year of pursuing my psychology degree, I was accepted into, at the time, the best design school in the country. My dad finally conceded and allowed me to follow my passion. He was also quite relieved when I received annual scholarships for being in the top five of my class every year.
After completing my studies, I had a unique set of skills locked, loaded, and ready for action. But how do you sensibly combine psychology, industrial psychology, graphic design, web design, illustration, art history, and statistics? I started thinking about my skills as bullets that I could shoot cowboy-style from a six-shooter. But bullets pack too small a punch and they don’t go far enough. I needed a rocket, or even better, a rocket ship. And the only way to build a rocket ship was to complete a postgraduate degree.
I ended up completing both a master’s and a PhD, where I studied the intersections between psychology, the sociocultural, and the visual narratives (art, logos, films, packaging, etc.) we produce. I was also lucky enough to have found employment as a full-time lecturer and researcher two years before starting my postgraduate journey. For 15 years, I taught everything from design, art history, and fine art illustration to UX/UI, 3D modelling, storyboarding, desktop publishing, and media ethics and law. I also undertook some other advanced responsibilities, such as postgraduate supervision, serving on the academic board, and serving on the ethics committee, as well as being a subject chair for two years (to name just a few of the things I did). I’ve always been a talented problem-solver and an empathetic leader, making me well-suited for leadership roles in academia.
At some point, though, I realized that I had lost sight of my initial plan, and I started weaving some of my ideas into two of the exit-level modules I was teaching. The results were astounding, and my student pass-rates went up to 90% for the one module and 95-100% for the other. Something was working, but better yet, my students were leaving the university with their own small business in the bag and seriously advanced creative skills in tow.
After the birth of our daughter, my wife and I decided we needed a change, so we quit our academic jobs, moved to Europe, and started pursuing our passion projects while raising an amazing little girl. Moonlander One is my passion project. I want to help you unlock your hidden creative talents, so that you can flourish in the different roles life expects us to occupy.
Dr Stephan Cloete
