Chad John
Payne
Founder & Creative Research Director at AnthroWorks. Artist, cultural researcher, and fashion model working across Cape Town and Milan.
Founder & Creative Research Director at AnthroWorks. Artist, cultural researcher, and fashion model working across Cape Town and Milan.
I lead AnthroWorks — a cultural research and strategy platform exploring the intersection of people, place, and systems. My work focuses on cultural analysis, systems thinking, and AI-supported operational design, delivering grounded, human-centred outcomes across creative, industrial, and social contexts.
Alongside research and strategy, I work internationally as a fashion model with Indastria Model Milano and Twenty Model Management in Cape Town — collaborating with photographers, designers, and production teams to create visually compelling narratives.
My creative practice sits at the heart of everything I do. I make expressive line drawings on Fabriano paper — squiggly, intuitive marks that find faces in unexpected places. Each drawing starts without a plan and ends as a discovery. The work lives in the space between control and chaos.
Sep 2020 – Present · Cape Town, South Africa
Cultural research and strategy platform exploring how people, place, and systems shape organisational intelligence. Work includes cultural analysis, strategic advisory, systems thinking, AI-supported operational design, and applied research across creative, industrial, and social contexts.
Jan 2023 – Present · Milan, Italy
Fashion editorials and productions with international photographers. Responsible for creative direction, talent sourcing, and art direction — ensuring alignment with project vision and brand narratives.
Jan 2020 – Present · Cape Town, South Africa
Commercial, runway fashion, and TV productions across South Africa and internationally. Collaborating with photographers, designers, and production teams to deliver high-quality visual content.
Jan 2021 – Sep 2023 · Cape Town, South Africa
Collaborated closely with Louw Kötze across fashion, film, and design. Managed sourcing assistance and production processes while connecting with international experts in design, fashion, and art.
BA, Design and Visual Communications · 2017 – 2020
BA, Interior Design · 2016 – 2017
Specialised program emphasising colour theory, design principles, and the impact of design on human emotion and behaviour.
Medium: Ink, pen, mixed media on Fabriano paper
Themes: Faces in places, expressive line, abstraction, emotion
Process: Intuitive mark-making, continuous line, improvisation
For commissions, collaborations, exhibitions, or just to talk: