Specialists in Retail Design and Project Management

Magic Dog Design offers you a professional turn-key interior design and project management service, ranging from project ideas all the way through to trading. We pride ourselves on producing effective, hassle-free results that meet your budget and program time lines, without ever sacrificing quality.Whether you are expanding an established business or starting a new one, we can help you create a space suited to your unique requirements, both practical and aesthetic. All our clients are treated as valued customers.

Wherever you require assistance – from concept, to design implementation, right through to finished workspace, or even a particular aspect of a process to which you need a solution, the role of our highly experienced team is to lead, explore, conciliate and resolve critical project issues.

We know that the right physical environment is essential to personal comfort and success – listening and noting how you use space as well as translating your brand ethos or personal style is fundamental to the successful creation of an interior that fulfils your vision.

As you will see from our client portfolio, we have a well proven track record of handling a completely diverse range of projects. From hotels and restaurants to fashion stores and jewellers, we have accumulated a wealth of experience and expertise over the many years our team has worked in the field of interior architecture.

Early Days…

The original owner & founder of Magic Dog Design, John Pryce, established the business in 2006. With his background in architectural studies and years of experience in the retail design & project management industry, John grew the business from humble beginnings to a well-established business incorporating all the processes garnered over his years of experience.

Our Team

Craig Gilbert

Managing Director

The last twenty years has seen Craig working in the corporate field of administration for several years before moving over to managing residential construction. After a number of years spent as a project manager for an established construction company, Craig joined Magic Dog Design in 2010.
Craig brought with him a vast variety of practical project management experience, continuing Magic Dog Design’s impeccable tradition of completing project timelines to the highest standards.

His initial role as Head Project Manager included high level liaison with clients, implementation of conceptual design, drawing documentation, costing, procurement, account management and site project management.
Craig later advanced within the company to oversee every aspect of the day to day business dealings as General Manager of the business, and eventually acquired the business from John Pryce in late 2017.

Mark Smith

Head of Drawing & Design / Senior Project Manager

Having always been interested in all aspects of design, Mark began the first two years of his post matric studies in the field of Industrial Design. After changing direction to Interior Design, he completed his studies in 2004. Mark subsequently began his design career as a CAD operator at a well-known interior design company before joining Magic Dog Design almost right from its inception in 2006.

Over the past twelve years, Mark has established himself as the head of the Design / Drawing department as well as a senior project manager, and dealt with most aspects of the project process, from liaising with clients, through to planning, conceptual design and detailing, 3-dimensional walkthroughs, prototyping, drawing documentation, costing, procurement and site project management.

Carl Totman

Senior Project Manager

Having been self-employed and running teams in the construction industry, Carl has worked on projects such as Grand Daddy Hotel Trailer Park, Old Mac Daddy as well as the Woodstock Exchange. Bringing with him a hands-on practical skill in construction project management, Carl Joined Magic Dog Design in 2014 and has further enhanced the team with his skills and insight. With a detailed understanding of the Implementation process he has worked closely with on-site challenges, finding practical solutions to problems that are not always seen in the Design Stage of a Project. This insight has been valuable in assisting designers with workable solutions to their various design challenges.

Carl’s role includes client liaison between client and developer, drawing documentation, costing, procurement and site project management.

Our Extended Team

Magic Dog Design benefits from an extended external team of consultants, who are very much a part of the business, and bring with them a wealth of expertise and experience that is mutually beneficial to us and the client.

Ross West

An architectural professional with 28 years’ experience with strong focus on residential and commercial architecture, contract administration, project management, and cost control with specialisation in retail projects which include concept design and fast track implementation. He has been involved in successful architectural, contract administration and project management projects for over 200 retail stores with a combined contract value of over R200 000 000.00 for a number of national and international clients. Diverse projects are included in his portfolio from shopping centre tenant coordination, heritage residential and commercial refurbishments and alterations, high value residential projects and retail concepts.

Mieke Meiring

Having completed a BSc Degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Pretoria equipped Mieke with the knowledge to pursue a career as a professional designer.
Starting her career as an architectural assistant and then moving onto tenant coordinator and designer, Mieke later started up her own small Interior Design and Project management business.
Mieke has always provided Magic Dog Design with exceptional project management assistance, managing and delivering stores builds from the initial phase of costing, contract administration, site coordination and final handover delivery to the client. Mieke also assists on the design side with numerous site surveys.