Five Years and Beyond


Robot Dwarf History
The early concepts for the Robot Dwarf Mascot.

2010 was a highlight for most of us. South Africa hosted the FIFA Soccer World Cup and everyone felt like dreaming again.

A little ways from the thralls of fanfare and noisy vuvuzelas, Robot Dwarf was born in the mind of John Joubert. South Africa was on the verge of a mobile internet explosion, and John envisioned a company and product that would help fan the flame.

Together with his good friend, Jasond Johnston, John started defining his idea into a viable concept. A name was needed that would capture and personified their vision and, after much deliberation, Robot Dwarf was chosen. It described the very essence of their new venture – creating websites which automatically (Robot) worked on mobile (Dwarf) platforms with minimal input from the end users.

They had their name, but still lacked a face and slogan…

Says Jasond (Chief Implementer of Awesomeness): “While a serious, professional business, we always wanted Robot Dwarf to reflect fun and ease of use. We wanted our products to bring a smile to our clients and so we sketched out logos which we felt set this tone without being overly silly. We wanted to be remembered by those who saw our logo, but not for all the wrong reasons.”

Robot Dwarf Mascot
The final result of much brainstorming and deliberation. The RD Mascot.

Careful deliberation went into the slogan as well. It had to contain words that would not only describe the nature of the business, but also encapsulate the vision, mission and goals of the company. Only four words accomplished just that: The Future Is Smaller.

With that being said, Robot Dwarf was born.

“We opted to build websites as a way of funding our more unique ideas and over time we came to realise that internet penetration in our country was even lower than we had expected. Our focus shifted more towards high quality web development, and this is where we continue to establish a firm footing. At the same time we’re branching out into new and often unexplored territories, holding tightly on to glimpses of an ever smaller future.

Over the years, our slogan has rung truer than we ever could have hoped for, not just in our own company and direction, but throughout the world over. People are getting closer, devices are getting smaller, communication has become easier, and our purpose is, as always, to ensure that this bold future is not too overwhelming, too out of reach, or just too big for us all to be a part of.”