Bringing clarity and creativity to everything you write
‘To design is much more than simply to assemble,
to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify, to modify, to dignify, to dramatise, to persuade, and perhaps even to amuse.
To design is to transform prose into poetry.’
– Paul Rand –
About us
Publishing excellence in an ever-changing world
COMPRESS.dsl is a friendly, highly motivated, Level 2 B-BBEE publishing firm with a record of producing high-quality work within strict timelines and on budget. For the past 20 years, we have produced policy briefs, newsletters, annual reports and research reports in South Africa, Ghana, Germany and the UK, from the copy-editing stage through to printing. We have published the annual reports of Afrobarometer, the African Police Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI), and others.
We also publish research reports and policy papers for outstanding organisations, including the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and the African Climate Foundation. This demonstrates the range and versatility of our design, as well as the consistent high quality of our project management and time keeping.
Our offices are in Cape Town, and the topics we work on cover the African continent, from research reports on Sudan to human rights-based policing in West Africa, and from organised crime in Morocco to peacebuilding in Mozambique.
Our services
Editing and proofreading
Whatever the topic or length of the publication, the one element that is non-negotiable is the quality of the editing. No matter how stunning the design, or how flashy the glossy finish – without a well-thought-out structure, clear grammar and sensitive wording, the most meaningful text in the world can fall flat. Editing matters. Quality matters. Words matter.
Design and typesetting
When it comes to attracting a reader’s attention, and convincing them to take a look at your publication, it is hard to overestimate the importance of design. At COMPRESS.dsl we have decades of experience in transforming a client’s brief into a final product that reflects the contents of the publication, and the culture of the client, in a way that is ingenious, eye-catching and relevant.
Printing
We outsource our printing requirements, mainly to small, B-BBEE businesses that we have worked with for years. This allows for the selection of the most appropriate printing solution for our clients’ publication needs, and also to keep the quality and price consistently competitive.
Long-form content
Through our partner, Composition, we also offer long-form writing, for clients who want to tell their stories in the most compelling way possible. In an age where it seems everyone writes short-form content for social media and SEO purposes, there is still a demand for well-structured, finely tuned long-form copy that communicates detailed and sometimes complex messages. (howcanwehelp@composition.co.za)
Our team
Felicity Gallagher - Project manager, editor and owner
Felicity worked in finance and publishing in London before moving to South Africa, where she managed an educational trust in North West Province. In 2012 she moved to the Cape and joined COMPRESS.dsl. In 2019, with Gloria Makambi, Felicity purchased the business, turning it into a Level 2 B-BBEE black-owned enterprise. Felicity is a qualified editor with extensive experience in conceptualising and realising complex organisational eports. Felicity holds an MA in Applied Ethics for Professionals from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, as well as a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish from the University of Durham in the UK, and a Diploma in copy editing and proofreading from Book House, London.
Gloria Makambi – Administrative head and owner
Gloria grew up in the Eastern Cape and moved to Gauteng in 1990. She worked in education and management in Johannesburg, before transferring to the Cape in 2012. She is a shareholder of COMPRESS.dsl, and is our office manager. Gloria holds a Diploma in office administration from Boston City College.
Hellen Huysamer – Designer and typesetter
Hellen has worked in desktop publishing for over 20 years. She undertook production and repro in the advertising industry for seven of those years, before moving into book publishing, where she has worked as an office manager and layout artist.
Olivia Brink – Designer and typesetter
Olivia holds a diploma in fashion design, and has a natural flair for design and creativity. She has worked in publishing for over 10 years, and brings a diverse skill set and extensive experience to her roles in both administrative and design capacities.
Our four-legged office staff
Oliver Cabbage – Apprentice and disruptor
Our Empowerment Partner
Since 2019, COMPRESS.dsl has been a Level 2 B-BBEE business through shareholding. Our empowerment partner and shareholder is Masikhule, an NPO based in the Helderberg Basin since 2005. Masikhule’s primary objective is to ensure that children living in marginalised and disadvantaged areas attend Early Child Development (ECD) centres and preschools that provide a holistic ECD and stimulation programme where learning is purposeful, fun, creative, practical and relevant.They achieve this through the training and mentoring of ECD educators, providing early nutrition, ECD resources and early intervention strategies to ensure children are on track.Much of COMPRESS.dsl’s support of Masikhule takes the form of age- and language-appropriate books as early literacy is close to all our hearts.
Over the years we have raised and contributed funds to enable Masikhule to provide these to some small people in great need. With the help of our monthly donations, and the incredible generosity of friends, clients and colleagues from all over the world, we have also raised funds for a number of book nooks/reading corners at some of the ECD centres that Masikhule works with.For more information on Masikhule and the fabulous work they do, see here.
