73 minutes w/ rianne hulshof

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Architecture, Cartography, Graphic design, Identity, Mixed Media, Rianne Hulshof, Social Engangement, Speculative Design

Hi, could you briefly introduce yourself?

Hi! Yeah, sure. I’m Rianne, 24 years old and I live in Velp. In my sparetime I like all things an art academy like ArtEZ hates.

So Rianne, how is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

Maybe it’s kind of cliche to say it like this, but it’s pretty much the best time of the entire education. It’s nice to finally do something I want to do and research instead of finding a way in an assignment a teacher gives you.

Would you tell us about your research project?

My research project is about the North Pacific Garbage Patch, which is an area in the Pacific Ocean where all the plastic in the world ends up and defragments into smaller and smaller particles. The media often describe the Garbage Patch as a ‘soup’ or an island and that’s what got me. Of course it isn’t really an island as such, but what if it was? So out of an entire ocean of reports I picked the most reliable information and created a scenario of circumstances out of it, under which I designed an island. That island is —due to wind and sea currents— floating to the Economic Zone of Hawaii, where, after crossing that border, the plastic becomes America’s problem. Of course America doesn’t want the plastic, because it’s expensive to clean, etc and not all of it is coming from America. Then I found an article about a Dutch company who developed a machine that can produce oil out of plastic. And that’s really interesting, because that would mean that the plastic isle would become some sort of floating oil field.

What where some important influences for the creation of your project the way it’s constructed currently?

I studied a lot of nautical charts and a book called ‘The Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands’.

Other books that inspired me where ‘Hyperobjects’ and ‘Moby Duck’. And what also really helped me was talking to as many people as possible, varying from teachers and classmates to my family and friends.

Does your graduation, to you, feel as like it’s your Mona Lisa of work so far?

Haha, ehm, well I haven’t thought of it like that, but yeah in some way it does.

Well, let’s move over to another project. Could you briefly inform us on the subject of your thesis?

The subject of my thesis is collective authorship and the way your role as author, either as a designer or an artist, shifts when you let your audience participate in your work.

Has your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on the research assignment? If yes, in what way?

No not at all. I think the projects couldn’t be more different.

To what sense would you like your this project, and it’s methodology, to correspond to your practice after graduation?

Well, I would like to specialize more in making maps and continue researching the subject
of my thesis.

Another subject: Where did you do your internship?

My internship was at Atelier van Wageningen and their typefoundry Novo Typo in Amsterdam.

In what way has the experience of doing an internship changed you, or, your (design) beliefs or (work)habits?

I learned to not be afraid to stay closer to myself.

Did they serve avocado during lunch?

Hahahaha, no.

But Mark did offer to serve avocado though, because he didn’t want me to miss out on my classmates.

Could you inform us on your partner, client and type of assigment for the practical assignment?

My partner for the practical assignment is Dominiek Kampman, our client was the IABR (International Architecture Biennial Rotterdam) and we had to design a publication on Carbon Added Tax.

Carbon Added Tax is an interesting subject and I have some sort of scientific background, so I enjoyed combining ‘science’ with graphic design.

What will you be doing in 5 years from now?

Work as a graphic designer, I hope.

Ok. Last question: Any tips for upcoming graduate, or new students?

Pick a subject that’s close to yourself, because you’ll get a lot of comments from a lot of people and then you still have to stay enthusiastic about your project. Train yourself to stay awake all night, haha!

126 minutes w/ stan de natris

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Architecture, Graphic design, Identity, Mixed Media, Politics, Social Engagement, Spatial Design, Speculative Design, Stan de Natris

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

I’m Stan de Natris, student GDA, living in Arnhem, but in that past during my internship in Berlin, (later on more..) I’m graduating with project about this city… And I’m very old!

How is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

From first year one graphic design is changing your attitude towards the world in general, but also the workload keeps rising, in third year this came to a peak, but now in 4th year it feels a bit more calm down, working on your own projects, and making your on schedule works for me very well

But than again, this makes you feel that your not doing enough. Well this was the case with the practical assignment, because it was running at the same time when I also needed to work on my research project, so right now I’m fully back on track with my research project and the practical assigent is finished. The projects are bigger, but I am more focused on one thing, you can dig deeper into the topic and the refinement of the design

Anyway, could you maybe introduce your research project?

As I mentioned I was in Berlin for a few months, and before that I was really interested in the city and the process of gentrification, (re)vitalizing a neighborhood, but also very negative, the original inhabitants can’t afford to live there anymore. So then the artists/creatives take over. Then the Yuppies and DINKS. And the more wealthy rich, people with shopping habits extending our wallets. When cycling beyond the former path of the wall brought me into Neukolln, which is experiencing gentrification in am early stage. Lots of the local Turkish people where forced to move more to the outer neighborhoods. All this information brought me to the topic of my research project. I wanted to explain, the process of gentrification, which is sometimes hard to visualize. So I made two giant banners, with all the gentrification symbols, logos and people/organizations involved in Berlin. Next to that I made a city plan in a maquette, visualizing the gentrification plague through the city in a clock–wise circular direction, starting in Kreuzberg, before the wall came down. On top of this, there are empty lots in the city because of construction failures of the DDR–regime in the Eastern part. This part has experienced the hardest gentrification in the couple of years. So it’s a logical spot to make temporary spaces for the people who are being forced to move out of their apartments because of the rising rents. I adverse these spaces, (very small but still big enough for the existenz minimum) by using the walls on both sides, like you see when you walk around Berlin and see what it looks like when a building gets renovated (gentrified). Then, next to the banners and maquette, there is a publication with more background information, poured into a (fictional) interview between a politician and a research–criticaster. In the publication I displayed the advertisements which I put on the giant banners, and there are also photographs of the spaces. For this I went to the city a couple of months ago, to visit each spot. Very exciting! I think that’s it. Of course people looked strange at me, I had to climb some fences and walk into random gardens, but once I got into these places, it sometimes was a really nice experience, especially in the picture I send you for the catalog (they were renovating the thing when I was there). The sequel for this project would be working together with an architect to make a design for the buildings.

What were some important influences for the creation of your project the way it’s constructed currently?

First I was informed about the topic through the book by Andrej Holm, ‘the Berlin Reader’, content wise. But design wise: more symbols, logo’s and recognizable images of the city (berlin). but then transforming them or combining. Adding typography inspired by some of the street typo. but the other typography and guidance is more my own first choice typography style.

Does your this project, to you, feel as like it’s your ‘Mona Lisa’ of your work so far?

I said yes before, and still I think so. But since the project can be extended in the future maybe I feel more as work in progress. The Mona Lisa is quite perfect and finished and my project isn’t. So it’s a mona lisa with no landscape in the background, how poetic.

Maybe you could tell us a little about your thesis?

it’s the linguistic master piece of my time (not). I’m addressing the topic of aesthetic journalism.It explains the modus operandi of artists and designers who use this journalistic approach in their work, ea traveling to places they report about. And also lot of these projects are about the history of certain lands/borders/geopolitics. That’s why I made a map with the location of the topics. also lots of work by Slavs and Tatars the studio I interned, they address the topics of Eurasion culture. The thesis for me felt like a exploration in this field, especially with the artist because i was more aware of the designers than the artists. Also maybe now I realize the two topic that interest me the most (the consequences of borders and the asocial aspect of architecture

you could probably say your thesis has had quite an influence on your research project right?

In this perspective yes. Well the topics are very different, but are the ones I mentioned earlier. But if you compare them, traveling or going to the actual location, has played a major part in both works. not that I travelled for the thesis, but because of the thesis it made me aware

Is this approach is something you could see yourself working with after graduation and in your future practice?

Yes but not in a short term, because I want some more experience in the studio life

Where did you do your internship?

At Slavs and Tatars, a studio in Berlin, more focussing on art and story telling about Eurasia but with lots of graphical ellements, thats where I helped them with illustrations also, on the computer and one paper. no booktypography, which is now, my least developed skill. If I had the chance I would go back, I really like their work, and I was very happy when I was offered a position for a few months. So I recommend every student to go abroad and find the studio you like the most.

did it also change your beliefs on design? doing your internship?

They work different than I did at artez. I was amazed that they had some much time to do revisions all the time, even till the last moment, so sometimes it was lots of work. But still less than 3rd year

did you have avocado’s during lunch?

Yes! we bought it at Kaisers! around the corner

allright, next is the practical assignment, could you talk about your partner, assignment and just the project in general?

We finished last thursday, I did the project together with Pleun Gremmen. We had to find a way to digitise a publication serie from Valiz, the antennae series. We took the indexes as main navigation system (not the table of contents). We found five matching indexes in the books, we displayed them next to each other in rows and when one name/subject was clicked you could see the relation, because of their position in the text (like 100 words in radius from each other)so you get a new kind of view on the topic. When you made the selection you went to the reading page where, every keyword selection was highlighted and the navigation was similar to the main page. It was a very technical approach, more techniques than design, which was sometimes frustrating because it took more time

Do you have some idea of what you would like to be doing five years from now?

No clue, it is very difficult because the job market is uncertain and I’m very mobile, I’m not particularly bound to a place. But what i’m doing is probably design related. Going abroad could be an option, also starting my own studio is a dream, but I’m not ready for that (yet). First some studio experience. Only soviets plan five years ahead.

What are your tips for upcoming graduation students?

Be very passionate about your work (so cliche). But I think the most important thing is that you find your references, and topics that interest you the most. Then in the 4th year you have a pool of things you can work with and are genuine. Aso because artez kind of destroys your previous life, don’t be afraid to make new steps (go abroad)!

89 minutes w/ johanne de heus

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Architecture, Book Design, Cartography, Graphic design, Identity, Johanne de Heus, Part Time, Social Engagement, System Design

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Johanne de Heus, I live in Amersfoort and I am currently studying graphic design, part–time.

Could you tell me something about your research project?

In my research assignment I analyse how people give sense to ‘a grid’. I think it’s very fascinating to observe the behavior of human beings. Especially the differences in that behavior are interesting to me, how an individual behaves in a larger group of people. People often demonstrate a certain behavior to be part of a (sub)culture, or to not be part of a group. The most fun about that is that most people seem to think they have their own identity, yet they very easily can be classified into a certain (sub)culture. I have chosen for the town house, because you can read a lot of people’s behavior from it. I analyse several part of about 40 identical town houses: in which way the path reaches the door, how much facade is covered by plants and trees and where and how much objects are placed around the front door. I translate what I see into graphic illustrations, which makes it easy to compare to each other en to be astonished about the differences and similarities.

All the front yards have the same measurements, so this is basically what is given to the inhabitant by the architecture. They can fill this grid up with whatever they like when they inhabit it.

What was the urgency for you to start this project?

Like I have said before, I find it interesting to observe people, to see in what way they are expressing themselves towards the outside world. I can really enjoy thinking of different scenarios while doing that. In this way, it gets a life of it’s own. This is exactly why I choose to show ‘The Paths to the Front Door’ in a pretty sec way. I do not literally want to tell my story because I hope people will think of their own when they see it. The art project ‘Exactitudes’ to me is very comfortable to look at. This project has had quite an influence during my research. The differences in similarities is what makes it a story of it’s own.

What were some important influences for the creation of your project the way it’s constructed currently?

Inspirational projects and designers are certainly ‘Exactitudes’ by Arie Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek, Hans Eijkelboom and the way of designing of Martijn Engelbregt.

Does this project, to you, feel as like it’s your ‘Mona Lisa’ of all of your work so far?

It is very much about myself, I guess, about my way of looking at my environment. I am very pleased with the result because I was struggling in the beginning and now I found a way to translate for what I find fascinating about it. It is not necessarily about the architecture. It is more a way to introduce other to my point of view on my fascination.

How is the whole ‘graduation experience’ doing it for you?

Very stressful, haha! The hardest thing is the total freedom you get, I think, and also that I am the one who’s deciding in all of this. I like freedom very much in such projects, however it is in my comfort zone to hold on to certain frames while shaping and deciding on things around those frames.

Could you briefly inform us on the subject of your thesis?

In my thesis I am looking for strategies of spatiality in two– and three dimensional typography. I divide typography in several groups such as dynamic typography or transboundary typography. Then, I distil strategies of spatiality based on the work of artists. Such a strategy to create spatiality in two dimensional work is for example playing with the features of the baseline or committing interaction between the black and white of a letter in interaction with the viewer.

Has your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on the research assignment?if yes, in what way?

The use of second and third dimension maybe. I translate something spatial to something flat. But maybe also the sorting and grouping of information to gain a different point of view.

To what sense would you like your research project, and it’s methodology, to correspond to your practice after graduation?

I have promised myself to use spatial elements or strategies of spatiality more often in my work, because I just think this makes a design much more interesting. And the aesthetics of grouping will probably remain to be a important part, I think.

Could you inform us on your client and type of assignment for the practical assignment?

My client is the Place de l’Opera, which is a webmagazine for people who love opera. Through news reports, reviews, interviews, announcements and background stories they sent out a report on a daily basis about the developments in the national and international opera world. I was asked to design a seasonal book in which you can find all there is to offer in field of opera, such as a agenda, several interviews, reports, and other stories. The seasonal book I made is for the coming opera.

Could you perhaps elaborate a little on your whole ‘GDA Experience’ as to how you’ve experienced over all in the last five years?

I’m very happy with the the fact that I was able to learn a lot from the teachers and that I was given new points of view on the profession of graphic design, and all the possibilities this profession provides. I do however struggle with the endlessness which silently slips into some projects sometimes. The almost overdeveloping sometimes creates unnecessary complications and it might feel like you get lost in your own project. A little bit of deeper developing is necessary of course, but when things feel right you should feel the freedom to make what you want to make and be happy with the outcome.

In 5 years, you’ll be doing what?

Hopefully I’ll be having a lot of fun projects and still have fun in designing.

Any advice for new students?

No.

71 minutes w/ pleun gremmen

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Activism, Architecture, Cartography, Digital design, Graphic design, Hidden Data, Mixed Media, Open internet, Pleun Gremmen, Politics, Social Engagement

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

Well, I’m Pleun, a graduation student at ArtEZ Arnhem.

Pleun, how is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

It’s been like a rollercoaster ride. One day i’m really stressed out and panicking and the next i’m totally fine. It is exciting and terrifying at the same time. There can be a lot of pressure, but I guess that depends on myself really… and if my rollercoaster goes up or down at that moment.

Would you tell us something about your research project?

I’m building a little local network with a wireless router to start a discussion about net neutrality and control over the internet in general. In my project I try to make people understand certain parts of the structure of internet better because I believe that when you understand something better, you can try to control it better, or your actions with it anyway. I choose a wireless router because it’s one of the smallest nodes in an internet physical structure. By zooming in I hope to make it a less complex problem.

What or who were some important influences for the creation of your project the way it’s constructed currently?

I think my internship had had influence in the way that I’m working on it and the new possibilities I see. And I think the class Network Cultures we had last year also had a big influence. My project subject has an overlap with my subject now and I really learned new ways of researching. Lastly Vincent and Lucas have had an influence, my boyfriend and a friend of mine. They taught me programming and helped with parts I couldn’t do myself.

Do your graduationprojects, to you, feel as like it’s your Mona Lisa of your work so far?

I hope each of my projects are slightly better than the previous ones. So far then yes, but I have a lot to learn still. I wouldn’t dare compare my work to Mona Lisa though.

Onto a new topic then, could you briefly inform us on the subject of your thesis?

My thesis is about two fields within graphic design: research & design and information design. I’m researching the gap between those two and trying to see if parts of the fields can combine into a new one.

Has your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on the research assignment? If yes, in what way?

Not really, but it has influenced the way I look at and use design method in general. I guess you could say my graduation project fits in the new field that I am proposing within my thesis.

To what sense would you like this project, and it’s methodology, to correspond to your practice after graduation?

I think I will look back at my project as a learning process and try to improve the methodology I used. I do like these fields in graphic design, research & design and information design. I can see myself making more projects similar to what I’m doing now.

Where did you do your internship?

My internship was at the studio Catalogtree in Arnhem. They’re specialized in information design and do lot’s of very interesting assigned and free work. I think the biggest change they made is that I try to be more relaxed while doing projects. At Artez I’m often very stressed out, and they were so organized and relaxed. I really try to work more like them. Also they have great inspiration outside graphic design itself and lots of ideas all the time. And of course they learned me a lot about doing infographics, which I’m really excited about.

Did they serve avocado during lunch?

Haha, no, not that I noticed. But that is one of the few things they didn’t serve. The lunches were quite amazing, and we took turns in cooking them. We even tried to come up with theme weeks. We had a ‘circle’ week once, and we were still talking about a CMYK week, but we couldn’t quite figure out what would be cyan enough.

Could you inform us on your partner, client and type of assigment for the practical assignment?

I’m working with Stan the Natris on my pratical assignment for Valiz, which is a small publisher in Amsterdam. They mostly publish books about art, research and critique and we were asked by them to publish a few books out of a series of ten online. We were asked to research the possibilities and choose a method that we thought was most fitting.

The collaboration has been super so far. I think we work quite well together. Although I’m a bit chaotic and he’s super organized, haha.

Five years from now, you’ll be doing what?

I hope i’m working in a small graphic design studio somewhere in the world or collaborating with someone in a studio of my own. But first i’m going to take a long holiday!

Any tips for upcoming graduate students, or for new students?

For new students: DON’T. Haha, or at least be prepared. It’s going to be a hell of a ride, but as I said, it is worth it and you are going to learn a lot and meet some wonderful people. As for graduation students I guess I would say try to pick a topic close to what you already love and know stuff about. And relax! it’s going to be fine in the end.