175 minutes w/ nils rotgans

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Activism, interaction design, Interim, Mixed Media, Morality, Nils Rotgans, Politics

Well hello, could you perhaps briefly introduce yourself?

I’m a graduation student interaction design. My focus is to make design with new media and old. Im very interested in information design and interaction design. To combine design and new media to com to a new elegant designs.

How is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

on the academy we always had a instruction to make a project from. I think we had a lot of freedom but with the last project you could do everything. I thought that was very hard at start. But it is so fantastic to start research project just smal and make it to something big. I have loved the journey the most. Every time an other way to explore. And a totally unexpected end of the project. About the time pressure I think that is very personal, I actually work better with a fast deadline coming up.

Could you tell me something about your research project and what it’s about ?

Well it’s about my dislike on text. And how the dutch politic system and the media around it. Every time there are elections the political parties bring out a book about everything they promise us. That was the start of the project. I’m a person that is very match visual thinker. I don’t like reading a lot. And have a hard time to read every book that the parties give to the public. I wanted to make a visual interface that trimmed every personality and fake promise from the system. A honest image of the dutch politic system. without opinions and promises. Just show what the politic really is doing.

What were some important references for the project?

I had a lot of inspiration in data visualizations from the british and american money streams. And the most of my data i used is calculated by CPB and CBS. That are dutch agencies that keep track of the data what the politic generates.

Does this project to you feel like your mona lisa of projects?

Well, this is my biggest project jet. So in that perspective yes. But it is far from finished i need to find the time, money and energy to make it something real. The part that is now ready is just been researching. It is not reachable for everyone.

Could you tell me a little about your thesis?

Well, it’s could interactive architecture. Its about the media art in public locations. and what the artists do with the fact that more and more of our public space get more cameras and security. The big CCVT spaces that is slowly coming up. We get scanned and put in a archief. we don’t have any control about that and we don’t now about it. With my design i did the same. People that come in to the graduation expo, every one of them i photographed the face. Without their knowledge. after i took the picture i made a “offline” archive. I Printed the faces. My aim was to distribute knowledge from my thesis. So every time a person came in the room he printed his face with the text of my thesis. The person who did’t want his or her face to by in the archief needed to take my thesis.

Where did you do your internship?

At Art+Com a berlin based interactive media studio. They make a lot of installations with new media. i liked them because they work with big project and smal and the design is mostly indoors. it was a great way to learn a lot. A lot of different professions are working there. architects, interaction designers, graphic designers, hackers/developers ect. All to make conceptual work with new media.

Did doing an internship also influence some beliefs you have about design? and how did it change you?

Yes, but i was there for 6 months a lot of time to learn about a lot. I think my work did get a lot more mature. I cant say exactly what changed in my design, it is more the overall look and feel. The thing that did not change was my information design. That was the thing they did not have.

Did they serve avocado’s during lunch?

Ha!? not that i recall. sorry not of the top of my head. its already a year ago.

Next up is the practical assignment, could you tell me a little about that?

Sure!, we worked together with GoShort a short film, film festival in Nijmegen. We were ask to make a new sort of comment system. Like you find on soundcloud, youtube, reddit ect. Well you run fast in problems if you try that. we all know a lot of sh*t get on the internet and we did’t want that. so no text. also there needed to be a way to simple make a commend on a movie. In the and we came up with an idea with drawing a simple line. the hight of the line represented how good you think it was. and the width position with the timeline of the movie. People who went to the festival could do that on there smartphone and on ipads in the main hall, for each movie. In the main hall where also 2 big interactive posters that showed the last commends, best movie until now and stuf like that. On the last day the best movies always get an award. This year every winner of an awards did get the average line from there movie back. we 3d printed that at the last moment for al of the winers. this line was every interesting because you say what part of the movie the public found great and what not so much.

Five years from now, what will you be doing?

I dont know. i want to start same day my own little studio. but i want to work for a nice big studio until than. i want to go back go berlin. but there is no work for my at the time.

Do you have some tips or advice for upcoming graduate or new students?

Listen to this! all day all night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCy7lLQwToI

i dont realy have any tips. its your own “Journey”.

93 minutes w/ joëlle terlouw

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Archiving, Autonomous Design, Graphic design, Joëlle Terlouw, Mixed Media, Morality, Redefining Boundaries, Speculative Design

Could you introduce yourself?

Yes, I am Joëlle, 22 years old.

At the moment I live in Kootwijkerbroek (Gelderland)

How is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

I think it’s all pretty cool actually. You get a lot of freedom and it seems that this creates much more opportunities… Choosing your own project instead of getting an assignment from a teacher is much more motivating somehow. You are really responsible of successfully finishing your own ideas. I find that exciting, good and very interesting!

Could you tell us something about your research project?

Yes, I’m researching autonomy. Autonomy is a much used word in descriptions of art and graphic design en is being used in many ways. But those ways are very much contradictive to each other. First, I researched the use of the term ‘autonomy’ in literature. I found all sorts of conflicting uses, which I think devalued the term. Which is a shame, because autonomy is such a beautiful, powerful word. In my research project I want to raise awareness for the ambivalence of autonomy, to revitalize the discussion on autonomy (like how this happened a few years ago with The Autonomy Project in the VanAbbenmuseum).

Autonomy is not something physical, or something tactile, and this is why there is so much to be said about it. For instance, on one hand you could say that autonomy is aesthetical, that is it about the beauty of something, or the use of materials and the experience of that. On the other hand, you could say that when the aesthetical values of an artwork are playing a too big role, this artwork cannot be autonomous anymore.

This is just one of many discussions which is involved when it comes to autonomy. That discussion, ironically but serious, is something which I want to bring to the surface and show. Doing that, I will stay neutral. There is already so much said about it, I don’t feel the need to add another opinion to that.

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

By having talks with teachers, other students and the authors of the articles on autonomy, I found out that the autonomy of art is comparable with the ‘Is there a God?’–matter within religion. Doe autonomy exist or not? Autonomy is, just like a God, physical, not touchable. Everyone has their own opinion on the (non) existence of it. This creates an endless discussion which also applies to autonomy. I found this quite exciting, it motivated me even more to research all the facets of the autonomy discussion. That is how I realized that autonomy is a sensitive subject. Which I had to approach rather seriously, with some irony. Because the discussion on autonomy is absurd, but because of that, very interesting as well.

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

It definitely is a project which is close to my interests. In that sense it feels more ‘balanced’ than other projects. And the assignment is not officially given by school, but by yourself. That feels kind of awesome… This project is among other things based on research, which I like, and now you’ve had the time and space for it. That deepness is what makes the project really interes– ting. It contains a certain urgency, which makes this project more valuable than other past projects.

Could you tell us something about your thesis?

My thesis has the same base as my research project. Like I said before artworks are often labeled ‘poetic’ or ‘autonomous’. In my thesis I focus on poetry. What is poetry? Wat does poetry mean in this period of time and how can a graphic designer insert poetry in his or her design?

This thesis has a basic structure of a gradient. It begins with the poetic text (a poem), then fades into visual poetry (words and letters poured into a certain shape), and from there it fades into the poetic image (images) and eventually this all comes together in a poetic design. A graphic designer uses words and images as base material. Poetry communicates in a very special and often ambivalent way with these materials, what can be very interesting for a graphic designer!

Has your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on the subject of the research assignment?

The subjects are relatively close to each other, and the starting point of both subject is also king of the same (the question of what the word actually really means and how it’s been used in the world of art and graphic design). The way of looking at and researching of the subject in both projects have definitely influenced each other.

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

I find the research minded approach very important and valuable. I definitely want to continue that, but than maybe in way that is even more combined to my personal style. ArtEZ has a very own style, throughout the years you certainly pick up on that a little. But I want to emphasize my own style and combine this with a research minded approach. Enthusiasm, focus on a certain design and studying while researching.

Where did you do your internship?

My internship was at Buro Reng in Groningen.

Buro Reng does both commercial as self–initiated projects. I find that to be a very pleasant combination, because I wanted to learn in both fields. Hans Gerritsen and Pascal Rumph are the owners of the studio. At the moment they work a lot on websites and other digital applications.

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

Communication is a very central thing at their studio, and they’re very good at it! They are honest, open and direct. They have definitely inspired me as to becoming aware of words. And they also encouraged me to keep doing what feels good to me. It’s less stressing for both yourself and in the communication towards the client.

Did they serve avocado during lunch?

Haha, NO! not even! They did have a lot of other good food though!

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

I did my practical assignment in collaboration with Britte Hietkamp. This collaboration went very well and the assignment that we got was very cool. We had to make a design for a graphic design file catalog. Beautiful posters! Very nice material to work with, that alone made the project just awe some to work on. What became kind of an interesting matter was the fact that the Stedelijk Museum really wanted us to make them a very basic research document and that our guiding teachers at ArtEZ wanted to see us experiment a lot. After a lot of considerations, we found a good and cool compromise, which of course was kind of exciting during the final presentation. We showed them the final publication and they loved it!

What will you be doing in 5 years from now?

Very likely I will be doing a masters or working at a graphic design studio to gain some working experience, and next to this I will probably be working on self–initiated projects.

Any tips or advice for upcoming graduate or new students?

Let yourself be guided by the teachers, but mostly: stay true to yourself and your own ideas!

82 minutes w/ Marjolein visser

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Activism, Book Design, Graphic design, Identity, Marjolein Visser, Morality, Open internet, Politics, Social Engagement, Speculative Design

Hey, could you briefly introduce yourself?

Hi, I am Marjolein Visser, 25 yrs old. When I was a little I told my mother I could do design better. There it all started.

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

I think its fine, unfortunately I had some delay during my graduation but in the end its all turned out good. Mmm, first I thought it would be like that, the biggest, nicest, greatest world reformer project ever. But in the end… it’s not. I chose something I like doing, so that’s good!

Would you tell us about your research project?

My research project is about Vladimir Putin. Its about Modern Propaganda. I think he conducts propaganda with is own pictures, in a modern way. He is making his own cult of person. He is living in his own lie. He wants to be an Übermensch for the Russian people. I compared his pictures with different images. Art, Internet culture and movies. This to show how bizarre the pictures of him actually are. It’s also a wink to what he wants to emit to the rest of the world.

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

I think Oliver Laric, with one of his projects, called Versions, made in 2010, was a great inspiration for this project.

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

Yeay – its not really directly related to graphic design. It’s about political art in public space. In my thesis I write about five different artists who make political art in public. I compare them with each other. It’s a very interesting subject. I think for example art in public space is way more effective than art in a museum. It’s more confronting.

Would you like to continue working like you did now, in the future?

Well I really like politics. Politics are always a main subject in my projects. I was curious what other forms of art uses Politics and how they are doing it. I think you can always learn something from other disciplines. So I did with my thesis.

Could you tell us about your practical assignment?

I’ve made the Master Architecture Catalogue of 2013 in collaboration with Simone Pieterse. It went really well. They where very happy with the result, we where even ask to do a new project for them. In this catalogue there are 16 graduates. We’ve made 16 books. Every graduate has his own book. There is no particular order, you can arrange it yourself. Every student gets the same attention in the catalogue. We also used architecture terms on the books and in the box, to summarize the projects.

Where did you do your internship?

At the Jongens Ronner in Rotterdam. It’s not the most famous studio on the planet, but it was really instructive for me. They where very relax. I felt like a full employee in the studio, which was very nice. I designed a book and even came up with the title of the book.

What did you learn or change about yourself during the internship?

I became more secure of my designs and learned a lot. I also use more colour in my work. I also became more interested in modern typography.

Did they serve avocado during lunch?

Yes! Of Course! And peppers, fresh salad, very huge hagelslag and other nice stuff. We played also some table tennis to relax.

In what sense do you see yourself working these methods you’ve used the past few months in the future?

Graphic Design is changing a lot. Its way more digital now then before. You can also see this in the study and the change of heads in the study. I think its good to prepare the students for the digital stuff that’s coming up. But I still really like designing books!

What will you be doing in 5 years from now?

I’ll be sailing around the world next year. I am also running my own business –called Vrisser. I hope I can do some work experience while visiting other countries. I like to work at an awesome studio somewhere on this planet!

Any advice or tips for upcoming students?

FOLLOW YOUR HEART, LIVE YOUR DREAMS, DON’T DREAM YOUR LIFE, etc, etc!

53 minutes w/ jill plaschek

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Archiving, Autonomous Design, Graphic design, Jill Plaschek, Mixed Media, Morality, Part Time, Redefining Boundaries, Specualtive Design

Could you introduce yourself?

I am Jill Plaschek, 24 years old and living in Arnhem.

How is the whole graduation thing doing it for you?

Sometimes it’s very stressful, I have the constant feeling that everything has to be perfect and my life is over if I’m not graduating.

Could you tell me a little about your research project?

It is about the ‘forgotten’ image collection I collected on my computer. Over the last four years I saved all these images which I really liked and loved but were hidden in my downloads folder, waiting to be forgotten. With this project I am researching different ways to make this collection analogue and make the mass of it visible. Other terms like printing and material research are becoming a new part of my project that way. My goal is to make an installation combining all the images from the collection and beaming my ‘save image to downloads’ behavior.

What was the urgency for you to start this project?

Bring back the love for printing! And to share all the images with others.

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

I received a link* from somebody with work from Sulki & Min, they created a kind off office environment with a database which I really liked. That part of making a theatrical setting is really cool I think and something I strive for. Besides that, just everyday situations like everyone collection and browsing and saving and all that, without making things analogue is something that inspired me. Collecting digital images is like collecting air, it’s data, it’s nothing unless you print it.

Check it out: http://www.sulki–min.com/wp/?p=104

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

I t try not to look at it that way, but after all, this is what I worked for basically for four years so it has to be good. And satisfying.

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

It is about multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity and the differences between them.

Has your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on the subject for your research assignment? Or are the subjects not related?

Yeah I think so. Graphic design is something that had my interest but there were so many other things that I liked or felt passionate about that’s why I started collecting the images, to get inspired by photography, architecture or fashion. From all these other interests comes the urge to explore multi and interdisciplinarity.

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

The interest for different categories I used to arrange the collection (different disciplines maybe) is something that I would like to work with in the future. I have no clue in what way but I now that graphic design isn’t enough for me. And I’m not saying that graphic design alone is not embracing enough, but I want to explore so many other things.

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

I worked for MAISON the FAUX. A fashion label consisting of Hans Hutting and Joris Suk (and many other partners) who graduated in 2013 from the fashion department at ArtEZ. I created a logo for them last summer and I thought it would be nice to expand that and design the whole visual identity for them. Really nice experience and something I would like to do in the future as well.

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

Working as an online editor for a fashion magazine (or just taking Anna Wintour’s Starbucks order) working together with other young creatives, working for an online platform (or having my own), curating, photographing, having my own gallery/bar/cafe where I sell design. Just creating. Something like that. I don’t know. The world is mine and it scares the sh*t out of me.

Any tips for upcoming graduate students? of for new students?

Put things in perspective.

101 minutes w/ britte hietkamp

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Admin

Category: Project
Tags: Autonomous Design, Britte Hietkamp, Graphic design, Identity, Mixed Media, Morality, System Design

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Britte Hietkamp, 23 years old and one of the students of Graphic Design who will graduate. (Of course otherwise you wouldn’t ask me)

How is the whole graduation experience doing it for you?

Euhm.. Like a roller coaster, it’s going fast, it has his ups and downs. But is nice to work on your own project with all it’s freedom. And it’s nice to work within a group of students who are very supportive. There is no competitive feeling to each other, everyone is wiling to help an other. It’s doing good to work in such a nice atmosphere.

Could you tell a little about your research project?

My project is about ‘the convertibility(?) of people, especially of an individual. I started my research with my profile. Four years a go I left my home, Leek (Groningen) and moved to Arnhem. I went back after those years and searched for the people who took over my routines. For example; Dieuwertje Bijnagte and Enrico Wardenier were hired to take over my hours at the restaurant where I worked. Another example; My little brother moved to my room. In total I found sixteen people – I call them the ‘identities’ – who filled a piece of me. Those identities together are a representation of the profile… how, not ready yet.

Those identities together are a representation of the profile, the personage. So; Profile= Identities= Personage. What will be shown at the exhibit is the search to the identity of the personage. For this I used a database which I made of facial parts from the identities. With my database you can make over millions different ‘new’ people. But imagine that when you have a little bigger database you could make every person in the world, with relative smalla database.

What were some important influences for the creation of your project the way it’s constructed currently? Any particular designers or artworks or books or anything that you consider inspiration for this project?

Hans op de Beeck was a big inspiration for me. Especially the artwork ‘Staging Silence (2)’. Actually, the introduction text of his show besides his work was a starting point for my project.

What do we create to provide ourselves an identity and to make ourselves comfortable? How do we cope in a world that is increasingly difficult to understand and in which a human being seems to be replaceable?

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

haha, maybe it does.

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

My thesis is about how individual authorship is making collective authorship within (graphic design) studio’s and (graphic design) collectives.

Has the subject of your thesis had a certain influence on deciding on subject of the research assignment? Or are they not related at all?

It wasn’t my starting point but in a certain way it’s very related. It’s both about making one identity from individuals.

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

After graduating I still want to explore the little stories and invisible phenomenons within my free work. And I also want to use and explore a lot of different mediums, materials and technics

Where did you do your internship?

I did my internship at Kossmann.deJong in Amsterdam. It’s a big office and they call themselves exhibition architects. Their clients are mostly museums like the ‘Gemeente Museum Den Haag’ but they also work for Schiphol (they do the interior design) and the biggest project they worked on during my internship was the for the National Military Museum’. Most of those projects have a duration of multiple years.

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

Ehm.. I am more organized and structured now but the most important thing I learned is to stand up for my own opinion and beliefs. The beliefs itself didn’t change.

Did they serve avocado during lunch?

Haha, yes they did… and now I’m addicted to it. They’re at it’s best when they are a little bit smooth on freshly baked brown bread with a fried egg on top.

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

Together with Joëlle Terlouw I designed a catalogus of the archive of announcement posters for the exhibition from the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. We used 700 posters and came up with a structure to use two ways of navigation (date and alphabetical). When you read the book on a normal way you’re following the navigation ordered on date. The alphabetical posters are turned 90*, so when you turn the book you can follow this way of navigation. The outcome of this structure is that when you’re looking for a poster of let’s say Wim Crouwel, you can be surprised with a poster next to Wim Crouwel from a total different designer of another year. So the reader can explore, but the book also functioned as a good research book because you can choose the context of a poster by choosing the navigation. The three indexes are very useful to navigate, look things up, but als give you a nice overview of the amount of posters. The collaboration with Joëlle couldn’t be better and I am very proud of the result.

What will you be doing in 5 years from now?

Well.. I hope to do a combination of challenging design projects and teaching/give workshops to teenagers and children. But first I want to explore myself more as a Graphic Designer by a nice studio.

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

Be true to yourself and explore!