23 Questions!

Our latest A List is an international coup with animation as a driving passion. Check out what he has to say!

What sparked your passion for design?
As a kid I was intrigued by animations and illustrations, I would often try to copy them in my drawings. During my school years I was one of those guys who was always making doodles in his school books.

How creative were you as a youngster?
Me and my best friend started making comic books, and movies at a very young age. We would try to make a profit by selling them to family members, and often they did. Later on with the advance of the internet, we explored new ways to design and make money. This was good fun and we tried lots of ideas, but unfortunately we didn’t end up as internet millionaires, yet!

Do you come from a creative family? Were they supportive of your desire to be a designer?
I come from a family of teachers, and everyone has been supportive of my career.

What sort of education and training have you had?
After High School I did a 4 year degree in Multi Media in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. After graduating from this I decided I wanted to take my skills to a higher level, and followed up with 4 years of study at the art Academy St Joost, where I got my bachelor degree in animation.

Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
As a kid I always dreamed of being an animator for Disney, I wanted to work on hand drawn animations. But during my animation degree I got to know all the different techniques and styles that animation has to offer. So now I would like to work at a company where I can explore in cross-over techniques, while expanding my visual style.

Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
My first project was designing a website for a lady who designs rust-free steel household accessories and furniture. Looking back at it now I still like the modern design of the website, although the features are a bit basic.

What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years? My preferred software would definitely be Adode illustrator, on which I have spend a lot of time creating endless amounts of characters. I love the freedom that the vector system allows, in which I can zoom endlessly without losing the graphics quality. The greatest advancement for me would be the on-screen wacom tablet, which gives me the feeling of going back to basic pen on paper drawing.

What are the various mediums that you've worked with and is there any that you would like to explore? I've worked on a large range of mediums like animation, graphic design, illustration, web design, photography and life-action film. But there are still lots of features I can improve in, i'm always trying to challenge myself.

Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
The current generation is using more digital mediums, and technology is always advancing. I don’t think we can prevent that technology will eliminate the need for print. However I don’t think print will lose all its territory, for at least another 50 years. People still feel an attachment to printed work and like to be able to have a physical copy of a book or magazine, to flip through the paper pages.

Whose work do you really admire and why?
I’m inspired by street-art, which can be found on almost every corner. I like the artistic freedom and freshness of it. A few artist I admire are Fons Schiedon, BLU, Bfree & Paul McCarthy.

Who has been the greatest person that you've ever had the pleasure of working with and what have they taught you? Its hard to mention just 1 person, but I think the person who was most important for my creative development is Olaf van Haarlem. A co-designer at Ilse Media, who thought me a lot about typhography and webdesign. I learned a lot about functional designing, and how to work with the limitations of the internet.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Moving to Australia, travelling and my graduation short "Cardboard", which is currently showing at various film festivals around the world.

How would you describe your work?
There's a lot of variation in my work. I would describe my work as fresh, clean and colorful. With every assignment I take on, I try to come up with an original concept or idea, that will suit the client. I think the most characteristic elements of my style are visible in my illustrations.

What are your plans for the future?
I hope to have some of my characters published in the Pictoplasma encyclopedia. I would also like to travel some more, in and around Australia.

What sort of company would you like to work with next?
I would like to work in a creative studio, with people who are passionate about the work they do.

What is your opinion of Australian design?
To be honest, I haven't been living in Australia long enough to comment on this. But I have noticed there are a lot of animated adds on television, which makes me a happy man.

What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
Definitely the warmer weather (compared to The Netherlands) and the great food Melbourne has to offer.

In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future? Getting over the financial crisis, which will just be a matter of time.

What is your creative outlet outside of design?
Travelling, bike riding and eating my weetbix (without milk) every morning!

What is the best designed bar in Melbourne?
Hmm, I haven't checked that many bars out yet. When it comes to food, I really like to have a vegetarian burger at Grill’d, which has awesome graphics in there store.

What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
www.behance.net
www.coolhomepages.com
www.flickr.com
www.youtube.com
www.playgroundsfestival.nl

What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
"De jeugd van tegenwoordig", dutch music that’s so wrong, its cool.

If I was a font, I'd be...?
Tahoma


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