Portfolio website for photographer Mick van de Wiel. To reflect his preference for more personal approach rather than overly stylized imagery, Mick’s name is neatly handwritten. A very minimal logo was also hand drawn in the shape of a crescent moon: a fascination of his and a joking reference to his nocturnal ways.

The website too is quite minimal – the photographs are the main focus. When considering a dark versus light background in a photography portfolio, both options seemed equally preferable depending on the photograph or the viewer. So, both are made available; the viewer may switch between dark and light at any point while browsing by clicking on the moon positioned atop every page.

www.mickvandewiel.nl

Identity for Italian restaurant Isolani. A classic ristorante feel without the typical tricolore colours.

With a simple and clean aesthetic, the website reflects the modern yet warm feel of the restaurant and provides the necessary information without overwhelming the prospective restaurant goers. Through a simple content managing system, the owners are able to maintain and update the website at will.

www.isolani.nl

Posters for the theatre productions of youth theatre school Rabarber. For each production – for age groups ranging from 4 to 16 years old – a unique illustration was created, based on the plot of each play.

The stories are deconstructed and rearranged to create one image that represents the feel of the play. While different illustrative techniques are used in every poster to create a fresh and varied series, the elements and characters are all ultimately collaged and layered on, unifying the series and also reflecting the casual and layered visual identity of the school itself.

Initiated during internship at Barlock; currently producing together with Eline Wieriks.

How have the views been formed in regards to the visual portrayal of reality, and how is it influencing the way image makers now manufacture reality?

A thesis dealing on the apparent creation of reality in advertisement through photography in the past two decades, on the perceived honesty and dishonesty of this medium and the manipulation of credibility through style and technique. From the obviously photoshopped, airbrushed creations that we've now become so sceptical of to the seemingly authentic DIY aesthetic that dominates today.

View as PDF here.

Graduation project. June 2010.
Willem de Kooning Academy.

Situated in the heart of the country and isolated deep in the Brazilian Highlands, the country’s capital, Brasilia, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010. It was inaugurated in 1960, no more than three years after its conception. Invented by one man and his modernist visions, the original city was planned out to the very last detail – based on modernist observations and requirements. No elements of a city were left unplanned... except for the explosive population growth that ensued.

Through the changing design, which like the city itself becomes more organised and centred on the shape of a cross (as a sign of possession: the conceptual basis of Brasilia), the book explores the strength of the design of the city – starting at the outskirts and working its way towards the centre. Through reverse chronology, the book reveals the past and beginnings of Brasilia, ending at the very beginning: the first sketches of the city.

Graduation project. June 2010.
Willem de Kooning Academy.

Crossing Border is a festival with “unique combinations of spoken word with music, film and art” – not simply one type of entertainment, but a very unceremonious mixture. Because of the proximity of the two venues, and the amount of simultaneous acts taking place, it is inevitable that one might stumble upon new, unknown or unexpected performances: crossing one's borders. The festival is therefore not about from which side one crosses over to/from, but about the crossing itself: the space and time between two states is where it all takes place. Every visitor’s unique experiences at the festival form a gradient of sorts.

The pocket-sized program booklets were separated by day, so as to create a portable overview of the performances for the festival guests. Each artist was assigned one page, that were in turn bound in a random order – creating different combinations of artists on each spread of each booklet. In the centre, the schedule overview of the day's performances were placed.

Graduation project. June 2010.
Willem de Kooning Academy.

Items for the identity of De Balie, a cultural & political centre in Amsterdam, following Lava's identity redesign – dynamic underlines that change with every different subject, signifying De Balie's role in accentuating (and underlining) topics in society.

For the signing within the building itself, the underline theme was followed through and used to enhance the signing: for example, incorporating arrows where necessary, and using thematic icons for each area.

Created during internship at Lava, who won the Gold prize with for best identity with De Balie at the European Design Awards 2010.

Looking at the value of money, Eline Wieriks and I created this set of three t-shirts that look at what you are paying for when you buy a product. Three different brands were researched and from each, the most basic product was bought – a man's t-shirt. We looked at different factors in selling a t-shirt (the design phase, the production phase, and the price) and created composite shirts reflecting the different ratios.

When presented with the topic of 'nature vs. culture,' it soon became clear that human nature and human culture are not separable, that culture is nature. Culture is acquired through processes relative to many factors - culture is relative. Still, there are cultural constants, 'human universals' of behaviour - a human nature found in all cultures of the world. This book puts these opposing statements together to show that culture is based on context and nature is universal.

When presented with the topic of 'nature vs. culture,' it soon became clear that human nature and human culture are not separable, that culture is nature. Culture is acquired through processes relative to many factors - culture is relative. Still, there are cultural constants, 'human universals' of behaviour – a human nature found in all cultures of the world. This book puts these opposing statements together to show that culture is based on context and nature is universal.

Opening video for educational publisher Thiememeulenhoff's Authors' Day. Played in the Media Plaza, Utrecht, June 2009.

Made with Eline Wieriks, Malu Tonnaer and Miriam Thijssen.

Left: An interpretation of jazz in the city of Rotterdam, showing the variety within the jazz genre through the metamorphosis of the typography.

Right: An organic and fluid interpretation of jazz, handdrawn on paper with pastels and digitalised.

For the North Sea Jazz Festival art poster competition.

A magazine about a crisis. Each issue explores one event, analysing it from start to finish, and through the points of view of the people involved. This issue is about a break-up, with the stories of the girlfriend, the boyfriend, and the other girl. The magazine is in fact a triptych, each rendering visualising the escalating emotions of one person through a series of semi abstract images.

Bag created based on the works of fashion designer Conny Groenewegen. The bag was inspired by her use of silhouettes, light, and cut outs. Removing the purple inner bag, the ghostly cut out images appear more clearly when light is shone from certain angles.

A short ident inspired by the Deep Fried Film Festival. Made in stop motion with clay, varnish, soap, ink, and a certain black coloured fizzy drink.

2010 - present:
Independent designer

Nov 2009 - Jan 2010:
Internship Barlock, The Hague

Aug - Oct 2009:
Internship Lava, Amsterdam

2006 - 2010:
Bachelor in Graphic Design
Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam

Full CV available upon request.

Anthi
Barlock
Dennis van Gaalen
Eline Wieriks
Halil Turaçtemur
Lava
Malu Tonnaer
Mick van de Wiel
Robin Alcedo Overbosch
Shilpi Ahmed-van der Pool
Soeraya Siemons