PROJECTS

BOUDOIR BABES - promo

December '24

Lingerie does not have to mean objectifying and sexualizing the body. It can mean having fun, feeling free, enjoying a little lace fantasy.
Yes. Also for men.

So thought Paolo Yao, creating Boudoir Babes and needing my help for little promotion visuals.

The organisation of Boudoir Babes asked me to help create a promotion video and promotion materials for their upcoming queer men lingerie party.

As a new brand they were busy organizing a launch party and needed social media materials for their fresh account as a way to introduce the brand, bring to life the vibe of the lifestyle and promote their upcoming event.

The goal of the visuals was to show the fun and freedom of wearing lingerie without oversexualizing the body. The videos had to show a person having a private moment enjoying their body in a playful, sexy but not dirty way.

 

The project happened lightening fast.
From getting the assignment on Wednesday I went to shooting the video on Saturday. This was decided by the availability of the model and the location.

With this speed there was almost no time for further planning or storyboarding. There was only time to get a bit of an idea in my mind, and be ready to think on the spot, knowing general wish and feel we were going for.

The model, the styling and the location for the videoshoot was chosen by the organisation - an abandoned office building in the center of Rotterdam.

When we arrived there we found a lot of random objects laying around, as well as some art pieces stored there.
We quickly organized them into a warm and playful looking set, almost like a fantasy budoire.

With a few random lamps and portable LED lights that I brought we were able to create depth and color to the set.

This project required flexibility and thinking quickly on my feet. Adjusting to whatever conditions were there.

I was inspired by the randomness of the set and the energy of the model and created a lot of great material very fast.

What I learned that with a bit of plan and with a few creative people being able to work with whatever they find to make a fantasy work - it's possible to create a lot of versatile, creative, storytelling content very quickly.

 

  • one long video
  • series of short videos
  • collection of photos
  • collection of styled Instagram posts
  • animated existing logo of the organisation, GIF
 

BOUDOIR BABES - behind the scenes

December '24

During the commissioned Boudoir Babes videoshoot I took a look around behind the scenes, and stories I found there were so heartwarming and deep, I had to capture a few stolen moments.

There was no briefing for this.

Inspired by the warm, dynamic, caring energy between the men on set I wanted to capture the moment.

The stories told in the pictures move me.

The mix of masculinity and femininity was present not only through the theme, clothing and the movement of the people, it was also in the combination of strength and vulnerability, the caring for each others comfort, the tying of each others corset and the freedom of expression without objectifying the body.

I will not write more about this, I let the pictures speak volumes.

I learned that I absolutely love a real moment.

Having control over an image, posing, designing a set- those are great things. But the energy of a moment, the randomness and messiness of life is irreplacable.

A gallery of amazing pictures for own art collection.

DJ LANDO LEON

September '21 - ...

An eclectic DJ, wanting to love the music and live his fantasy through custom made visual assets

DJ Lando Leon was in the process of changing his DJ name. That's why he asked for my help to give form to his new DJ identity that would be appropriate for Rotterdam as well as Aruba.

He also expressed a need for a simple social media plan of how this new identity would be presented to his existing public.

He underlined his versatile, artistic style as a starting point and wished for his brand to be "polished and grown up but eclecting, and looking like i might have done it myself". He wanted the brand to feel like it was him, and not a box given to him by someone else to be limited by.

With the new brand identity he wanted to exude a serious, professional image appropriate for grey Rotterdam, without losing his identity - playful, artistic, gender bending, creative performer with roots in sunny Aruba and Venezuela.

I took inspiration by first looking at Lando's online presence, to see what was binding his current style together.

I noticed the color palette of pink and blue though his existing pictures, which to me was not only representative of a party atmosphere, but also made a reference to gender pink and blue in a subliminal, soft way.

I used a shape of wave as a symbol not only of music but also symbolic to Lando's paradise island roots.

To introduce his new identity on his social media I took a picture of the DJ, in dark, leather styling, edited and split it into smaller squares. That way by being posted one by one they would over time reveal the new image of DJ Lando Leon to his public.

I have learned to adjust my personal style in order to fit a clients wish. At the end I was happy with every asset I have created, because it fitted Lando's taste and exceeded his expectations.

During this creative relationship I have learned how to work with a client over time, keeping organized assets at hand, ready to jump in when new needs arrived - like a new event or a party needing promotion.

  • Logo
  • Color
  • Typography
  • Photography
  • Videos
  • Interview
  • Animation
  • Social media posts and stories
  • Strategy

SPELLBOUND

December '24 - ...

A brand-spankin-new music and content production collective behind young talent- Ome IWAN

Spellbound is a new music production collective, that consists of a producer, manager, beat maker, rapper, and content creator- me.

Each member of the team is breifed to be themselves, to feel free to use their strengths, in support of the main man, the rapper, Ome IWAN.

 

We only just begun the creative road together, but we already know, the results will be playful, real, human and magical.

Now I am learning to be completely, independently me and believing in my voice as content creator and editor.

Items on the design agenda:

  • Logo
  • Color
  • Typography
  • Tone of voice
  • Photography
  • Videos
  • Animations
  • Strategy for publication
  • Social media posts and stories

Ome's Kermis

October '24

Album cover for a music collection with Brabants soul

With this project I was given a title of the album and the info that needed to go on it, like names of the producers and track list.

For the rest I had a free hand.

I started by researching vintage "Kermis" (faire / carnival). I was drawn to the busy, eclectic style, full of patterns and colors.

I thought it reflected the eclectic, retro style of the music.

I had fun putting a lot of different elements together, creating something way more busy and cheeky than I ever did before.

  • artwork with title and tracklist

MAN UP MUSIC

August '24

This young music collective asked me to design an artwork that, and I quote “would be great on stickers or someone would want to tattoo””

The nautical theme started when the client showed me a font they wanted to base the artwork on. It was a nautical, retro font.

The client also mentioned they wanted to be a part of the process and see how the inspiration develops.

For the rest, I had a free hand.

To start the creative juices I started researching vintage nautical tattoos, to really grasp what the style is about and how to approach it.

Seeing that it was a music collective, I started playing with a thought- what if I replaced pieces of those classic images with pieces of instruments or recording gear?

I followed the hunch and created a few variations. To be honest, I was going to go back towards the direction that the client wanted and incorporate the nautical typeface, but since the client wanted to be involved with the process, I showed them the drawings.  Client fell in love with the octopus, and that was the product delivered in their eyes:)

I normally would not show a client sketches or half work, where they would have to use a lot of fantasy to picture the final product.

In this case I did it because I was specifically asked to do so, and it showed me that sometimes the client wants to be surprised, see options they never expected, and only by allowing them into my process (which starts with playing around very often) I could deliver something they enjoyed even more.

  • Artwork sticker
  • Color
  • Typography

NATALIE'S ATELIER

January '24

Natalie is a young eyebrow creator, wanting to elevate her brand with a new logo and style that would appeal to variety of women and represent both her artistic soul and a professional passion for permanent eyebrow make up.

Natalie sees permanent eyebrow make up as her art: a craft requiring taste, skill and a certain artistry. She wanted to appeal to a woman who wants to look and feel beautiful.

She asked me to combine the image of self care with a feel of a painters atelier and create a warm, professional look for her starting brand.

The name "Atelier" is a reference to artistry and a feeling of a craft workshop. Short version on the logo, "N'atelier" combined Natalie's name and the word "Atelier".

The palette chosen is a soft and warm combination of old gold and blush pink. Intention behind it is to give a client a sense of warmth, self-care and positivity.

The watercolor blob with a hand sketched eyebrow is a wink to the artistic soul of the brow expert, but those are the only irregular, organic shapes in this brand style. In order to give the style a feeling of professionalism, trust and harmony for the rest I have chosen for straight lines and regular shapes. 

I believe it brings a sense of stability and trustworthiness to the brand: qualities you are looking for when you are getting work done on your face. 


During briefing we have discussed a few possible color palettes. As a fellow artist, Natalie wanted to be involved in picking the perfect version.

To start us off I have created three different color combination - each effecting the vibe of the brand slightly. Natalie gave them a look and knew immediately that blush pink was her favorite. So was mine.

I could have maybe said from the start that I believe that this is best and not put in an effort to create other color variations, on the other hand being involved in decisions made Natalie happy and really sure that the final choice was the best for her.

I have learned that sometimes giving a client options to choose from can be a very positive and accommodating choice.

In this process my decision to share various options lead to a quick decision and a very satisfied client.

I know however that often sharing too much of designing process can lead to more indecisiveness and choice stress with the client, so I would only do it when my intuition clearly leads me there, not in every project.

  • Logo
  • Color
  • Typography
  • Social media styling
  • Animated logo
  • Flyer
  • Price chart

ROB van DIJK

November '24

In this project I built a website for a minimalist photographer with a unique eye on the world.

The client asked for a minimal website design with a sidebar menu and a couple of designs for photo gallery display, as well as bio page and a contact page.

To start I researched website themes that would fit the requested style best.

Next I designed a template in Adobe XD, making sure the style stays simple and colors very limited.

The Photographer was using a single yellow line on his business cards. I decided to take that as a design element. By using a modern typeface I reassured the minimalist, modern feel to the site.

In colors I used and off-white and off-black to make sure the website is eye-friendly and that the color scheme supports the pictures well.

With this project I worked by sticking as closely as possible to the words of the client.

I felt free to suggest variations, with well founded arguments, but for the rest I felt the voice of the client was sure enough in what he wanted to see, and I did not have a problem following that closely.

  • website, wordpress ready
  • design of three main pages and photo gallery
  • upgrade of the business card design
  • typeface
  • lay outs
  • concept for portfolio covers
 

BUIKSPEK BEATS

July '24 - ...

Branding and content creation for a beat producer.

The beat producer asked me to create a pig inspired logo with pink branding materials, with a flair of grafitti through the design.

Besides the visual assets also a selection of content for social media and a posting plan was needed.

The client asked specifically to never be seen on pictures with his face.

I spent a lot of time with a client, just working around them as they were working, observing and trying to understand the feeling he wanted translated into the content.

That observation translated into showcasing the expertise in technology, both vintage and new, the love for vinyl and oldschool music samples, the humor and the emotions that go into the process. It also spread out of the music studio, since inspiration and sound are things not limited to a music studio alone.

It was a close, personal process, that resulted in content that he could feel comfortable with and be themself in.

I learned to respect specific wishes of a client and working around certain limitations (like not showcasing the person behind the music), as well as translating the feeling of making the music into visuals, rather than showing a person doing something. So telling a story through objects and sound in a way.

The biggest compliments of my design life so far was hearing: "This is exactly how it feels making music in my studio for me", after I showed the content to the client.

  • Logo artwork
  • Color
  • Photography
  • Videos
  • Animation
  • YouTube: custom soundwave
  • Social media styling
  • Merch concepts

PROUD TO PRESENT

June '24

Strategy development and content creation to promote a gender-inclusive fashion show.

Proud to present was a campaign I came up with to name and promote a gender inclusive fashion show. It involved a crowdfunding campaign and organization of event, together with printed promotion materials and social media posts.

You'll hear me say it here. I love the queer community.

The soul of the event was really pride and love to be ourselves and to support others being themselves, in whatever shade or color that might be.

My inspiration for the vibe of the campaign was pretty much thinking:

"wea re all work in progress, we are all a puzzle of thoughts feelings and memories, we are all living a fantasy in a way"

So with this show we have lived our fantasy, hanging on billboards, weirdly edited and extra strongly colored to say hey, the grey reality needs this.

I have learned, but I learn this time and time again, that I love people who have passion, and who are not afraid to choose for themselves, whatever it is that fits them. That don't take reality for granted but make changes and edits, until the reality suits them a bit better.

I learned that that is the true atmosphere I always want to work in.

strategy

co - organization

programme

flyers

social media posts

trailer video

photos

thank you postcards

POSTERS FOR THE PLANET

August '24

Passion project: in Summer ’24 I decided to enter competition “Posters for the planet”.

The challenge was to create posters that would highlight a pressing global issue and encourage some kind of change. The style, form and the message was fully up to designers.

II feel strongly about global matters. 

I also believe that there are a lot of subjects combining into the crisis we have now to solve. However, some subjects we talk about a lot, and some a lot less.

I decided to research which solutions to climate crisis are less talked about, which "solutions we are not willing to see", and i decided to explore the ironic part where by trying to help, we are sometimes not seeing the damage we are making.

Inspired by UnHate campaign by Benetton I chose for minimal style.

I did not win the competition, but I was proud of my approach to the matter, and I am happy with what I produced. Mostly it has made it even clearer to me what kind of missions I want to live.

I learned that approaching issues from alternative perspective doesn't grant you a win (hahaha).

I had fun expressing my voice, and giving myself the challenge to look at the problem from a different perspective than the obvious one.

Poster 1: Wrong shade of green.

This poster comments on the price of our convenience. Mass produced goods, wrapped in plastic will never be a sustainable choice, no matter how many green it looks. It's the green shade of money, fast growth and profit that got us in crisis in the first place.

Poster 2: More is less.

I wanted to visualise what it looks like - us taking minerals and resources out of the earth. They are not endless.

Poster 3: This is not going green.

During my research I found out that militaries produce over 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions! And that's not counting wars, which have a disastrous effects on all life and environment wherever they happen. Living in peace is the only way to balanced and healthy world.

Poster 4: Stop overproduction.

Popular slogan referring to stopping mass fast production of goods on this poster stands for the overpopulation crisis. It feels like a very controversial thing to say here in the west. That we could choose to reproduce less.

That if you are in a safe, wealthy situation you could choose not to reproduce at all. Or that you could instead choose to give a healthy home to someone else that needs it.

Poster 5: (A)I learn what you teach me.

Sometimes we see technology, and the generative models as something done to us, some tool that's outside of our power. But much like raising a new person, how this entity grown is up to all of us and our daily choices.

Poster 6: Save the humans.

Looking at what causes there are in trying to help environment I stumbled upon many pictures of environmentalists holding signs "save the trees"... made of paper and carton. The irony of that inspired me to create this poster.

LET ME GUESS...

You have caviar dreams,
you are feeling inspired and curious what I can do for you?