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Great design simplifies a complex world
Are you a true designer? Do you have an opinion about every logo you see in the city? Or are you secretly a big fan of Jeroen van Eerden? Then you should not have missed this lecture. Were you sleeping or unaware of this activity? We will take you back to the morning of the 26th of September.
On September the 26th it was time for the first lecture of the new academic year. It was up to Jeroen van Eerden, a designer from Groningen, to surprise us during this first lecture. At half past ten in the morning a long queue slowly appeared in front of the auditorium. The queue consisted of a gathering of KIC members, students from the institute and other interested people who were ready to take a deep dive into the world of designing.
Jeroen van Eerden is 33 years old and was born in Amsterdam. He has owned his own studio in freelance design and branding in Groningen since 2013. Prior to his career, Jeroen studied Human Technology at the Noorderpoort College. During his internship he found out that design is the subject he wants to work on the rest of his life. For this reason, Jeroen started studying Communication and Multimedia Design in 2008.
Jeroen started his story with a small introduction about himself. Jeroen is a designer, a father, has a dog, and not unimportantly, never spends a day without coffee. In his spare time, he likes to go running, photographing, chilling with friends, designing, watching series or go mountain biking. Now you’re thinking, how does this man have so many spare time? We thought the same thing! Before Jeroen started with logo design, which he is mainly occupied with at the moment, he made posters and digital illustrations. To become a better designer, Jeroen used his flaws. For example, the designer has ADD and feels it is difficult to deal with complexity. Jeroen believes that abstraction is key and as he told us: "Great design simplifies a complex world."
Finally, Jeroen told us everything about his work as a designer. From which people he follows on Instagram to his position as a jury of, among others, the Indigo Design Award. His biggest sources of inspiration are Aron Draplin, Nick Slater (who has the same dog as him), Saul Bass and Paul Ibou. He contrives his customers mainly on Dribble, Instagram and Behance and these customers come from all over the world, but especially from America. Every month he works on 3 to 5 projects. These projects usually consist of logo design, but sometimes also designing icons, illustrations and branding. The design process was also not omitted during his presentation. From a briefing, to the first down payment and the concept to the feedback, the new version of the design and ultimately, the end result. Even after the end result has reached the customer, the process is not over yet. Evaluation and support are just as important. The reason that Jeroen likes being his own boss is that he is close to his family and he can lead a very flexible life.
Of course, Jeroen could not leave us before he had released some tips for the current designers among us. According to Jeroen, it is important to ensure a strong portfolio. In addition, interaction must always be paramount and community platforms are certainly not unimportant. Although creating a logo consists of sketching, choosing a concept, coloring and choosing a typography, there are endless possibilities. This means that it is up to you to distinguish yourself from the others in the workfield. According to Jeroen, the pitfalls of the profession are discipline and routine, building up savings and finding the right working environment.
In summary, Jeroen taught us more in an hour than we dared to dream. He took us along in an inspiring story, where no minute was too long. Before he left the auditorium, Jeroen urged us that you tell a story with designing and by using icons, everyone understands the story that you want to tell. Namely, icons are the same in every language and every culture.
Jeroen, thanks for your inspiration!
Eva Kraaijeveld - Editorial committee Study Association KIC
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