Welcome!

Have a look around. Enjoy yourself. Discover all the secrets on this page. And please, come visit me at the expo!

I just did a Master's program of 'Arts and Design in a Socio-Political Context'. This website is an invite for our expo.

Cool. You found a super secret down to earth version of the story!

After 7 years of dedication and sacrifices, I found myself once again on the outskirts of the creative industries. Luckily, I managed to get a teaching gig. This bizarre position of both extreme responsibility, yet near infinite freedom helped me—more than anything—to find my voice. My students are my mirrors. In them I see versions of myself. The care I can give them, is care I missed. Advice I always ignored, finally makes sense when the words come out of my mouth. Ultimately, I don’t think I my teachings just make them better … they’re a place in time where we heal each other.

And it seems my students and I are not the only ones who need healing. It is no coincidence that these last few years alone, so many self help books for creatives have come out.

While this past decade we all saw communications & creativity rise to the top of relevance in any industry, I also witnessed my beloved creative agencies struggle with retaining talent. Student admissions for Communications-programs are at an all time low. And those who do graduate seek their fortunes elsewhere, or leave within a year.

So, I went back to school myself, and signed up for two entirely different programs. ASAP in Oregon by Wieden+Kennedy veteran Jason Bagley, and Sint-Lucas Antwerp: the Socio Political Master program. I asked and read. Wrote and designed. And took my newfound knowledge back to my own students. Together we developed methods to make the creative process slightly less mysterious, a lot more accessible, and much more fun for all involved.

After a while two ideas started to emerge simultaneously. A book with a new outlook on creative pedagogy, and an interactive exhibition that makes you feel these ideas, rather than reading about them.

For as long as I can remember I looked up at the stars. How do they do it? How do they shine so bright? Why do some never fade, while many burn out almost instantly? This Summer I had the opportunity to study under some of the biggest, known in the Western Hemisphere.

Night after night they helped me grow. My curiosity brought me to entirely new frontiers. I studied giants from decades past. And with the help of my students I traveled back in time to the moments that changed my trajectory.

New perspectives brought new realities. And ultimately a new mission for me to embark on: Finding the formula to turn dust into gold.

Hooray! You found more details.

Classes, encounters, lessons, ideas, theories, metaphors, stories, anecdotes, fleeting thoughts, a game that questions the origin of belief, several board game prototypes, notes after theatre, notes after improv, notes after magic shows, an unpublished campaign, a published campaign, 20 concepts of 'spec work', 6 keynote presentations, a talk with cardboard cups, 6 attempted books, ... there was a LOT. And none of it felt 'right' for this project. I didn't want to colonize the work my students made, and I didn't want to colonize my own. I was more interested in learning, reading, asking, testing, etc. than actively making a piece for an exhibition. But if this project needed to be anything, I wanted it to be its own thing. And then one night I was chatting with a friend. He had a big review coming up and he was completely intimidated by the more senior creatives working on the same assignment. I tried to give him some courage, and I used one of my theories to do it. I showed him some examples To make my point. And as a closing thought I told him that art is supposed to be hard. That all these people around creatives take it for granted. And we do so ourselves as well. But it actually is rocket science. He liked that. And told me I should patent it. I promised him I would do no such thing, but I would eventually write it all down in a book.

When my project first started taking a tangible form it became a book. First a manifesto, then a graphic novel, then a coffee table book.

I've drawn inspiration from many different genres and book types. But one reference that immediately comes to mind is "The Art Of Looking Sideways" by the incomparable Alan Fletcher. It is intended for the wanderer and the lost. For anyone searching inspiration. For teachers, practitioners and students. It seeks to entertain. To inspire. To listen. To show. To tell. To just be there when you need it most. ...

... And, finishing it will take me another year or so. Or at least a few more months. So much more to research and people I want to talk to. That being said, there will be a prototype on display. My medium—a book in progress—is also my message: this is far from finished. And I'd love to get your input.