I think it’s impossible to say where it came from initially! But growing up in a small provincial town, music, art and design definitely felt like this other, better world. When I started learning about the legacy of graphic design in this country, people like Zwart and Schuitema, and the idea they had of a discipline of printing that could radically change the world and our thinking, I found that hugely inspiring.

Throughout my final years of high school I was very convinced I wanted to study Graphic Design. I chose KABK specifically because the balance between the technical and intellectual aspects of the profession is so good. It seems to me that many schools focus on one at the expense of the other while at KABK it is always 100% of both—I learned programming and type design, but also was able to develop writing and critical thinking.

In many ways it was very frustrating! I knew from the start that I wanted to approach the topic of gender for my final project, but it took a long time of researching, doubting and discarding work until I finally figured out what it was that I wanted to say exactly. Once I was past that point however, it was still very stressful but also very rewarding.

One of my best memories is of the exchange semester I did at Écal in Switzerland. That school is amazing in its own right and a complete change of pace from KABK. Also, Lausanne is just beautiful.

Something I learned from theory teacher Els Kuijpers in the first year: that material production is necessarily also symbolic production. If we as designers don’t question the way things are right now, we end up reinforcing the status quo through reproducing it.

1. The beach, Meijendel

2. Gemeentemuseum, The Hague

3. Park Sorghvliet, The Hague

1. @arca1000000

2. @baseck

3. @collierschorrstudio

Lately I’ve gotten quite into the video work of Peter Christopherson, who was a member of Throbbing Gristle and did music videos for groups like Erasure and Front 242. The video he did for Tainted Love by his own group, Coil, is really terrifying.

I plan on continuing to work freelance for the time being, as well as making more music and playing live. I want to pursue a master’s degree eventually but the time should be right.

Be aware that your study should in the end benefit you—in other words, don’t push yourself beyond what is healthy for too long in terms of work. Realise also that you don’t necessarily have to level or agree with everything that is being put forward by your school—in many ways, finding out what you really want to do is a process of negation.