Hi I’m Anouk

Welcome to my world! I have two great passions in life. Design and travel. The first gives me purpose. I love it when a very messy communication is brought to life in a clear and functional layout. Although it can be stressy as the designer mostly is the last one in the whole cycle.
That’s why the second part, travel, can’t be missed. Getting away from the technology and workplace helps clear the mind, it keeps me sane. So I do suffer from an incurable case of wanderlust. But well, I don’t really want to be cured of it…

Seven insights

I prefer mountains to the ocean, mainly because I hate sand and hot weather. Those two tend to stick together.

I have a weird thing with maps. I’m really good at geography and know my way around the globe, but don’t let me ‘read’ a map or we’ll get lost. Part of my charm I guess.

I love food in general. I’ll try just about anything! Well, no domestic pet animals. Just can’t get the image out. Street food is always a winner in my book, part of the adventure, but check if the items you’re buying are fresh. A fancy restaurant is nice but some local cooked food will taste even better. Fresh fruits and (or the combination with) desserts can’t be overlooked. So I try to keep some room for that too!

I stick to my decisions. When making a choice I don’t wonder afterwards; the whole ‘what if’… You can call it stubbornness, but I find that it helps me in my daily life.

I can lose myself in design. Give me a challenge, I’ll take a deep dive into the matter and come up with something that will blow your mind; I hope… If not I’ll take a second dive. Feedback is key here. I love creating something that didn’t previously exist. First there’s an idea. Once you’ve nailed it down, you start brainstorming all of the bazillion ways you could go, until you find the magic one. The bazinga moment. Love it!

I embrace change. It is a positive thing and keeps the motor running. As you will never ever know everything. Learning new tips and tricks, finding new tools and keeping tabs on the trends. I have to enjoy being a life long learner to survive in this profession.

I see the world around me slightly different. I can get inspiration from looking around, but I mostly see things that need fixing. Poorly designed signs, oddly arranged store layouts, terrible font usage, a double space in the restaurants menu… I’ll see it and I can’t unsee. It’s deeply rooted in my system. But I guess that’ makes me a good graphic designer.

Why Travel

Let’s just say that the more places you travel, the more places you want to see. It’s a bit addictive. The places you go also give you a worldly view on things, it stops you fussing about the smaller things in life. We have some bigger problems than making powerpoint presentations or buying things you don’t really need. Global warming for one.

By traveling you see how cool our planet really is, the kindness you come by in the smallest villages. The less people possess the more real they are. It does give me hope that not all is doomed after all.