I design visual identities primarily for international organizations that focus on philanthropy, development aid, environmental development, and scientific topics, such as the WHO (World Health Organization), the ACP (The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States), POLIS (Cities and Regions for Transport Innovation), and the ICC (International Criminal Court). My biggest passion lies in creating…
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The strategic designer
I am currently preparing a semester for 2nd-year design students focused on strategy. In this module, the students will engage in real assignments provided by external partners and will learn how to apply strategies to achieve their goals. Throughout a series of six project lessons, students will acquire the skills to think and work strategically…
Read MoreStorytelling in design
Storytelling plays an important role in both my teaching and my work as a designer. In my design classes, I use storytelling techniques as tools for inspiration. Within each interaction between a user and a design lies a story. Whether it’s the design of an exhibition, a book, a public space, or even an object,…
Read MoreCoaching the graduation projects
New Design and Attitude, 4th year students (2022) My role encompasses guiding students from the initial concept stage through project execution and final presentation. The goal of these graduation projects is to demonstrate that students are ready to enter the professional world by showcasing their ability to analyze the world critically, by defining their role…
Read MoreSpeculative design – tutoring the 3rd year design students
I am fascinated by speculative design. It is a powerful tool that helps to conceptualize and visualize possible futures to gain a better understanding of the present. That is why I was extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to tutor the speculative design semester for 3rd-year students. The project consisted of eleven lessons, during which I…
Read MoreFriendship in Lightspeed
I was inspired to start writing this story while observing the night sky. I am fascinated by the fact that light and the speed of light allow us to observe the history of the universe from its beginning until now. When you gaze upon stars and planets, you witness the incredible distances that are physically…
Read MoreJan Ciecierski, graphic designer, image maker, educator
I am a graphic designer, reacting on global changes. An imagemaker, creating impact with images. An educator, encouraging students to reach beyond limits.
Read MoreGraphic designer
The world is changing – culturally, socially, politically, economically, environmentally… As a designer I have the urge to react on these changes and translate these inaccessible, invisible, incomprehensible changes into an understandable visual story.
Read MoreEducator
The world is constantly changing, so is design. As an educator, I currently work at the St. Joost School of Art & Design (Breda & Den Bosch, The Netherlands), where I help students to critically look on the changing world, discover the dynamic design practices and find their own position and role as a designer…
Read MoreImage maker
I think in images. Creating images gives me the possibility not only to form an experience, but to communicate a message to people from all over the world independent of their cultural background. I am fascinated by the idea that I can create an impact using only simple tools like paper, pens and paint. As…
Read MorePicture book on space pollution
I conceptualised, designed and illustrated a picture book on space debris and the interference of human in space. Currently, in collaboration with Noosphere NGO, we are working on the development of an augmented reality book and an animation specifically designed for a planetarium. “Beyond the Sky – The great space clean-up”This book will take you…
Read MoreCollaboration with Noosphere
Together with Noosphere – a space NGO in Dnipro – I am creating an augmented reality version of my book “Beyond the Sky – The great space clean-up” and an animation that will be presented in planetaria.
Read MorePresentation and workshop on space pollution
I gave a presentation and workshop on space pollution for kids, at Stanza International Bookshop in The Hague. The story of the presentation was based on the picture book I wrote and illustrated “Beyond the Sky – The great space clean-up”. I used paper cut out illustrations from my book, to tell the story of…
Read MoreCreative thinking workshop
As a designer and educator I have a fascination for developing methodologies and learning processes that activate creative thinking. That is the reason why I made a research on methodologies that stimulate thinking and have created a one-day creative thinking workshop for students. In multiple assignments students were generating unexpected ideas by using methods that…
Read MoreNarrative arc
Exercise: Design a simple 3d model of your project (depending on your project, it can be a product, a situation, an exhibition, an intervention in public space). The 3d model must be in scale of a small puppet – for example lego or playmobil. Take a camera and document the interaction between your puppet (the…
Read MoreInter-cultural city park: Beijing – Breda – Den Bosch
Workshop: 2017, inter cultural hybrid parkA 5-day workshop organised for the CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing) and Akv St’Joost (Breda and Den Bosch) students. The area of focus were three parks, in Breda, Den Bosch and in Beijing. The places were chosen because of their similar recreation purpose, but due to the different…
Read MoreClean space – workshop
Workshop: 2017, Clean space workshopA 5 day workshop for students. Students were engaged to conceptualize and design a campaign to give attention to the problem of space debris. I invited artists from the European Space Agency artist in residence program and an analog astronaut to give inspirational speeches, and feedforward on the projects.
Read MoreVisual storytelling
A 4-day blended workshop on visual storytelling for students. In this workshop the students created their own visual story. It was a visual adventure where visual experiments and intuitive work were standing in the foreground. The story and concept were shaped by making images and experimenting with images. I invited several speakers (illustrators, animators, designers…
Read MoreCreating a design process
An essential part of each design project (both academic and professional), is the managing of the design process. In order to lead a process from initiation to completion, a designer must have insight into the planned progress of all project phases. The designer must be able to anticipate how much time is needed to complete…
Read MoreHow do I write a design research question?
An effective design question has an idea-finding potential. It offers the chance to answer the question in a variety of ways. It invites many new ideas, possibilities and actions. It frames the topic, problem and the aim, but gives a lot of freedom for innovative thinking.
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