Driving Dutch Design – Elke Uijtewaal
ONE WEEK ABOUT Driving Dutch Design by curators Patrick Aarts Sen (BNO) and Katja Lucas (DDF)
Driving Dutch Design is the professionalisation and networking programme of ABN AMRO, Beroepsorganisatie Nederlandse Ontwerpers (BNO) and Dutch Design Foundation (DDF) that helps talented designers get started in the world of entrepreneurship. Elke Uijtewaal is one of them.
“Whether I’m working for a client or on my own projects, the end user is always central in my design choices as a graphic designer. I make complicated information accessible, bring people together or make the user experience of a (digital) product as pleasant as possible. I am critical, work closely with my clients and preferably do all this with a bit of humour.”
Can I deduct
“A few years ago, more and more freelancer friends came to me with questions about the financial side of the business. As a reaction to the vague language of the tax authorities, I started ‘Can I deduct’: a first attempt to minimise the maze of the VAT return to a flowchart on 1 A4 sheet.”
In my time
“After graduating, I moved to the Utrecht neighbourhood where my grandmother had grown up. When I brought her a historical neighbourhood booklet, many stories about her childhood emerged that I had never heard before. This was so special that I later decided to make this moment possible for more people. Together with Silvie Kamphuis, I made the book ‘In my time’: an accessible way to get to know other generations much better. Lots of photos, short texts and activating questions bring the 60s, 70s and 80s much closer.”
Driving Dutch Design
“At the end of my studies, I founded Omapost with Wilbert van de Kamp, among others, while continuing to work as a freelancer. Last year, I decided to focus entirely on my one-man business and stop working for Omapost. This year, Driving Dutch Design is helping me enormously in formulating my next steps. The process has made it increasingly clear which direction I want to go in: where my strengths lie, for which clients I want to work, and which direction I want to take with my own projects. A plan for a completely renewed portfolio website is already ready, I just need to sit down and work on it.”
For more information about the participants, the programme and registration, please visit drivingdutchdesign.nl.