I’m currently living and working as a freelance digital creative in Antwerp. I grew up in a city near Brussels. Nobody in my family is really doing anything creative… I’m the odd man out. 😉 So when I had the chance to pursue that creativity, I went ahead and did just that.
I earned a Master’s degree in the Visual Arts at Sint Lukas Brussels, choose to specialise in graphic design and applied myself to uncover every hidden secret digital design had to offer. I quickly discovered that I had a knack for digital conceptual thinking. Something which I have the chance of further developing while doing work for advertising agencies. Working as a freelancer also means that I get to work on a wide variety of projects, which, in turn, also helps me strengthen my conceptual skills.
I don’t really have a technical background and my coding skills are also very limited. Something I make up for within the conceptual stage of every project.
When did you first get involved with design?
It all started with my love of music. My first jobs where doing poster-designs for local music bands and customising their Myspace-pages. At that time I was “studying” geography, didn’t really liked that so I did some research and just googled my interests… Came to the clocking I was intro a thing called “Graphic Design”. When the iPhone released everything changed. The digital revolution had begun and now everybody could see it (and even own a part of it). I didn’t want to be left out. I wanted to be a part of this great thing that was changing the world around me. And becoming a digital designer was my way of achieving that.
Is there any work you’re particularly proud of as a digital creative?
I am really proud of almost all of the work I did, the teams I get the work with, and the clients I get to work for. But if I had to choose one, I would choose the latest project I did together with November Five. This is a mobile fan engagement platform for RSCA (Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht). Can’t really tell you a lot about it at this moment, but it will be released at the end of this year. Stay tuned.
In your view, what were your biggest challenges?
One of my biggest challenges was telling my parents I wanted to study art and pursue it as a career. But in hindsight, that shouldn’t have been so difficult. They have always been overwhelmingly supportive, even if they only kind of understands what it is that I do for a living.
The biggest challenge as a digital creative is keeping up with the ever-changing digital world. And trying to understand every technical possibility that is discovered daily and figuring out how I can use it.
What inspires you?
This will be a cheesy answer, but it is also true: other digital creatives. Their approach, way of thinking and methodology is something I still learn from every day. The speed in which our digital landscape keeps evolving and the cannibalistic nature technology seems to have, are also some things that, not so much inspire me, but leave me with a great sense of awe.
Discover the work of Tom Vanhooreweder