Hansje van Halem in Budapest
An Interview with Dutch Graphic Designer Hansje van Halem
Hansje van Halem gave an amazing and very inspiring lecture during the 8th edition of Graphifest in the Design Terminal on 11 November 2014. After her talk she was so kind and answered my questions.
It’s always good to meet a person who is so passionate and enthusiastic when it comes to talking about his/her job. Dutch graphic and book designer Hansje van Halem, who has studied at Gerrit Rietveld Academy and has been working as a freelancer since graduation, is such a person. She used to hate typography because of the rules, but since she can work freely and do experiments she introduces their wonderful creations to the world regularly.
First of all, thank you for your lecture, it was really great. You have mentioned a lot of things regarding your career so I would be interested in the beginnings now. How and when did you first meet design? Did you actually want to be a designer when you were a child?
One of my first memories thinking about my future can be dated back to when I was around 8 years. It was when we were taught how to draw perspective by using a ruler; we drew lines that looked endless. I remember making those drawings and thinking: I would like to have a job where I could use a ruler. I have realised now that I have a job for which I can use a ruler as it’s about measuring and calculation.
I also remember, at some point being ten or eleven, I wanted to be a theatre or movie director. I think that also makes sense because I should make a lot of decisions and to do a lot of processing.
It also has to be mentioned that both of my parents are artists so I grew up in an environment where my father had his studio next to our house and my mother had her atelier inside the house. So I was always surrounded by people making stuff and by material and equipment. I didn’t grow up like going to museums all the time but I did grow up in an environment where if I had an idea it was okay to cut and make something. I also remember begging my father: I had a huge stack of paper, and I would beg my father if he could put it under my mother’s sewing machine. It had to be sewed in the middle, and then I folded and filled the book. Additionally, as a kid, I loved the typewriter, I used it to create books.
You also said that you hated typography, however, the Netherlands is famous for type design and letters, so I’m wondering how it was possible.
I started art school when I was 19 or 20; I went to a really formal one where they said: “These are the rules, this is how you should do it. When you do it differently, you do it wrong.” Moreover, I was a kid of an artist, my mother was also a teacher in a different art school, and I knew that art/design is always about pushing boundaries, looking for differences in things. At my school they didn’t teach this way of designing, it was all about rules, and in order to do a good job you had to live up to them.
Personally, I was too afraid, I knew if I made an S, then it had to be according to the rules. Then I changed school and went to this more Bauhaus type of working with teachers like Experimental Jetset, (Good)Will Holder, Jop van Bennekom and Gerard Unger. They were all so secure of their own work, that they easily gave space to their students. They would not give you an assignment like “create an S”, but said like “do a project with numbers”. I could just loose my imagination into looking at their systems. In addition to that, I could also find the space to experiment and to find out what’s right or wrong on my own without having a teacher saying this is right and this is wrong.
Do you think education is necessary, I mean does one have to go to school to be a good graphic designer?
Of course, there are people who don’t have education, but I don’t know how anyone could afford not to spend four years full-time with so many professionals dedicated to this specific topic. You can learn so much, and you can have such a great time. If you do it on your own with a job on aside, I don’t think you get this level of knowledge and practice. I wouldn’t be a graphic designer without education, as I couldn’t have learnt so much in such a short time. Of course, you learn more after school than during school but that’s not the same.
You have also mentioned that you have your studio in your apartment. Do you think it’s a good idea to have a studio in one’s home?
I forgot to tell… I worked from my student room in 2003–2004. It started to feel really weird when I started to have clients over. Sometimes they would leave late to get the work finished and there would be only a short period of time between the moment when the client left and the moment when I got undressed to go to sleep. Time to get some studio space!
After having a studio for a couple of years I was fed up and moved my work space back into my (now bigger) house in 2009. That was a very productive period of two years. I took in an intern and started a gallery space in my living room showcase cabinet. But when I was sitting on the edge of my bed having dinner, I realised I needed my house back. Again, I started looking for a studio in 2011, and now I have a really nice one about 15 minutes away from my house. It’s good to have a start and a finish every day even if the day takes very long. It’s also nice that when I come home there isn’t a room full of sketches.
Do you work alone or sometimes within a group maybe?
I work alone. Sometimes I need help but this is always on different levels. If I’m busy and some correction rounds need to be done regarding a book I know somebody who is more precise than I am so I just hire her. But I do everything alone basically. One of my wishes for my next life is to be a designer duo because it’s kind of lonely sometimes.
How many projects do you usually work on at the same time? I assume creating a book it’s a great amount of work.
Oh, yes. It can be zero projects so I make my own stuff but it can be 5 or 7 projects at the same time. Of course, they don’t have the deadline all at once because it would be impossible to complete all the tasks, so it has to be one project starting, one waiting for reply, etc. I think I do my best when I have multiple things do to because otherwise I would start to make a big deal out of making decisions.
I’m just curious, do you use a calendar or do you know all the deadlines by heart?
I keep many of them in my head, I usually know that I have a deadline next week.
How many projects are you working on right now?
I am in some kind of troubles this week as I’m not working here. I’m getting a solo exhibition in Eindhoven; I’m making a spin-off of my publication, it will be 48 pages instead of 484 and it will be cheaper as well.
Yesterday I was in a supermarket in Budapest, and the printer called me and said: “We are running out of time. I’m afraid we are not gonna make it.” I was like “I’m in Budapest, I cannot do anything”. So it was a bit stressful. I was invited to design a fence for a company in Holland, which is a different thing, it’s working with material. I’m doing a poster design for a gallery located in Northern Holland. In fact, I just finished it last week, but I know there is a next one so I’ve started experimenting. This is something I do for free and I really enjoy. They always give me nice reviews. Of course, in between I make a diploma for students, and I’m working on logos for some individuals. So there are lot of stuff going on…
You work a lot. Can you stop working at some point? I’m asking because you’ve also said during your lecture that you do repetitious work in your free time.
Yes, but I love watching TV as well. For the first 5 years I was working non-stop, later I realised there’ll always be work so it’s okay to take a break, it’s very normal to have weekends. There was a short period during the crisis when I was getting less money so I could not hire people and I was working during weekends, but I’m back on track now.
And finally, how do you like Budapest?
For me it’s a cultural shock. I was just getting on the plane as it was taking a train to another city in Holland but getting out of the plane I had to realise this is not Holland. I didn’t really have time to think about being here, though. Today I was walking around, and first you go to the tourist layer and looking all the windows, but then I was taken to the House of Terror, which, of course, changes perspectives. You get the contrast between all the beautiful, decorated ceilings you could see in the buildings and this horrible history… And you meet nice people as well. I’ve been here for 30 hours maybe so I cannot say so much but it’s very intriguing.
You should come back later on!
I’m going to treat my mother on a weeklong holiday in Budapest. I’m just thinking of stuff what we should do.
By the way, do you know anything about Hungarian graphic design?
Only what I’ve seen on Graphifest, and, of course, I’be been looking around in the city as for graphic design it’s very important to get a platform, a space to show design. I’m just wondering what the operation spaces of Hungarian designers are.
They usually open a studio…
Yes, but I mean in the street. I’ve seen posters but I don’t think those are designed by those people. Maybe different types of agencies…
There is an exhibition called ARC that has a theme every year, for instance.
Yes, but for me exhibitions are designs for designers, however, designers should also meet clients who will hire them. Right now my problem is who will hire me, I might be invited to more exhibitions than for work. It’s lovely that people appreciate what you are doing and want to hang and show your work to other people but you need to make a living as well.
Do you think it should be offline, I’m just wondering, because you can be hired based on your portfolio on Behance/website, for example?
I think your work should be everywhere. I’m on Cargo Collective because it has a gallery system so every time I do something I can put them in the front row. I get clients from there, and also from Instagram.
I don’t know how people did it before because when I graduated there was no Facebook or Tumblr, people did have websites but I have no idea how they did it. There were a lot of requests for portfolio books, though. There was always a book being published, and an art director called you that he/she wanted you in that book. Exposure is very important. I also have friends and colleagues who have maximum exposures but no paid assignments. So they get invited to Japan, for example, but nobody calling them saying: “Hello, we have some money, can you create something for us?” It would be nice to be found by an agent or something. I can see on Instagram that an agency is following me and I’m thinking: Oh, interesting, maybe they want me.
Originally published at //hypeandhyper.com/en/hansje-van-halem-budapesten/.
