Defeat the fact-free

You’ve got knowledge, facts and data that can change society for the better.
But … you can only reach out to laymen and experts, children and CEO’s if your information has the right form. Let's make it fit the intellectual level of your reader. Make it fit the device or medium they prefer. Let it have the right tone of voice and be actionable.

My work is to blend design, writing and making to give you the ‘charismatic facts’ you need.

Let me show you how.

Be aware

Pick the right details, show the bigger picture.

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Protecting Landscape

The experts each talk about one aspect of a subject.
What’s the key to a unified message?

About this project (images & video 1:20)

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Cultural Heritage

Some people love ruins straight away. Most of us need a link to everyday life.

3 projects on digital education (video 2:39)

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Services

Abstract things can't be understood without using a visual metaphor.

Some animations (projects + intro video)

Explore

Bring the future and the abstract within reach.

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City Planning & Architecture

Reality can be confusing. How to inspire people to explore?

I'll introduce some cases (images & video)

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Government

Government agencies plan for the future. Citizens are bound to the present. Let’s express the future in everyday terms.

Gentle exhibitions (with video 1:44)

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Innovation

Miraculous engineering, but invisible or yet to be built. If you're a contractor, how to fire the imagination of potential clients?

Some projects + intro video

Dig deep

Design as a service to the reader.

Jayashree K. Iyer and the Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark Advance Copy during the World Economic Forum in Davos 2018
Research for a better world

How can design & editing improve access for various reader-groups? How can it enable the team to repurpose information effortlessly?

My approach (case & video 1:10)

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Science Communication

Twenty professors each wrote a book. Will they accept one small page in this conversation starter?

My work for geo-sciences (first a 1 minute video)

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Craft

He sells the right wine. Every time. He hunts the right wine. Anywhere. How to tell his story? 

Time spent with a subject is a measure of quality (project outline & short video)

 

Why work with a designer like me?

Your information is born as text, produced by academics, engineers and other experts. But the reader holds off, and a screen or panel does not fit many words. This forces you to transform your information, one way or the other. To win the battle against ‘fact free’.

When you take on this problem in cooperation with a designer like me, you’ll get:

  • an overview of all options at hand;
  • solid criteria for filtering your information;
  • a reality-proof form for your information
  • a balance between simplicity and depth
  • new skills and a fitting workflow for your team (you can do this yourself, next time around!)
  • fast and sure execution with various contractors
  • satisfied readers.

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Three tools I use

#1 Selection & concept

We need to radically filter you information. In a sensible way. The tool that enables this selection I call 'concept'. A concept is an idea or story that goes a long way to both convey information and trigger the reader into reading on. A plan, that instills a firm connection between all parts of a whole. The right concept simplifies decision making and briefing subcontractors in a big way.


#2 Editing & typography

What comes first, what types of text do we use, how does the reader find what he or she is looking for? Typography asks those questions and always causes editing or re-writing. All are efforts towards a good reading experience, both on screen and on paper.


#3 Visualise

"Suddenly it all was clear as day".
Seeing beats reading, often. Spatial information comes to life, data become accessible. But the most important effect of making a visualisation is this: it forces you to clarify, where text always seems to get longer and fuzzier each session.

Klaas has been instrumental in developing the clean and crisp style of our current publications. For our work, Klaas' great strength is in his ability to interrogate our ways of thinking, developing quick and creative iterations of the figure or infographic in question. This way, we are able to work with the researchers to arrive at the most meaningful visualisations, that go on to communicate our findings effectively across multiple communications platforms. We also work to very strict deadlines and Klaas has never let us down, going above and beyond to ensure we meet our commitments.

Anna Massey

Communications Manager at Access to Medicine Foundation

Goshhh… Where do you get this clarity from? I couldn’t say it better!

 

Natalia Alvarez

Business Coach

Klaas is very clever in translating the subject matter to an original display. To my surprise he could give an almost impeccable oral presentation of the content, showing that he completely understood the matter, followed by a clear explanation of why and how he translated this to the proposed display he intended to make.

 

 

Aad Sedee

Senior Coordinator Radiation & Nuclear Safety at Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation

We were looking for somebody that would be able to come up with a video, some interactive poster, the usual. Explanation Design surprised us with... triplex board and colorful wooden connectors. It was an astounding success. With the simplest, the most amusing, and cleverly put together means Klaas found a clear, attractive, striking, and fun to play with metaphor for what we were doing: pioneering digital scientific infrastructure.

 

Joris van Zundert

Senior Researcher at Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands

At the Nature Trust I worked for, Klaas advised to change very little, where possible. Very refreshing. 

 

Sjoerd Kaarsemaker

Lichte Bries, Agency for Research, Consultancy and Implementation

We liked our cooperation with Klaas so much, we returned to him with other digital education projects. His solutions are both surprising and obvious at the same time. 

 

Vibeke Roeper

Former Director at Plein C, Agency for Culture in Education

Your laser eyes have pinpointed my struggle!

 

Orlagh O'Brien

Design Thinker

We are a demanding client. We use confidential data. Our reporting can not contain any mistakes. At the same time, we need creativity and flexible formats. This calls for good design, maximum precision and a mastery of the copy and correction workflow. Klaas knows the options and knows the right people to produce this.

 

Suzanne Wolf

Director of Communications at the Access to Medicine Foundation

Skipping parts of the process may seem quick,
but you’ll end up where everyone else ends up.

Marjan Slob, philosopher

 

Clients

Corporate

Access to Medicine Foundation
Amsterdam ArenAPoort
BAM
Beleefcentrum Afsluitdijk
Cityroofs
Ewals eLogistics
FloraHolland
KPN Telecom
Liberty Global
National Geographic NL
Twente Visionairies Fund
Villa ArenA
Wareco Ingenieurs
Wijnkoperij Okhuysen
Zoontjens Beton

Public sector

Aeres Hogeschool
Atelier Rijksbouwmeester
Gemeente Amsterdam
Gemeente Alkmaar
Langhenkel Groep
Ministerie van I en M
NEPROM/Lente-akkoord
Provincie Zeeland
Provincie Noord-Holland
Rijkswaterstaat
Waterschap Stichtse Rijnlanden

Culture & Nature

Geomorfologie & Landschap
Huygens Instituut / KNAW
IVN
Kunstfort Vijfhuizen
Natuurmonumenten
Plein C
Rijksinstituut voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
Staatsbosbeheer
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Stelling van Amsterdam
Yogafestival Haarlem

Klaas van der Veen

I love experts. The way academics or engineers thrive when finding facts and solutions really makes me want to help them bring their work to the world. I have a way of cutting through the clutter to clarify (without killing the content) that makes people smile.
I love design. It's a way of thinking, both organised and free. I want to permanently change the way you use design. As a powerful tool. 

Experts and design combined surely can work wonders.

My offer

I'm an independent consultant
My work starts as soon as you know you need to reach out to a new audience. I help you turn your vision into criteria we use to find the right message, explore possible products and select or create the right content. I can be part of your team. We can brief any designer, including your favorite, and set up a workflow.

I'm a designer
An effective, well designed exhibition, information panel or digital product, requires extensive re-alignment of content. The message needs transformation to fit the form we choose to bring it to the user. For design and production, we set up the right team.

Free stuff
Feel free to see if we match. Call or mail me and I will show up and ask the kind of good questions my clients love me for. If mail or app is your thing, that's fine, too.

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