Being successful together can be done in many ways at SintLucas.
This time, two recent graduates and two different projects but both nominated for the Social Design Talent Award. Every year during Dutch Design Week, the Municipality of Eindhoven hands out various awards including the Social Design Talent Award. This is an award for young designers whose concept makes society a little better.
The winner receives €10,000 and a paid assignment with the municipality of Eindhoven. Merel van Summeren 20 years old (Spatial Design + Bachelor 3D Design) and Rein Vos 23 years old (All-round Mediamaker + Crossmedia + Bachelor Visual Communications) both graduated last school year and were nominated for this.
Merel van Summeren is nominated with her project ‘a day with rheumatism’ and Rein Vos is nominated with his project ‘A letter for freedom’, together in conversation about it.
Rein: “First of all, congratulations Merel on your nomination, I had already read about your project. Super cool!”
Merel: “Thank you for your compliment, the same goes for you of course. Congratulations Rein!”
Rein: “Thanks! I’m very happy too. Can you take me a bit more into the story behind the project?”
Merel: “My project is called ‘a day with rheumatism’. It is a board game that lets you experience the limited energy levels of a rheumatism patient. All players start with an energy level that is determined by different factors: the weather, how well you slept and what you did the previous day. Throughout the game, you have to make different choices that cost you energy points (chips). The board game is not about winning, but is a conversation tool. The game can hopefully make it easier for rheumatoid arthritis patients to talk about their symptoms/complaints with those around them.”
Rein: “Nice project though Merel, seems especially interesting to me because you engage with the target group and this has become the result. How did you experience that?”
Merel: “I thought it was difficult at first and therefore exciting. But ultimately very interesting and nice to see that the target group was enthusiastic. When the game was finished, I tested it together with the target group and got very nice feedback. Someone even said that if I had had something like this when I just knew I had rheumatism, it really would have been a godsend. But what about your project?”
Rein: “That’s another compliment! Well my project is about a completely different social piece, namely freedom and the Second World War. ‘A Letter For Freedom’. This is an interactive teaching programme in which local pupils are introduced to 28-year-old resistance fighter Kees Kappers. Who gave his life for the freedom of the municipality of Cranendonck during the Second World War.
The students find out more about his life through a film and Kees’s online diary. Then they write a letter, which goes into a freedom box. This box is reopened a year later in the run-up to 4 & 5 May. At that time, they once again reflect on their freedom and look back on the past year. Nice side note is that this fascination was started by my father who also knows a lot about this.”
Merel: “A nice social theme Rein. A very interesting project, nice how you managed to turn your own interest into a social solution. And what are your future plans should you receive the award?”
Rein: “One thing is for sure, then I want to make this curriculum nationwide for every secondary school. But then so that it is stories from the meanest so that the story is close to the students. I think that would be great! What about you Merel?”
Merel: “Sounds good! I’d like to expand the game so that it’s completely correct regarding the energy level. Because it’s not the case that rheumatoid arthritis patients only lose energy but of course they also get this from certain things. So that it is as realistic as possible. But first wait and see if this may be so and otherwise I’m going to focus myself anyway on my own business that I want to start up as an illustrator and product designer.”
Rein: “Great plans Merel! One thing is for sure, I want to keep telling stories regardless of the outcome of this award. We get a nice stage for us as young designers!”
Wondering who the award will be presented to? Come to its presentation on Thursday 26 October during Dutch Design Week.
“One thing is for sure, then I want to make this curriculum nationwide for every high school.”