Some projects take time. Not because they move slowly, but because they deserve time. That was certainly true for the series of illustrations created to bring to life the four strategic goals of Avansa Halle-Vilvoorde. Avansa Halle-Vilvoorde is one of twelve regional social and cultural organizations in Flanders and Brussels. Together, they work towards a sustainable, inclusive, solidary, and democratic society. It’s an ambitious mission — and rightly so. The challenge was to make these broad ideals not only understandable in words, but also visually clear and engaging. From Thinking to Drawing What began as a pile of notes, concepts, and diagrams gradually evolved into a visual story. How do you translate abstract themes like knowledge and skills, diversity as a strength, social cohesion, and active participation into images that speak, connect, and stay with you? The process unfolded through sketches, pencil strokes, and conversations. At times, the drawing seemed to require as much

Like many other technologies in our lives, generative AI quickly became a commodity. Generative AI has known an exponential, explosive growth since 2020. Today generative AI got integrated into almost every bit of software, and is all over our social media and websites. In my opinion there are 3 big reasons to stay away from generative AI as much as you can. The reasons are prety straightforward and obvious to me as an illustrator, brand designer, artist and overall creative person. I hope they become as obvious to you whatever your profession or position might be. 1. Generative AI makes you lazy and dependent AI Enthousiasts start to think like drug addicts. Get your kicks, fast and cheap. In my line of work, visual thinking and graphic storytelling, I would never let go of my quadrant of tangible tools and tangible materials: the pencil, the brain, the eye and the the canvas. Then, there is the value of the struggle and experience when looking for answers and solutions, which is in m

I recently took part in an amazing adventure organized by The Viomatico. A workation, aka business retreat, is not a holiday; it’s a strategic business activity that combines work and professional development in a new environment. The primary focus is on enhancing productivity, fostering creativity, and investing in skills or strategic planning that directly benefits the business. In my case the illustration and graphic design business. I left with low expectations and came home with renewed mental and physical energy, actionable strategies, at least 13 new friends, tons of connections and a whole bunch of ideas, solutions and inspiration to process later on. The ingredients: A group of enterpreneurs or freelancers from different places on the planet and from different industries. In my case there were people working in UX, tourism, fitness, healthcare, event management, copywriting, coaching, IT, interior design and rocket science. A magical location with beautiful accomodation, and w