Puck de Haan

Student at Education is Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam
The job
A Graphic Designer thinks of innovative ways to approach a message and how to transform it into a visual concept and realization. You research the subject, on the internet but especially the target audience in person. Why do they want something and how do they become convinced of taking action to fulfill their desire? You think of a style and the story that it tells. All of this in collaboration with the client. The success of the product is partly your responsibility after all.
Professional beliefs
What does it take to be successful?
Design is all about feeling. If you don’t feel it, it’s not going to work. Not for you and not for someone else. To be successful in the Design sector you need to be able to take different perspectives to find a solution because design is a problem waiting to be solved. Sometimes you’ll settle for less because it’s the best thing to do and sometimes you’ll go too far with your creativity, it’s all part of the creative process. And it also separates the amateur from the professional. As a designer/artist you’ll have a stronger connection to the client, employer and employees since to work for them you need to understand their vision and preference but also dare to go against them and navigate them in the creative process. You’ll make a lot of mistakes but those are necessary. Especially in a creative world with space for improvement.
Education
My former education was Mavo at the Rudolf Steiner College. A school that supports the idea of freedom through creative classes like Woodcraft, Drawing, Theatre and Choir. It showed me that there is more to learn than just Math and Biology. During that period I’ve had a training in 3D modeling every Tuesday for about 6 months. YouTube tutorials taught me a lot too, even what NOT to do.
Currently I’m studying Graphic Design with as specialization Animation at the Graphic Lyceum Rotterdam. An over the top creative and free environment where your work gets the appreciation it deserves on walls, flyers and lockers all throughout school.
Skills
To be an artist you don’t need to be exploding with creativity or have the best and most wonderful ideas. Essential is the strength to keep going, even when you fail because nothing is going to be perfect the first try. You need to be able to see another’s perspective, slightly even, because you’ll learn that your opinion isn’t always the one that is going to work for the project, and that’s okay because it doesn’t mean you are wrong. You need to be willing to learn but also to share your own techniques for the greater good. Everything else like learning to plan your work, communicate with colleagues and clients and presenting your idea will be taught.
Outside work
Artists tend to be doing too much in too little time, I am the same. In my free time I am, unlike most people my age, doing things with friends like going to the movies, visiting cities and theme parks, laser gaming or swimming. But I also like to be alone now and then. Important to me is self-enrichment. I like to try new things and go places I’ve never been before. Gaming, photography, surfing and reading are also hobbies of mine.
My classes start at 8:15 and usually last till 17:15 but I usually stay until about 18:30 to finish school work. Some Saturdays and during most vacations I work as volunteer at a company called ScrapXL where I show children of all ages how to create new things from recycled materials. Jetpacks, clothing, animals, anything that comes to mind. I also work as newspaper distributor now and then.