Jeroen van Erp

Jeroen van Erp graduated from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at the Technical University of Delft (NL). In 1992 he co-founded Fabrique, a multidisciplinary design agency, where he soon established the interactive media department, a brand new area of design at that time. Fabrique currently employs over 100 artists, engineers and storytellers and has worked for supermarket chain Albert Heijn, the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre Abu Dhabi (UAE), the University of Gent (BEL) and the city of Agra (IN). Van Erp is currently partner and innovation strategist at Fabrique. He is also chair of the Dutch Creative Council and board member of the Association of Dutch Designers, the Design & Emotion Society and the What Design Can Do event. In November 2015 he was appointed professor of Concept Design at the Technical University of Delft.

“The Groundfridge by Floris Schoonderbeek is truly innovative. Besides being useful, it’s also very meaningful in a world which moves towards self-reliance and sustainable solutions. Designer Schoonderbeek is famous for his projects Dutchtub and the Wheelbench, so you can imagine why I think he is an icon of Dutch Design.”

“This product (freely translated: Magic Table) is highly innovative, relevant to users and caretakers, and above all: a huge success. It’s a result of CRISP, a vast research program set up between the Dutch government, creative industries and knowledge institutions. It ran between 2011 and 2015. Collaborations like these are most important; I believe designers need to embrace a knowledge-driven approach to design to compete on an global level.”

“I believe designers have the ability to design much more than just a product, a service or a building. A few years ago I started a little think tank called Redesigning Politics. This was driven by the idea to redesign our political system. The project led to this TED Talk by Nynke Tromp. Although the talk dates back to 2012, it is now more relevant than ever.”

“All videos of design studio Job, Joris & Marieke are breathtakingly good. They are awesome examples of conceptual thinking and great craftsmanship. My favorite is the one above called The Daily Drumbeat. It is a music video for the similarly titled song by Happy Campers. Another animation by Job, Joris & Marieke, Single life, was even nominated for an Oscar. Say no more…!”

“Museums are reluctant towards the use of mobile applications, being afraid that people will walk around looking at their screens and ignoring the real works. The Van Gogh Museum multimedia tour, designed by Fabrique, encourages visitors to look at the paintings in a different way by creating a unique interplay between visitors and the paintings. The app won the Dutch Design Award for Services & Systems in 2015.”