feeder insider w/ Hedof [en]

feeder insider with Hedof

[read in RO]

feeder insider w/ Hedof [en]

Multidisciplinary Dutch designer Hedof, based in Breda, works in the field of illustration and printmaking. Through a vibrant mix of strong shapes, weird characters and bold colours, Rick undertakes commercial and personal projects, creating artworks which are striking, yet casual and clever. Among his most recent endeavours is the Hedof x LCX installation and 15th-anniversary campaign for LCX mall, Hong Kong, for which he produced a universe of fascinating characters. Hedof creates amazing murals which enhance the qualities of public space or workplaces in cities like Copenhagen, Bucharest, Lisbon, and his home city, Breda. His clients include successful brands like The New York Times, Anorak magazine, Computer Arts Magazine, Nickelodeon, Kangaroos, Sony PlayStation, Lipton Tea, The Hoxton Hotel, KLM Airlines, Native Shoes, Appelsap Festival, Google, Red Bull, Red Cross, Zwijsen, Green Man Festival, Arte, Booking.com, LCX, S7 Airlines and Facebook.

While working on new projects, Hedof was kind to talk to us about his work process, his Bucharest experience, analogue printmaking and what inspires him.

playful / clever / positive

Hedof Bardo Hogendoorn lcxhk HongHedof x LCX exhibition/campaign at LCX, Harbour City Hong Kong 2017 

In nature, I feel… humble.
My son laughs when… I try to catch him but fail on purpose.
I sometimes forget… that time is short.
One of my favourite snacks… kroket, a dutch breadcrumbed fried roll that contains a ragout ground beef.
What inspires me about Breda… the endless energy and spirit of Bonk Skatestore.
My toy collection… is getting too big for my shelves hahaha.
I like the sound of… a heavy storm while I am lying in my bed.
When I was 6, I enjoyed playing… with my toilet roll collection, true story.
I make my own… Balkenbrij, a family recipe of traditional meat.
Three artists who inspire me… Wes Anderson, Studio Ghibli, Charlie Harper.

Hedof x Blind Walls Gallery – GDFB2015

Cristina Popa: Hello, Rick, it’s wonderful to chat with you on the feeder insider series. Your creativity manifests across multiple mediums, like murals, advertising, print, editorial, to name a few. What are your favourite perks about running a one-man studio?

Hedof: Well actually, I wish I could turn Hedof, my studio into a small studio with a small team of creatives. This has always been my dream. But it is really hard, for a creative freelancer with a very specific style like me… So that is why I am kind of stuck to do it on my own. But the upside of all this is that you can do everything exactly the way you want, not having to compromise with anybody (except for the client every now and then of course…) 

Hedof (NL) / 2017 / University of Architecture / Academiei 18 - 20Mural for Visual Playgrounds Festival, Bucharest, Romania, 2017.

CP: You visited Romania at Visual Playground Festival as a guest speaker and you also painted an awesome mural at the University of Architecture. How did you connect with the festival audience? What did you find distinct about Bucharest?

Hedof: When I was approached by the Visual Playgrounds Organisation, I didn’t know too much about Bucharest and Romania, in general, to begin with.

But once I got there I was so amazed by how beautiful and cool everything was, and how ridiculously kind and smart all the local people are. It was by far the best experience with a festival I ever had.

Everybody was just super excited, so amazingly talented themselves and everybody wanted to help me paint the mural, this resulted in finishing the piece twice as fast! Also, the festival was amazing and the food everywhere was super nice!

Hedof CITI x Family Copenhagen mapCITI x Family Copenhagen guide, 2017.

CP: Your illustrations bring to life the CITIxFamily Copenhagen guide. What did you discover about Copenhagen while making this map? Which other cities would you like to illustrate?

Hedof: Ah yes! That Copenhagen map was so much fun to work on. It took me a very long time because I created the piece in Adobe Illustrator, instead of my usual Photoshop… But I am super happy with the result. I specifically requested Copenhagen to the art director since I love that city so much. I would love to do more maps in the future, actually, I just finished 3 city skyline illustrations today: Copenhagen again, Barcelona, and Capetown. 

Hedof Royal ArenaMural for Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2017.

CP: Moreover, at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, we can find one of your most immersive interventions, 4 large 100 square meter murals along two sets of staircases, inspired by the Danish good life. Did you bring back some hygge in your home and studio?

Hedof: Yes, that mural was insane. Since I have my family back home to consider, I always try to keep the length of my working trips to a minimum, Which resulted in the fact that I had to paint 400m2 in just one week, which was crazy! Luckily I had the opportunity to bring my 2 close friends Joren and Ilse with me to help me out. But still, it was a lot of hard work, painting, climbing so many stairs for 12 hours in a row every day. So since I was so busy, I didn’t have the chance to do any tourist stuff haha, maybe next time.

Hedof x WeTransfer, 2017.

CP: We relished the 5 icons you illustrated for WeTransfer. Which are some of your favourite commissions and clients? What are the qualities of the projects you mostly care about?

Hedof: I always like working with clients I am a fan of myself. So the WeTransfer job is a good example of this. This is a great, free, service I use daily to send my large files over the internet. So, when they approached me I was super stoked. Now I see my icons almost every day! Also, I just like the diversity of all kind of clients. One week you are working on a map or packaging, the next week a mural abroad and after this, you work on a big campaign for a Hong Kong-based mall. It can be anything and the internet just helps you to connect with a global audience and clientele.

Hedof sketching

CP: How would you describe your work process? What are the most challenging steps of a new illustration and where do you find your inspiration?

Hedof: Overal, I just LOVE sketching, I draw every day and I collect all these drawings in a big folder.

This is the starting point of each project. I turn to this folder for inspiration for angles to approach a project, or I can use specific drawings from there. After this, I just start sketching out the illustration, share this with the client, and make a clean version from the approved sketch in the computer. After this, I will start the fun process of colouring and deliver the final.

Hedof x LCX exhibition/campaign at LCX, Harbour City Hong Kong 2017 

CP: How do you achieve this striking cuteness in your illustrations?

Hedof: Hahaha, well it is not always cuteness that I aim for,

I just like to approach every item that I draw, character or not, with a certain personality or feeling. It has to be recognisable, a bit weird and surprising and I want the overall look to be positive,

even though some of my characters can look pretty mean or up to no good. 😉

 Hedof Bardo Hogendoorn lcxhk Hong Key VisualHedof key visual for LCX, Harbour City, Hong Kong, 2017. 

CP: In 2018, the Hedof studio is welcoming your first intern, after almost a decade of working alone. The activities range from project management, organizing, communication, to creative work and production. How did you find the equilibrium and resolve to have all these roles yourself?

Hedof: Yes! I just “hired” my first intern this week! super stoked about this. Her name is Kaja Merle and she is just starting her Masters in Germany. She will start a 3-month internship in February next year. Pretty exciting because this will be the first step to see if my dream of running a slightly bigger studio would be an option. For now, I am just doing everything myself, which is fun, but also got to a certain point that it almost isn’t manageable for me anymore… Working 60 / 70 hour weeks while also having a girlfriend, 2,5-year-old son at home, and a baby girl on the way! I am now looking for someone smart and talented to help me out, taking a bit of the workload of me so I can focus a bit more on the creative part of the studio and also have a bit of extra time to work on fun self-initiated projects.

Artist Talk at Gezeever Antwerp, Belgium, 2017.

CP: Most of your self-initiated projects involve printmaking. What are, for you, the main distinctions between screen-printing and digital?

Hedof: I always compared screen printing with barbecuing. The technique just always adds soooo much flavour to the final result. If digital is like microwave, printed stuff is like regular cooking, which already tastes way better. Screen printing and other traditional analogue printmaking techniques are super tasty barbecue dishes that are amazing. A bit burned and some errors, yes, but these charming errors all add up to the final result.

 

CP:feeder.ro, in its 13 years online, is the alternative nation’s news agency, connecting the public with the artists they appreciate. Where do you get your updates and how do you filter them?

Hedof: Wow, this is hard. It is one of the biggest issues of our digital life. How to filter content. For me, being so busy that I am, I just don’t have that much time to look at all online treats hahaha. So that makes things easier. Because of this, I sometimes miss really important news, trends or interesting facts. But it also helps me focus on my own part of creating content for the world to enjoy. Not that my work is super important, but it is to me, and I feel super blessed that other people want to be a part of this as well.

Cristina Popa: Thank you, it was a pleasure!

Mural for Visual Playgrounds Festival, Bucharest, Romania, 2017.

Images & videos by HedofCatalin Georgescu, Alona Vibe
Words by Cristina Popa (Random)

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