A New Adventure
Checking in at VBAT Amsterdam
Written by Kim Lundgren
Creative Intern at VBAT
Hej, hoi, hi!
I’m Kim, a recent graphic arts and design graduate from Leeds Beckett University in the UK. I recently moved to Amsterdam to undertake a six month internship at VBAT, where I am looking forward to learning more about identity design whilst living and working in such a vibrant and diverse city.
As part of my three year degree I took part in a university exchange programme where I lived in Auckland, New Zealand for a period of six months. Living abroad and so far from home really helped me to discover more about myself, not only as a person but as a designer too. I believe that being in an international environment broadens the mind, which is something that really excites me about working at VBAT, where there are 14 nationalities all under one roof.
My education was very experimental which enabled me to produce a broad body of work, ranging from animation and film work, to outdoor installations, collaborative collages and publication design.
One of my most recent projects is entitled ‘Identitet’, which derives from the Swedish word for identity. As the UK is currently going through political turmoil with the likes of Brexit I felt it was appropriate to think about my own heritage and identity. I spent most of my childhood growing up in Yorkshire, which I am proud to call home, but also spent long summers on the east coast of Sweden with relatives.
For me, this dual identity makes me feel even stronger about the need for an integrated and multicultural society. Identitet highlights these feelings by combining archived photography with graphic elements, typography and found articles to explore themes of Scandinavian design and culture as well as the vast topic of immigration.
Scandinavian design is a great interest of mine, and following my graduation I was awarded the opportunity to travel through Denmark, Sweden and Finland for a collaborative research project with photographer Kotryna Juskaite. Throughout our one month abroad we visited various events such as POST Design Festival (Copenhagen, DK), Formex Interiors & Design Fair (Stockholm, SE) and Helsinki Design Week (Helsinki, FI). At the moment I am working with the research and photographs gathered to produce a body of work for an exhibition that will be held next April in Leeds.
For now I am really excited to be starting my career in such a large and international company. I am looking forward to expanding on my knowledge in design, gaining invaluable experience and getting involved in a broad range of projects at VBAT. I am curious and eager to discover what it takes to build a successful brand whilst learning from the many combined years of experience here. So far the internship is positively challenging as I am learning something new everyday, whether it be a way of looking at design, a way of thinking or developing my technical skills. As a recent graduate I really appreciate how much I have to learn, and I am in a great place to do so!
In the future I would like to further my education and apply for a masters, although I am unsure of which area to specialise in just yet. I am interested in design education and enjoy giving back where I can, so perhaps this is a path that I will explore alongside continuing to further my career as a graphic designer.
If you would like to see more of my work you can have a look here.
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Written by Kim Lundgren, Creative Intern at VBAT
edited by Connie Fluhme, PR at VBAT
