Member in the Spotlight: Kiana Beijleveld

In our Spotlight this week we have Kiana Beijleveld, born and raised in Spain but with Dominican and Dutch roots. Five years ago, Kiana decided to move to the Netherlands to get to know more about Dutch culture and to study. She is a multi-disciplinary creative currently working as a freelance graphic designer and photographer using different types of media such as digital work, print, collage art and analogue photography. Next to freelancing, she is in her last year of CMD at the HAN.

As the Club for Creativity, we’d like to start by asking you to create a self-portrait.

PERSONAL

What is your most recent 'find'?

The app Blossom! I love plants but sadly enough I am (or was) not good at taking care of them. They used to die. With this app I can scan the plants, it identifies them and lets me know when I have to give them water. Now I have beautiful plants and I am learning to take good care of them.

What is the last thing you bought and loved?

Jeans I found at the vintage store Episode that fit! It is so difficult to find vintage jeans that fit.

Who is your current art/design crush?

My design crush is Irma Boom, not only currently but for a long time now. She is a graphic designer who really inspires me because of her surprising and experimental ways of book making.

Image: Irma Boom, The Architecture of the Book (miniature edition, Lecturis, 2013)

Who is the one artist whose work you'd collect if you could?

The work of David Carson – he experiments with typography and collage without thinking about rules, he is not afraid to make what he wants. I bought two books of his work 6 years ago and they haven’t stopped inspiring me ever since. I wouldn't mind having a collection of all of his work.

Image: Magazine Ray Gun cover

How much of a routine do you have in your daily life?

I try to have one but it doesn’t always work for me. I sometimes make 3 lists in one day, just to get it out of my head but then I just work in my own chaotic way and get things done. I don’t like to plan too much because a day can always go different than expected.

What is your favourite website/app and why?

This is definitely Whatsapp. My parents and sisters live in Spain and thanks to this app I am able to communicate with them and see them.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Things to do. When I know I have lots of things to do in a day I just get out of bed. Even when I still have time to rest my body just doesn’t want to anymore. I get up and go and drink coffee, it seems like my body and my mind don’t like to waste time.

PROFESSIONAL

What makes a great or hero client?

A great client is one that is open to communicate and participate in the process. When working together we can achieve so much more.

If you weren't working in the creative industry, what else would you be doing?

I think I would do social work helping women who have been or are victims of domestic violence.

Image: Home cry (2021) (own work)

What professional skill do you value the most?

Creativity. I want to keep being innovative in my work and designs and without creativity, it wouldn’t be possible.

What top tips do you have to help people get creatively inspired?

Don’t try to find all your inspiration behind your devices. Go outside, talk to new people, try to see design in the outside world. You will get surprised by how much this can inspire you.

Image: Reframe how you look at things (2021) (own work)

What’s the first thing you do when you start a project?

When I work for a client I like to start with a conversation to get to know the person or company first. This helps me to make the project more personal.

How do you deal with failure?

I try to change it into something positive. Failure helps me to learn from my mistakes and to (try to) not do them again. This may sound cheesy but failure has helped me to get to know myself more and become stronger. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I hadn’t failed sometimes.

Over the last year, have you developed new ways of working?

Because of social media, I felt lots of pressure to work harder. I felt I didn’t have enough time and others were getting everything faster than me. Last year I learned to enjoy more of what I am achieving. As my mother always says: Everything has its own time.

If you could pick one recent campaign/project that makes you think, ‘I wish I’d done that’, what would it be and why?

I loved the identity Studio Dumbar created for the Demo Festival, a festival that celebrated the best motion design from all around the world. You can recognise the design, motion, colours and typography from far away.

Through our Member in the Spotlight feature, we aim to get to know both professionally and personally the unique qualities of our ADCN Members. If you would like to join ADCN, the Club for Creativity, you can find out more here.