Joep Kuijper

real stories & new form

Real stories are vulnerable, uncut and small, but they have the ability to touch you. For me, they are the core of a project. I want to bring them to life. Not by applying a trendy design, but by unfolding the form. In this way, story and form will be congruent. Some people will be attracted, others not, and that's alright. At least there's no illusion.

I finished my study Communication & Multimedia Design and specialized in interaction strategy. Together with technologists and designers I co-created games, films and web applications. I love to start from scratch and explore new worlds, trying to make connections between theories, ideas and people.

Nowadays, I am a crewmember of new shoes today; a group of soulmates in business. It's more like an organism than a organisation, because there's always movement. Together we take on the challenges of the 21st century.

*openmargin is a project I am currently developing, together with Marc Köhlbrugge and Ruth Koppenol. We are trying to redefine the way people relate to text. We like to see the author of a text as an initiator. His words are the center, but around this text is a blank space, the margin. When people make notes in the margin, the text is enriched.
What if the margin was an open space? Then a diversity of people could exchange their viewpoints around specific words, connecting with others and having a dialogue in the *openmargin. To establish this vision, we want to make a crossover between books and the internet.

Regarding my future. I recently found 'tale of tales', an indie 'game' studio. They're using the medium in new ways to tell their stories. However small and operating from the margin, they're pioneering new ground. People like this give me the confidence that it's possible to make original work, which is viable at the same time.