Imagination. That’s the power of design.

Ad grew up in Erp, a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant, as the son of a farmer. On the farm, he learned the basics of strategic and pragmatic thinking.“As a farmer you’re constantly looking for how you can earn back your investment. This already starts with for example which potato seeds to buy: the low quality seeds might cost less today, but it might also yield only one third of the potential return. However,  if I buy the expensive ones, I might need to invest too much upfront which might not be worth it. It’s a constant balancing act of investment and return.”

Later, Ad studied technical and agricultural education and afterwards joined what is now famously known as the Dutch Design Academy in Eindhoven. His pragmatic and entrepreneurial mindset led him to found the design agency VanBerlo in 1982. “I am an allrounder – especially good in building teams and relationships – and not a designer like Philips Starck I really like to sit down with clients, imagine and create new products that add value – how I do it and what that product is specifically, is irrelevant to me.” As of 2018, VanBerlo has a little over a hundred employees and won the Dutch Innovation Awards in 2017, being the most innovative company in the Netherlands.

Having worked almost 40 years in the industry, we ask Ad what big changes he has seen in the past. Ad takes a moment to think about the question, and replies: “You need to realize that 40 years ago, the world was very local. When I started VanBerlo, I bought magazines and newspapers to read what was happening in the world. I travelled to Asia to see firsthand what was going on there. Nowadays, everything is digital and can be found online.“

And what do you do in this information-overload world? You read!

“If you can synthesize information, and you know what inspires and motivates people, you can turn that into something meaningful for people and companies. That’s why it’s important for designers to read, to submerge themselves in the actuality and recognize patterns that are happening. Whether it’s new market trends, technological developments or social patterns.” Ad says.

The second point Ad shares with us is the ability of people to step over their own shadows. Ad: “I believe it’s an essential skill to be able to step over your own shadow, to continuously question what you do, because it’s not about you. It’s about helping your client. And when I look around today, I don’t see a lot of people who are able to do that.”

He shares a story of years ago, when he found out that another design agency had a rigid structure, was ego-driven and ruled top down. “This agency looked down on the way I worked. Back in the days, I would sit down on the floor with my client, surrounded by newspapers, magazines and more printed material on the floor, and we would play around with words, doodles and the material around us to see how the new product could be. The response was that they were doing ‘proper’ product development, implying that I was ‘merely’ playing around. That moment bothered me a lot. It was at that moment that I decided to never look at the competition again and always go my own way” Ad says. “After many years, they went bankrupt and I kept on growing, so I guess I must be doing something right? To me, they were standing still and they didn’t step over their own shadows.”

So far we discussed how global the world has become and the importance of being able to step over your own shadows. But we were also curious to get Ad’s perspective on design: what is the value that designers bring?

“Imagination. That’s the power of design.” Ad says. “It’s about constantly looking for opportunities and using our imagination to turn them into something meaningful. I think a lot of people don’t realize that design is a difficult craft. It’s not a spreadsheet you quickly fill in, which then calculates the result for you, it’s more complex. As a designer, you are constantly connecting the hard side (e.g. the facts, the data, the hard numbers) with the soft side (e.g. our emotions, feelings, shapes and colours). How great is it if you can analyse that!”

As designers, we are constantly shaping the future. Which got us wondering what Ad’s personal view of the future is.

“What I’m personally looking forward to is that technology will be embraced in and around healthcare. There is just little innovation happening right now.” Suddenly, Ad’s enthusiasm takes the lead;  “And what I also hope is that in 10 years time Autonomous driving will be there! How cool would that be?!”

Apart from the opportunities, Ad is also open in sharing his fears of our world in 10 years’ time; “I really hope there will be more transparency about data. I am not so scared for it myself, but I am afraid that it will dictate a lot for the younger generations. Just imagine that the data knows more about you than you do about yourself or even how long your relationship will last. 

Isn’t it great that life isn’t predictable? That there is coincidence? And surprise?”

Ending our talk we had one last question: What tips would Ad give to the younger generations to succeed – whatever success may be for them?

“I think there are three essential things to succeed in today’s world. The first would be to build a network around you, and putting effort in maintaining it. Building such a network is important, because at the end of the day it’s about the likability factor.

The second tip is about knowing who you are. “Your own DNA is your foundation, the starting point from which you will build everything. Without a strong foundation, whatever you will build won’t last.” That’s why he suggested us to choose a critical partner, somebody who is not afraid to tell you you are wrong, as this will keep you sharp and fresh. Side note: In the interview, Ad used different phrasing but this has been altered for our younger audiences 😉 

The third tip is looking where you want to go. ”I always used to plan 5 and 10 years ahead, looking at how I want to develop myself. This holds true for both your professional and personal life. You have to think about this as nothing in life will be handed  to you on a silver platter.“