Designalism Newsroom: A Recap

In 2022, ACED organised the very first edition of Designalism Newsroom. During this 'newsroom of the future' on the location of Beeld en Geluid, 18 talented designers and journalists set to work on 3 topical issues put forward by Pointer (KRO-NCRV), de Volkskrant and NOS.

Designalism Newsroom started with a public event on May 20 2022, together with experts Tamara Witschge, Yuri Veerman and Janice Deul giving lectures about their work. In the following weeks, Alice Wong, Daniëlle Arets, Klasien van de Zandschulp (affect lab), Richard Vijgen, Taco Stolk, Stijn Postema (University of Amsterdam), Peter van der Putten and Selby Gildemacher (Hackers & Designers) provided lectures, workshops and advice.

The weekly tailor-made guidance was provided by Noortje van Eekelen (design), Geesje van Haren (journalism) and Jasper Schelling (technology), together with Yifan Yaing (communication) and Justine Corrijn (production).

Mieke Gerritzen, Corinne van Duin, Lara Ankersmit and Barbara Walet were invited to reflect on the state of affairs during the midterms on June 10, 2022. All in all, a mix of artistic and journalistic participants collaborated on 3 different mayor themes: income inequality, inequality in the housing market and social inequality.

How rich is the Netherlands?

With this research question, 1 of the teams investigated income inequality. On the app, users can enter their income, after which their profile is placed on an index. News items are linked to this index according to their relevance to this specific income group. The various income groups can use this index not only to see which news is relevant to them, but also to the other income groups. So the news is not only better tailored to individual needs, it also becomes more empathetic. In other words: news becomes more personal and reduces bubble formation. An additional advantage is that the NOS, for example, can better see which income groups are missed in the news about, for example, Schiphol. The news index turned out to be a powerful combination of design and journalism. Instead of income, religion, place of residence or political preference can also be chosen as the basis for the index.

Designalists

Charmaine de Heij, Chris Congleton, Eef Veldkamp, Fenna Wenselaar, Fien Leeflang, Jonathan Tang, Jonathan Tjien Fooh, Luis Anibal Villegas Hernandez, Zhizhong Keene, Saskia Pouwels, Marije Rooze, Michelle de Gruijl, Nina Bogosavac, Noor de Kort, Pascal Bakker, Thomas de Beus and Wendy van der Waal.

Guest Experts

Alice Wong is a designer focusing on translating information into comprehensive, sharable storytelling and tutor MA Information Design, Design Academy Eindhoven.

Alison Killing (Killing Architects) is a British designer and researcher in the field of architecture. In 2021, Killing won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.

Danielle Arets heads the lectorate Journalistiek en Verantwoorde Innovatie at Fontys Hogeschool Journalistiek and Design Research minor, Design Academy Eindhoven.

Janice Deul (Diversity Rules) is a Surinamese Dutch journalist and fashion activist committed to more diversity in fashion, media and the creative & cultural sector.

Klasien van de Zandschulp is creative director at affect lab and interactive artist designing story-based participatory experiences blending digital and physical.

Richard Vijgen is an artist that focuses on creating data visualisation and interactive data experiences that reveal the invisible technological dimensions of everyday life.

Taco Stolk (WLFR) is conceptualist, metamodernist developing metamedia projects and theory concerning the aesthetics of concepts and contextual technology.

Tamara Witschge professor Creative Media for Social Change Amsterdam University Applied Sciences. Before, Media and Cultural Industries, University of Groningen.

Yuri Veerman is an artist and designer telling seemingly simple stories about an increasingly complex world, through videos, campaigns, flags or performances.

Selby Gildemacher is co-founder of Hackers & Designers, a non-profit initiative organising activities at the intersection of technology, design and art.

Designalism Newsroom is an initiative of ACED in collaboration with Beeld en Geluid Den Haag, Pointer (KRO – NCRV), Volkskrant and NOS. The program has been made possible with the kind support of Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and Pictoright Fonds.