Solutions
‘The breeze of the sea is something that makes me really calm down, that’s why water and wind are one of my most inspirations. Sick of the plastic and other trash that’s floating in the sea…I am finding my way into the next economy, searching for new solutions on graphic design. For this reason, planet earth and human rights are really important elements to keep in mind while designing.’
“The world is already full of stuff that is irrelevant, so let’s change opinions and make a difference.”
+316 15 51 87 91
madyverkerk@hotmail.nl
How my life changed
2011 – 2015
Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam
Jan 2014 – jul 2014
Garcia Jeans, junior designer at the boys department (6 months internship)
sep 2014 – dec 2014
Studio Room / LINDA.Magazine (4 months internship)
jan 2014 – jun 2016
Junior fashion/artwork designer at the menswear department, Garcia Jeans.
September 2016 – 2020
Willem de Kooning Academy, Graphic Design
Knowing already that these clothes are produced in countries such as China and Bangladesh. I had the idea to ask one of the buyers how the circumstances are in our factories. But soon as I asked this question, it looked like I was the only one who wanted to know this. The answer I got will never go out of my mind. “It’s all about the numbers. I don’t care about the circumstances, as long as we get enough money.”
That moment I didn’t even knew what to say…
Well I cared… It ended up as one of the key elements where I decided to study graphic design again. Starting a new adventure with new perspectives on the world. Till now, this study really helped me to change my own behavior and to find the focus on things in life that really make sense. My goal is to open the eyes of people, activate them and let them think in different perspectives, so they can reflect upon their behavior.
It is never to late to change.
Mady Verkerk
Graphic & Conceptual Designer
“It’s all about the numbers. I don’t care about the circumstances, as long as we get enough money.”
This quote by a former employer I worked with was my ultimate wake up call. I never felt my responsibility stronger as a designer to contribute to a better world.
My mission is to make people aware of the consequences of consumerism. I want to be innovative on the field of branding and sustainability. For this reason, working with honest brands and companies only is a real must.’
An example is the publication “Born by publicity, Killed by publicity”. In this small book, I juxtapose the narcissistic selfie driven glamour culture and the ordeals in the producing factories have to suffer.
What I do
Branding – Graphic design – Visual Identity – Experience design – Print – Webdesign
After my graduation from GLR as a graphic designer, I started working as a junior fashion designer for Garcia Jeans. This was one of the companies where I did an internship. Becoming a big fashion designer became a dream after this internship, but unfortunately, I was not admitted for the study fashion. I had one year to work on this. Lucky for me, I could improve my skills one year long at this company… But after a few months designing clothing, me and the art director found out that making prints and graphical stuff was more my kind of thing. I became a junior art work designer.
After a few months, one question popped up in my mind constantly, ’In which circumstances are these clothes made?’ Materialistic as I was… I never thought of this. The only thing I could think of was getting rich, having a big nice car and the nicest clothes. But every time I saw a commercial on the television about poor children in third world countries, this feeling of getting everything went away for a few days. Also, the huge collapse of Rana Plaza took places a few years ago and I don’t want to be the reason for this.