Meet our creative Merel

Twenty-five-year-old Merel de Waal has been working as a creative in our lab for almost a year now. What exciting projects has she worked on, and what makes MM and our team so special in her eyes? She shares it all in this introductory interview!

Education

Merel: ‘After completing my vocational education in Media Design at Da Vinci College in Dordrecht and during my higher professional education in Communication & Multimedia Design in Breda, I started working for myself. That went well, but I noticed that I missed the team spirit. The brainstorming: does this design really work? And why?’

Room to grow

‘I knew Evert through school and through him I came into contact with MM. The combination of a creative team and being close to home immediately appealed to me.’ She continues: ‘And it felt right straight away! It's a great team and I'm learning a lot. I'm also given the space to grow, for example now with web design.’

Experience and interaction

During her studies, the emphasis was more on interaction, installations and social issues. Merel graduated in “somaesthetics interaction design”: a field in which experience and interaction are central. 

Merel: ‘I worked from a concept or problem and looked for a suitable expression for it. That was creative and experimental. In this commercial work at MM, the customer's needs are leading. That's a different dynamic, but just as challenging.’

Village-like in a good way

Merel feels at ease at MM. “It's personal. A bit village-like, in a good way. We know each other, we know what's going on in each other's lives. It's very different from the larger companies where I did my internship.” She finds the short lines of communication and the level of involvement special. “Everyone contributes ideas to a project.”

The psychology behind design

“Knowledge is shared quickly within the team. When someone discovers something new, we often apply it right away. That's also good for your own development.” She continues: “Because there's still so much to learn in design. What interests me most is the psychology behind design. Why do people make certain choices on a website? And how do you logically guide them to the information they're looking for?”

Digital increasingly important

User Experience and User Interface therefore appeal to her. “It's about more than how something looks, it's also about how it works and feels. There are certainly many opportunities in the digital world, because that world is constantly changing. I still enjoy designing for print, but I can see that the digital side is becoming increasingly important.”

Walking in the Biesbosch

Merel lives with her partner. “We just bought a house, so we're doing a lot of renovations. That's our priority right now.” Hobbies? “I'm quite a homebody: I like to draw or make linocuts. Just something creative to do besides my work. And we walk a lot in the Biesbosch, which is just around the corner!”