• A nice, fancy and ûber-cool car (such as a Mini Cooper, a Honda Civic, a Seat Leon, …) or maybe a muscle car (like a Chevrolet Camaro, a Dodge Charger, a Ford Mustang, …)
• A super bike, such as a Ducati Hypermotard 1100(s) , a KTM 950 Supermoto (R), … or a cruiser like the Harley Davidson Night Rod.
• A big-ass plasma screen with home entertainment system that could easily compete with the bigger cinemas.
• The fastest, most advanced computer ever. Preferably too expensive and packed with useless features.
• DVDs. Lots and lots of them!

PS: this also works with going to the toilet, stepping out of sight for merely a few seconds, …

• drooling on top of each other
• waiting half an hour in the rain until he comes outside for his daily piss
• become a raging dog when she spots him in a distance, pulling of my arms just to reach him
• kissing and licking each others ‘private parts‘
• meeting each other daily on the fence… the drama

Sure she made me angry at some moments.
Sure she pissed me off more then once.

But still, she means the world to me. She’s a part of the family. She’s ours.

She changed my life.

Meet her & greet her. Come over, and play with her.

Design is Dead is one of the few larger design companies that really made a solid name. How long is Design is Dead running by now? Do you still remember the days when it all started?
I founded Design is Dead together with my brother Jan in 1998.The first team consisted of Wim (who left the company a year later) and Stef (who is still with us) and we worked out of my living room. It were hectic times and we worked hard, but we had great fun. One thing I will never forget is our first day: it was May 1st, so went out to break feast

Being a well known company, doesn’t make it easier to approach new customers I think. Clients will probably expect more and most likely expect a serious bill in the end. Is this way of thinking correct?
Clients always expect more, but I think they are entitled to do so. A website is an important image building and communication tool, so it better be the best it can be. As to the bill, I think we have always concentrated on the final result, rather than being obsessed by the budget. So when clients now come to us because they expect more, I think we can take that as a compliment.

Why ‘Design is Dead’ and not ‘Design is Alive’?
We wanted a name that was provocative and made people take notice. Also we effectively believe that “design” has lost the association with “quality” and “innovation” it once had, and has become synonymous with “in” and “trendy”. There is nothing wrong with that, but we try to take things a step further.

Design Is Dead has a large portfolio-list on its home-website. Is the site updated very often? Who’s in charge of that and does this happen in his / her free time?
Updating our own website is a major and recurring problem. Currently we are preparing a new update to add 25 projects to the portfolio, unfortunately the last one dated from September of last year.

If I would be interested in joining the Design Is Dead-team, what should I do?
Try to be as good as you can be in what you like to do most, and contact us.

Do you expect only the best of the best to join, or are the ‘average’ designers welcome too?
We are a small team, which makes every position in the company important. What we look for are people who have their own field of expertise as well as an eye for “the bigger picture”. So being “the best of the best” is not really required, being the right piece in the puzzle is much more important.

Education is an important role in a designers’ life. Does Design Is Dead support these youngsters? For instance offering jobs during holidays for students, training period for design-students (stage), … ?
I think you are right: (continued) education is important and every year we try to provide two or three internships for design students. Furthermore, we partner with the art centre Villanella to support young designers.

Do you also work with freelance designers, or do you have a complete in house-team?
Most of the projects are done in house, but when a project requires specific know-how or the client works with his own designer, we set up a team with other designers and/or developers.

The projects DID works on, can all be labeled as ‘jaw-breaking’ and ‘drool-inducing’. Who’s in charge of all this eye-candy design?
Thank you for the accolades. Our projects really are a team effort and a lot of the time the whole team is involved: Stef, Nicky and Tim on the design end, Ivan and Johan on the developing end. Ideally we like to get as many people as possible involved in the first stages of a project: design is one part of the equation, but there are more issues to be considered: usability, content, development,… and they are all related.

How did you personally made the switch between graduating and finding a job?
I must say that I have been lucky in that regard. After graduating I worked as an intern for Evans Denver in the US.. When I came back I started working for what is now called Sanoma Magazines till I was asked in 1996 to join Endemol Interactive’s Hall of entertainment web project. When that ended I started Design is Dead.

Thank you very much for the time and effort. I hope you enjoyed it, and best of luck with Design is Dead!
The pleasure was all mine. And the best of luck to you to.

Interview conducted with Hendrik / Design is Dead for Vacuum-Magazine (2004). Visit the Design is Dead website at http://www.designisdead.be/

Personally I don’t really like milk (do like cookies though!), I prefer to dip the cookies into the milk so they turn out to be all soft and wet. Is this blasphemy for a natural-born-cookie-eater as yourself?
Yes it is truly a pure blasphemy! ? No no, I know people who drop ‘cookies’ in coca-cola. In the land of milk and cookies: anything goes! Great, hum! That’s why we live there!

Some months ago, Milk&Cookies was looking for an obsessed ActionScripter. Have you found that person already? How was the hunting for the right person?
We (that’s my stunning partner in crime -Tim Siaens- and me) found that entity in a man called Lenzz (Reginald van De Velde). A crazy, funny, actionscripting design-guru-kinda-boy.
We are very pleased. But … people DO have to continue to send resumes, send us work samples: we liked it. And we love meeting new people.

Milk&Cookies mostly works with freelance-people, right? Why is that? Isn’t it harder for you to keep administration and all the paper-work flowing with new people coming in and out all the time?
Design/graphics are done in-house. Concept too. But for photography, sound and other stuff we like to work with young people (crazy bastards). There are a lot of great photographers, sound engineers, … in Belgium! We are the land of many creatives.
For video, 3D, sound and animation we have a big surprise coming up for clients and future clients! We are doing new things in those areas. Be curious, veryyyy curious.
The paperwork isn’t sooo hard (that’s maybe because I don’t have to do it!). Excel and Word are our friends.

You gained a lot of succes the last two years. Is that the result of a solid fanbase, lots of advertisments, or just because clients are happy and spread the word?
We never looked -prospected is it called hum- for clients. “I thank boodah for that every day, being that lucky”.
Didn’t do any advertising also (sent 1 newsletter in 2 years! Ehum!). We do the things we do. We like it while doing it. That’s it. No big secrets (My partner Tim had to Sex-up some clients, tough). We thank the people who love us. We love them.

If I would like to work at Milk&Cookies, what should I do? How would I conquer a spot in the Milk&Cookies building?
You HAVE to like cookies and be eager to eat a lot of them during the day. We eat cake for breakfast, ësjoekes’ (in Brux they are called Èclairs … space hum) for supper and finish the day with chocolate-sprinkled-cookies. We do work a lot at milk. We play and relax a lot too. We live the good life I think.

You moved from Dendermonde-City to Brussels-City. How was the move and do you like the result? No regrets?
We work in the best place in Belgium (Grande Place). When we open our windows we smell pancakes, pitta and pizza. It’s great. A vacation atmosphere the whole year long.
When we are sick of working: we take the metro to Kinepolis/UGC, visit the Kaai Theater or just take a walk in this superb city.
You have to visit us one day!

There are some big chops among the M&C clients. How did you attract them? I can assume Canon Europe isn’t the easiets client ever, just because they have an international market to please…
They came to us. That made the whole process a lot easier. Tim talks to the clients. Makes them happy (veeeeryyy important! We have a great relation with those people). A lot of great clients are not even on our website yet. I’m happy to say: We do ëmore fun’, exciting work every month. It grows. The cookie is getting bigger. There are a few BIG SHOTS that we will add to our list! YAAHOOOOOOOOOO!!! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY.

What education did you follow, before you started M&C?
I think there are a lot of teachers happy that school is finaly over for me I guess. I went to many schools. I was not a rebel student. I just … did … NOTHING.

What advice would you give to 18-year olds, interested in (web)design?
YOU CAN MAKE IT.  It’s a harsh business. A lot of competition. Great (MUCH BETTER THAN WE ARE) companies, designers in Belgium. You can be one of them. Why not!?

Thank you a lot for the effort and time, and good lucking milking cows!
We love cows!!! And we accept visa!?

comment for the picture
Bernard Bertrand (photographer), some hot milk-lovers (la fille d’O and Rebecca) and Tim (milkandcookies / bearded + long hear guy).
(Great picture!    Because I’M NOT IN IT !!! that’s why!!!! ?   )

Interview conducted with Stijn / Milk&Cookies for Vacuum-Magazine (2004). Visit the Milk&Cookies website at http://www.milkandcookies.be/

The book isn’t cheap at all (about $70!), but it’s worth every single penny! It’s an investment for the future, a perfect way of finding ideas and returning to the basics of graphic design…

You short-film ‘FlatLife’ was (is!) a real success, people from everywhere are begging to see it. Will it be released in some form soon?
Yeah, I’m still dealing with that. You know, as a creative being, I want to bring my film to an audience as large as possible. It has nothing to do with money, but with my wish to make people laugh. This is why I contacted a short film distributor, “La Big Family” in Brussels. Currently we are negotiating about a cinema release in Belgium and maybe elsewhere. This is a quite tricky business: my film would be the ‘pre’-film of a feature film. But I have 3 demands that are absolutely obligatory for me to agree on: first of all, this feature film should be accessible for children, since my film is accessible to all audiences. Second, the feature film should be a good film. Some people have even warned me about feature film distributors that will want to abuse my short film to get some more audience to their less succesful movies. And third: it should be released as soon as possible!

You’re studying at the KASK in Gent, right? Will you graduate successfully because of your nomination in Cannes, or do you still have to prove yourself in front of a jury?
Actually I hope the jury will be objective in all ways. They should only watch the film and forget everything they know about me. And if they say the film isn’t good and I don’t get my graduation, then that’s okay to me. I don’t value the Cannes jury more than the jury at school. I’m so terrified that there will be any press at the jury in june, because that is the last thing I need to achieve objectivity.

How did your graduation project end up in Cannes and where you surprised to be nominated?
I was very surprised it got nominated and even more surprised it won a prize. If you told me this a couple of months ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. How it ended up in Cannes is quite simple: I sent a video tape which wasn’t even a finished version of the film, and I filled in an online submission form, and that was it! A month later, on april 19th I got the most amazing telephone call I ever got: I was selected for Cannes!

The style you have is rather odd (compared to other movies you see nowadays), and highly entertaining. What was the idea of the movie, before even making the first sketches?
Now the idea was very very simple: the audience must laugh. If possible even with tears and a severe belly-ache. This was even before I had the first idea for FLATLIFE. Actually, it was in february 2002 I got the idea. I was in 3rd year animation back then, and me and my classmates had to look for good ideas for an end-of-year film. Since I wanted to make something funny in the first place, i started thinking about other funny animated shorts, and it occured to me that some of the most hilarious ones handle with gravity and directions. This is mostly visual humour. And I started thinking what I could do to make a film as funny as possible, when I ended up with this idea of showing a cross-section of an apartment building. I thought this idea was so brilliant -in all modesty- that I decided to save it until next year, as a graduation film. But then the problem was: what will I make this year? Since it became clear to me – long before the traditional media realized it – that the USA was preparing for war against Iraq, and I decided to make “The All-American Alphabet”, a very political film against the US government, not against the US inhabitants. As for my graphic style: it is quite simple. I don’t know how to draw all that well.

You’re also active in the Comedy-club Lunatics. Can you tell us something about it?
The Lunatics kick ass! We are a comedy club, based in Gent and Leuven, and we also have a team of improv comedy players. If you don’t know what that is: it’s something like ‘Onvoorziene omstandigheden’ that was on Belgian TV a couple of years ago, or ‘Whose line is it anyway’ that is very popular now in the United States and elsewhere. We play in theatres and pubs and so on, and there is always a different team of players that step on the stage without any clue of what they are going to say or do, and this often ends up in hilarious scenes, or very emotional ones. When it works, it gives me an enormous kick. I really enjoy playing with the Lunatics, but the last few years I had little time for it. I hope this will change.

When you had to speech in Cannes, you couldn’t help talking about your best friend George Bush. Why the strong ideas about this person? (isn’t it obvious?)
Well I’m not going to sum up every inhuman decision he has made since he was not elected last time, if you want to get depressed, visit: bushwatch.com and read all about it. Whenever I see him somewhere on TV he makes me feel terrible. Last week he was dishonouring the graves of all soldiers that died in France in WWII. You know, when you tick in “Bush” in Google, out of the 1st 10 hits, only 3 of them are pro-bush pages, all the rest is anti or making fun of him.
I’m not exaggerating, but Bush is the worst thing that happened to the world since Hitler. And it’s not because we don’t feel the consequences of his raving mad politics right here in Belgium that we never will. Also, that’s why some people underestimate the impact of what happened in Cannes. I knew for sure, even though I hadn’t seen ‘Fahrenheit 911′ yet, that Michael Moore’s film would have a HUGE impact in the States. So huge that it would cost Bush’s election. But in order to achieve this, his film had to be showed in the States before the elections, and rather as soon as possible. And this happened partially because he won the Palme d’Or in Cannes. But when I was awarded the Jury Prize for Short Film, I didn’t know yet if Moore would win or not, so I took the liberty of addressing the US citizens myself, because I knew some of them were watching live. I just said “In case Michael Moore doesn’t win, i want to ask: please, dont vote Bush”. And then Tim Roth (director and actor, a.o. Planet of The Apes) came on stage to award the Camera d’Or and he said: “I want to congratulate that young man for his courage and also I totally agree: Don’t vote Bush”. That felt good.

You met Michael Moore in Cannes. I think you both think alike on some  theme’s? How is he ‘in real life’?
Well it’s not like we spent an hour talking, just 5 minutes maybe. Anyway what amazed me: he looked terrible, happy and tired at the same time. I was very exhausted also after all that hectic stuff in Cannes, but Moore kept making jokes and smiling. That is just incredible. He’s exactly the same as you see him in Bowling For Columbine: it’s not a role he’s playing there. It’s Michael Moore. He said he was so delighted that I stood up and said ‘Don’t vote Bush’ because last time he was at a film award ceremony (at the Oscars), he was all alone in his protest. His wife whispered in his ear “Thank god, we’re not alone!”

You’re working on a new movie already? Please, do tell us more …
Woops, err… it’s a secret! You’ll hear about it soon I hope… maybe even by the time this interview hits the web.

You’re graduating this month (hopefully). What will you do after school? Looking for a job, or starting on your own, freelancing maybe? What does the near and not so near future look like for you?
Same question as above… big secret! I can just tell you: I will have great fun, together with some other people. And it’s not the Oktoberfest in Munchen.

That’s it I’m afraid. Thank you a lot for your time, and good luck with the rest of your carreer!
Thank you very much!

Interview conducted with Jonas Geirnaert for Vacuum-Magazine (2004).

As you state on your website, you’ve won several awards. Can you name us your favourite, or just the feelings this gives you, knowing that your work is highly appreciated all over the world…
I don’t really have a favorite, but I can tell you that it’s very refreshing to know that some great designers/non-designers appreciate my work.

Your interface is one of those that is simple and special. Once you saw it, it never leaves your head. Was this the intention of it in the first place? What was the basic idea of making the interface as it is right now?
Well… I really think that less is more… if you have a certain idea of what you want of a project before you begin sketching, then you don’t need to begin adding elements or effects. In a design, if you take out something and it keeps working, then that element was a nuisance. The basic idea of my portfolio was just what you see: having my work developed on me.

People can order pictures through your website. How does this go? Can we choose between the digital format or the printed format?
It goes better than what I expected! I’m offering prints but I’m also open to sell them in digital as royalty free pictures.

Never had the idea to sell high-resolution pictures on CDROMs?
Not really. The thing is that the cost for that kind of stuff would be too elevated compared to any stock image source and I think people wouldn’t pay what I belive all my pictures are worth. Anyway, I would consider any offer.

I think it’s quite rare that we hear about top-notch webdesigners from parts of the world like Argentina. Not that there’s a lack of them in your country, but somehow they don’t reach us out here. What do you think the reason for this is?
Hmmm… I think that’s because here it is difficult to reach European/USA markets. Believe it or not, we have one of the best graphic design universities in the world (with a lot of weak points too) and many people get surprised with the quality of pieces of artwork made by argentinians/latin-american designers. The language may be a big issue as here not many people speaks other than spanish. If you go to Spain you will find lots of great argentinian designers working for important agencies. I believe that in some years, when designers here really realize about the potential of our work in foreign markets, you will start seeing a lot more of latin-american web/graphic work.

By the looks of your interface, you like the outdoors a lot (grass, birds singing, …). Are you an outdoor-person?
I love being outdoors but I must accept I’m quite extreme on that. Sometimes I spent weeks without leaving my home, working on my computer and barely leaving home to see my friends and family. But then, when I plan a trip, I like to be out as long as I can, sometimes in a lonely place, in a tent and without electricity. My trip to the north-west of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, for example, lasted about 4 months. Now I’m planning a 6 months trip to Mexico and Guatemala… that’s a place I’ve not yet been to and that I really want to know.

What’s your favourite spot you ever went to?
Hmmm… that’s a difficult question! There are lots of places I love. The city of Cusco in Per˙… that city is an exiting/rare/sad mixture of European and Inca culture, it has a strange attraction and it is difficult to leave! La Habana, in Cuba is also a city that caused me a strange mixture of sad/happy feelings… cuban people are great. From Europe I loved Barcelona but I think I was too young when I was there to really appreciate it… I hope I can go there again sometime.

Name one location, no matter where, you want to visit, and why that particular place?
As I told you before I would love to go to Mexico/Guatemala. I don’t know exactly why. I love latin-american culture and mexicans have some kind of thing that makes me love them. All mexicans I knew where very friendly and helpfull. Moreover, Mexico has tons of great and beautiful places.

You once started with the first version of Flash (Macromedia), not like most designers that thought Flash was just a trend that would blow over. How do you think back on that time? Was it a revolutionairy piece of software?
I strongly think so. It’s true that in lots of cases we, designers, make abuse of it. But I think that it’s within sight of everyone that there are sites that display really amazing experiences we wouldn’t ever imagine to see on the internet some years ago. We don’t have to forget that Flash is only a tool and without an idea/concept there’s no app that can make our site different from others.

If someone would ask you some good advice on ‘how to start as a freelancer’, what would you say?
First gain some professional experience working in an agency and then, when you finally feel you are ready to go on your own, take your time to build up your portfolio, and find the way to differentiate it from all the others. That would not do everything but would drive potential clients to your site for sure.

These days, it’s hard to get a webdesign-job without any knowledge of ServerSide scripting at all. Do you think this is correct? Can you deal with major projects without the use of ASP(.NET) or PHP?
That’s right. It’s good to know some PHP/ASP code but it’s difficult to be updated in everything. So, for major projects I work along a programmer who can deal with that kind of things faster and better than me so I concentrate in the interface design, which is my main concern.

Maybe an odd question, one of my best friends is getting married with a girl from Argentina. Can you advice him to go and live in Argentina and build a life from scratch overthere, or should he stay in Europe?
jajaja! I don’t really know what to advice him… it depends on what he wants his life to be like. If he likes tranquility (not in terms of peaceful places that we surely have, but in terms of economic and social peace) I would suggest to really think it twice. Personally, I love Argentina and, in some way, we are a mixture of latin and european cultures so perhaps it would be less strange than to move to Bolivia for example, which is a lovely country but which has nothing of european but its churches. By the way… we have the best women in the world!

That’s it i’m afraid. Thanx a lot for the interest and effort for this interview. It is -ofcourse- highly appreciated. You may end in beauty…
My pleasure. I invite you all to browse my site and leave me your comments. Thanks!

Interview conducted with Emiliana Rodriguez for Vacuum-Magazine (2004). Visit his website at http://www.emilianorodriguez.com.ar/