Hey there!
Ever since getting my hands on my first drawing tablet at the age of 13, I've been navigating the world of illustration, storytelling, interaction and gamification. Fast forward to now, and I’m proud to hold a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Multimedia Design from the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.
Throughout my studies, I’ve been specializing in Immersive Design and Interactive Narrative Design. I love bringing stories and ideas to life in engaging ways and finding solutions for complex communication challenges through visual design. My favourite projects are the ones where I get to combine both digital techniques and analog mediums into a one of a kind cross-media concept.
In my free time you'll often find me sculpting, sketching or (miniature) painting. I love spending time in nature, visiting museums, reading fantasy novels and learning about history, especially historical costuming. I’m passionate about living and creating sustainibly and I try to incorporate that into both my work and everyday life.
Feel free to wander through my work! If you’d like to learn more about me or just want to chat, you can reach me at lisavandenbrakel@gmail.com or through my contact form below.
Enjoy!
My design experience
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Interaction designer
Graduation project • 2023
I completed my graduation project at NPO Zapp, the children's channel of the Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting. For my thesis, I worked on enhancing interaction within their digital platform, the Zapp app, with the goal of strengthening the engagement experienced by the target audience (children aged 9 to 12).
Through research, user testing, and an iterative design process, I developed a high-fidelity prototype for a new form of interaction in the app: digital avatars based on Zapp presenters and actors.
By incorporating a high level of interactivity—such as two-way communication, personalized recommendations, and avatar customization—this concept offers an innovative solution to stay relevant in the rapidly evolving landscape of youth entertainment.
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Game designer
Internship • 2022
Cross Your Borders is a non-profit organization committed to helping young people gain insights into the global and societal issues of our time by organizing interactive citizenship projects for students of all levels and years of secondary education and vocational education.
At Cross Your Borders, I worked on developing a new online gaming platform featuring mini-games on topics such as democracy, sustainability, economics, and human rights. The games are played on a big screen in the classroom, using the students tablets or phones as controllers.
My role in this project focused on designing the game’s interface, developing the visual identity of the platform, optimizing user experience and presenting conceptual ideas for the mini-games.
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Motion graphic designer
Internship • 2021
UW/S is a company that provides digital in-store communication solutions for Dutch supermarkets and retail businesses. At UW/S I created weekly content for clients such as Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Plus, and Etos. This included animating narrowcasting videos and designing new animation templates.
UW-S also offers a product line called KidsClub. The KidsClub consists of small shopping carts with screens and a charging station, a touch wall or a gaming station with integrated screens. At UW/S i got the opportunity to develop a new mascot for the KidsClub. The end result is a carrot named Pluk, who came to life using a combination of both clay and illustration.
I also got to work on creating updated visuals for the games on the tablets, ensuring that Pluk could be integrated into the KidsClub interfaces.