Visuele Journalistiek

workshop door Ronja Ida Weia

I followed an intensive visual journalism workshop with designer and illustrator Ronja Ida Weia. For her, the emphasis is on training the senses. To notice details and learn to capture them precisely in the moment. For example, you can use drawing to make visible or emphasize what is normally omitted in photos or text.

In a broad sense, visual journalism is about combining word and image to convey information to tell visual stories. This can be done both online and physically. Usually I use this more with datavisualistions.

What did I learn
During this intense course I only was allowed to draw on paper with different materials, like ink, pencils and markers. Beside drawings I also made many booklets and zines to tell stories. in addition, curating the material was also important in the learning process.

I learned to look better to the object instead to the white paper while drawing, so you draw what you really see instead of what you think you see.

Creative Research Journaling

why creative journaling
I followed a workshops series about creative journalling with designer Roy Scholten. Scholten unites digital knowledge and analog working which is interesting for me. Scholten used Lynda Barry’s methods to become aware of everyday things and memories. Consider, for example, writing down quotes you hear along the way. This makes you more alert to what is happening around you.

What did I learn
I immediately fell in love with Barry’s approachable way of working, drawing and writing. That is enormously liberating. It’s not about the drawing and whether or not it is beautiful, but what happens in your brain in the meantime. That which is created by long-term concentrated manual work. You cannot judge a performance in your head, which is why it is important to externalize so that you can reflect and deepen.

thanks to this training I consciously started working with a creativeresearch journal for my master design.