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We invite you to have an attitude
Are there internationals present as well? Because our English is quite small, it echoed through the room on the 27th of February when Pascal Rumph and Hans Gerritsen of design and communication agency Buro Reng were ready to start the lecture. The name of the agency was born with the R from Rumph and the G from Gerritsen, as they told us. Anyway, a small but nice group of students was curious to learn more about Buro Reng.
Pascal and Hans go way back. The men have known each other for twenty years and have worked together for about eleven years. Pascal used to be the annoying but curious child who always sat with his finger up in class. However, he always had the dream of becoming a designer, which is why he studied at Minerva for example. Hans, on the other hand, intended to become a teacher, but found out that he had more ambition to create and eventually chose to study graphic design. After years of successful cooperation, the two stubborn, as they call themselves, entrepreneurs decided to join forces. Pascal and Hans both fulfill fifty percent of Buro Reng: "We complete each other in our work."
Despite the fact that Buro Reng works on a lot of projects, Pascal and Hans are the only foundations within the company. They therefore describe themselves as a network agency; a company that makes extensive use of hiring freelancers such as photographers and models. This way it is still possible to run the company with only two people, while also doing very cool projects.
The two, who complement each other as Bonnie & Clyde, have a strong story and know exactly what they want. By constantly asking the ‘why question’ to get to know their customers and employees better, new possibilities are being found. For this reason, Pascal and Hans also call themselves slow designers; a lot of time is spent on the concept before the procedure even starts.
“Brand driven organizations are doing better”, it echoes through the audience. Pascal and Hans enthusiastically told us the story about the method used by Buro Reng called "Brand Compass". This is a method to ensure that the customer gets to know his or her own company and the target group, so that Buro Reng can provide for example a suitable corporate identity or campaign. Examples of tools they use are visual brainstorming, sorting cards or the love or hate letter. An appropriate method is used for everyone to get the customer out of his or her comfort zone. Among other things, the customer must first get to know the target group before an appropriate solution can be created: “You need to crawl under their skin”, you could say. The target group is the one and only who ultimately has to promote your brand.
Fortunately, the procedures are less complicated after the massive concept phase has taken place. Most of the final products consist of logos, visual concepts, house styles and tone of voices. In doing so, they try to capture real feelings and emotions in their projects. An example of a well-known project is Westerholm Care Center, where elderly people are offered a place to live to grow old in a pleasant and personal way. By talking to employees and residents, Buro Reng has devised a brand strategy that ultimately resulted in different designs. Besides, Hans and Pascal are also committed to Penduka, an organization that works for Namibian women. Hans and Pascal have a lot of appreciation for the embroideries that these women make, which is why they chose to visualize these beautiful designs and even create a font out of it.
When Pascal and Hans are not working on a project, they are creative themselves. This is also how the "balloon project" was born, "We hired a studio for a week, bought balloons, helium, and started", a very well-known project as we speak. Sometimes communication is the final design that is delivered.
If you are interested in an internship at Buro Reng, which we would understand very well, here are some important tips for you. Buro Reng seeks four aspects in an individual: be curious (first thing you need), always pay attention, question everything and not to forget have fun. This final aspect is very important according to the two friends. "We laugh a lot, thank God," they add to their explanation. Curious about what Buro Reng looks for in an individual? "We invite you to have an attitude".
Nanouk Boelens & Eva Kraaijeveld – Editorial committee Study Association KIC
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