#MonkTalk with Kevin Rooi, Junior Designer: "Be bold and proud of the difference in your backgrounds and unique creativity."

Kevin Rooi, a typographer and a design monk who recently joined MediaMonks caught our eyes on a LinkedIn feed where he shared his 'Cup Visits' project with Wesley, one of the founders of the company. We were convinced that we need to talk to this guy who's as passionate as Hyper Objects. His story shows us a celebration of being different and unique, and how having a GRIT can take you so far regardless of all the obstacles. Welcome to feel a colorful and sunny energy of Kevin that even shines through the screen.

Kevin, finally it happened! Please tell us about yourself, what you do at MediaMonks, and how you join the monastery.

My name is Kevin and I work as a junior designer. I’m from the Caribbean, born and raised in Cura?ao then moved to Aruba during my teens. But I tell people that I'm from Aruba because it makes everything simple because Cura?ao is a tiny island that not so many people know about. 

Then I moved to Groningen in my 20s, a city 3 hours away by train from Amsterdam, and studied graphic design and illustration. Since I was little, I was really into art. I used to draw stick figures but with muscles on it because I wanted the figures to look more like a real human. When my kindergarten teacher saw it, they advised my parents so that I could attend art classes and explore my art skills.

Haha, what a rational kid! How did your interest in art connect to a passion for design specifically?

Indeed! One day my dad brought me a magazine called ‘Web designer magazine’ which I still have until this day. When I opened the page, I don't know what happened but I thought ‘Damn! This is exactly what I want to do!’.

It’s always so fun to hear about a very specific moment of falling in love with a new passion. How was the process of joining MediaMonks?

I need to tell you guys that I was job hunting for two years before I got into MediaMonks. First I got a part-time job at a digital agency called Ngrane and it was my first step into the creative industry. It was very difficult even to reach this step because you always need experiences you know.

When I applied to MediaMonks for the first time, I remember I really wanted to get their attention and stand out from the crowd. So I wrote an email as if I was a Kung-Fu trainee, saying something like, ‘Yo! I saw your MediaMonks dojo and I've been mastering Design-Fu!’ but unfortunately it didn't really work. 

Then during the spring, there was an online portfolio event. I joined at the last minute, then I met my boss Sebastian who is a design director. I showed him some of my work, and he gave me some tips and kept telling me that my design has a lot of energy and positivity. Then I didn’t hear from him for two months until he came back and asked me if I wanted to come over for an interview. I had nothing to lose so I went to the interview, then Sebastian was with his lead designer which I thought was kind of weird because I expected it was for freelance work.

The next day I remember I got an email saying ‘Hey, here is the position open for you and this is the salary. Welcome!’ I was like, ‘OH MY!’

That’s why you made this reaction video! 

Yes, exactly! That was the reaction to it. At first, I was like okay chill now. I thought it was inception, you think this is a dream right. It took a while for me to calm down and realize that it actually happened. I told them I’d take some time to think about it then the next day I was so sure that I wanted this job, so I was like ‘I’M READY TO BE A MONK, YEAH.’

We can totally relate to that! Kevin, you told us that people feel great energy from your work. Do you think growing up in the Caribbean affected your style? 

Definitely. There’s a project called ‘Typomento’ which I got inspiration from my native language called Papiamento, a combination of French, African, English, and Dutch. 

The whole thing started as a graduation project where I incorporated my culture into the environment I was living in and tried to see if I could bridge the two things that are both significant to me, and made me who I am. 

I have a video of it, I can show you guys how it looks. There’s a high level of energy and colors in it which is inspired by the Caribbean. It’s a very colorful, expressive, and energetic place even though sometimes people only associate it with beaches, cocktails, and parties. We have so much more than that! We have a rich culture, amazing nature, and beautiful colors in everything you see.

I strongly believe that it has to do with that. I found out that when people from countries who are used to an abundance of color visit for ex. the Netherlands, they experience a sort of shock from the lack of colors there. I have a friend who’s a fashion designer that uses strong colors since he almost feels diminished from the lack of color. Another friend of mind is a filmmaker and he also uses lots of colors, light, and even a contemporary dancer. Through the dance movement, he tries to incorporate his African roots into his works which is very fascinating. 

For me, my way is to express it through design and that’s my way to feel comfortable when I live in the Netherlands because I still miss all these things from my culture.

That’s fascinating. Kevin, tell us more about the ‘Cup Visit’ project that you briefly told us about the other day. How did it all start?

When I was living in Groningen, it took three hours by train to commute to Amsterdam and I wanted to make the best use of this time. So I started doing ‘Train Doodles’. Every time I was on the train I listened to Hip Hop or any other tunes I like on my iPod and designed fonts simultaneously, I'm a huge typography nerd. 

I always like challenging and experimenting with myself so it just kept going on. Let's say one train ride, three hours would be one page, and then there’d be another one on my way home. Then I thought ‘What more can I do?’ 

My mom's words came to mind: “Kevin, if you visit someone as a guest, bring them a gift to show them an appreciation for inviting you.” So I thought ‘Why don’t I make tailored cups for the companies who give me opportunities to be on interviews?'

Whenever I got invited to an agency or a studio, I customized my drawing on a cup after looking at their websites, what they have made. Then I’d bring it to them as a gift and it naturally became my trademark. 

Love this warm initiative. We’re so looking forward to having the Stockholm office edition when you visit here in the future!

Thank you guys, you can check the full collection of 13 different handmade cups and my train doodles on my Instagram. We’ll check it out. What’s the most challenging and fascinating part of your work as a designer?

The most challenging part was that I am very diverse. I'm a colorful person when it comes to a spectrum of energy and the way I do things. That was a problem I had when I was applying for work in the Netherlands, I needed to find a company that would find it valuable. People try to put you in a box and sometimes it was difficult for me not to get clients that I wanted to work for. 

For the fascinating part, I can say that I’m really into typography even though people underestimate it very often. When you’re designing something with types, there’s no problem. But when you're making art of typography from a phrase, oh my god it's a serious thing.

I love typography the most because I can make anything I want - make any form, any letter that can look like 4 or a 9. I can play with a shape but the information still stays the same, which makes me able to dance and vibe with it freely.

We discovered so much about the power of typography when we were doing simple designs, how much energy I can bring to a deck. Kevin, what are the 3 milestones that happened in your life? 

The first one should be that I got a job in the creative industry. This is my very first full-time creative job in my life and, you can see why I’m so happy in the video that I made when MediaMonks gave me an offer.

The second milestone is when I got to work with an agency called ‘Young Capital’, it’s kind of the Uber of young creative people. It was really cool to work with them because it was a big and cool agency and they knew my work so I had some creative freedom which was really nice.

It’s hard to boil it down to only 3 because I have a lot of milestones. I'm a happy guy, and I value even the small steps I’ve made in my life. Being nominated for the next talent by the Dutch creative awards, coming to the Netherlands, and getting a place in Leiden which is closer to Amsterdam, a place I dream to live in one day. So for me, everything is a milestone! 

I'm always looking for the next milestone because it means that I've reached a point where I want to see myself. 

Right, we believe that it’s an awesome growth-mindset that will take you further. Do you have any mentor in your life who shaped your professional vision? 

That’s actually a hard question because people say that they look up to someone right? If you like to sing, maybe you want to be like Beyonce one day because you can relate to her personality, background, and so on. But I haven’t had one in the design and creative industry because it was not very diverse. However, now there's one person, Rich Tu who’s an artist and the director of MTV. I love his work and creativity. He is an American Filipino so he holds a diverse background and he tries to apply this uniqueness to his work. 

Before I found him my creative guru was my dance teacher, Melly Mel. She was always a happy and creative person who was like sunshine bashing through your face and it made me happy every time even when I had a hangover, haha!

She is a dancer and always a giver. I just loved how her creativity and positivity pushed any limit to do things that she never thought was possible. When I witness someone who keeps doing what they love, it motivates me until today. She’s the living example of showing ‘Do what you love, just do it and see how far you can go.’ 

Even though we never met her we can imagine her bright energy. It doesn't have to be about specific work or a field to look up to someone, it can be a quality in a person that inspires you so much.

Truly. Whenever I was dancing and doubting myself, she would always motivate me and say ‘Let's do it, Kevin! It doesn't matter if it’s good. Just do it and figure out what you want to do about it afterward.’ Then I’d calm down and think ‘Okay, cool. Let’s give it a go.’ 

How do you see yourself in 5 years, Kevin? 

I usually try to stay in the present as best as I can but in five years perhaps I'm a mid-weight designer at MediaMonks and doing cool and meaningful projects. Industry-wise, I look forward to seeing more diversity because it injects more creativity in any project like you guys bring different perspectives that are not mainstream and you're gonna apply more of those to work at MediaMonks. 

I want to see that grow and flourish. We can stay in this bubble, you know ‘This has to be like this.’ But if you have people from different backgrounds, perspectives, genders, and when they all come together to reach a common creative or design solution, not even the sky's the limit. 

It makes me think of a book that I(Ljuba) really enjoyed. It's called ‘Dream Teams by Shane Snow, which was recommended by Hyper Island. It’s about the power of collaboration between different teams with a versatile background.

I remember I used to be afraid of going into a meeting with design directors, art directors when I was on job hunting, partly because I’m so different here you know? 

But the thing is, we have to have this boldness when it comes to the difference in our backgrounds, unique creativity and figure out if people like it or not. In the end, you know that there’s nothing to lose, and there’s so much power in reminding yourself of it. 

That’s really powerful. What keeps you imagine and create? 

Actually, it’s a bit challenging right now since I used to get very creative by talking to people and meeting new people. Sometimes, when I encountered a creative block, I used to go to parties and get everything out through dancing. Then when I come back to my life, I’d be like ‘Oh, I have an idea!’.

When I was a little kid, we used to play in the garden, or in nature and we used to create games using our imaginations. Sometimes we make the best ideas when we're outside, like the aha moments in the shower, it's the same but occurs in a different setting. What works for me best is to surround myself with my family and friends, being outside, and absorb energy and creativity.

In the post-pandemic era, what inspires me in a virtual space is finding people that can inspire me to think in new ways. Currently, I'm trying to learn more about the LQBTQ+ community and the culture. It’s fascinating because it gives me a fresh perspective on things and inspires me to get out of my own echo chamber. 

To be honest, we’re going to be in another bubble like on Netflix, you watch one movie, and even though you watch different types of movies, you're only getting selected movies. But the point is that at least trying to see what I haven’t experienced before, it makes me do a better job and understand the world on a deeper level. 

Kevin! The last question for you, what’s your piece of wisdom that you want to give to people who are looking for a job and trying to find their place?

Invest your time in networking, it is very important. To be honest I have a love-hate relationship with my school until today because of this. They gave me an education, I learned a lot. Okay, cool. But they could have prepared me a little better for this part like, ‘Hey Kevin, you start networking right now before it's too late.’

It helps you a lot when you can network as a student. You can go to any studio you like and say you want to learn. Almost anyone will be ‘Oh cool, x person wants to learn. Come to my studio, let me show you around and you can see what I do.’

Networking is going to help you at any point because even though if you don't get a job right away or you're still looking for a job, they can get you connections, connections can get you commissions, commissions can get you money. 

To sum up, you need a group of people that you can be creative with but also those who support you because it’s very important for your growth and upskilling. Find people who motivate you and help you.

Just like you guys, I guess you didn't know MediaMonks before and got connections that inspired and helped you to apply and get in. The same thing applies to everything in life I believe.

Kevin, so much wisdom and energy in the air! Dreaming of one day in the close future where we can exchange our customized Hyper Objects hoodie with one of your beautifully designed cups!

Thank you, guys. Let’s keep rocking!

#MonkTalk is a series of interviews with diverse talents in senior positions within MediaMonks that share different edges of the industry for young creatives who just embarked on their journey ???

Photo credit (The photo in the poster): David van Delden

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