African Design Magazine December 2014 | Page 67

African project: Ambulance Playground ABOUT THE DESIGNERS LUC VAN HOECKEL Luc was born in 1988 in Diessen, a small village near Tilburg in the south of the Netherlands. He graduated cum laude at the Design Academy. Now Luc is working internationally and has completed projects in several countries and is known for his social-approached designs. PIM VAN BAARSEN Pim was born in Alkmaar in the northern province of the Netherlands in 1987. He studied at the Design Academy in Eindhoven and specialised in designing from a social approach. He often starts designing with recycled material or existing products as a starting point. At the Design Academy he met Luc; a friendship and an inspiring collaboration was born. After some successful projects abroad, Pim and Luc found their passion in finding solutions for a broad group of people worldwide. Without doing concessions they succeed in working with war victims in the north of Uganda, people in the rural areas in Nepal and in European countries. 90% of the world’s population does not have the financial capacity for traditional design, but does have a need for well-designed products and insightful solutions; products and services that make a difference and change lives. Their projects are characterised by original and smart solutions for complicated problems and social and cultural subjects. Thanks to their multidisciplinary approach, they originate ideas for every project and the right way to communicate it to the public. The results range from cleverly designed products and ready-made concepts to implementable services, always from a social approach and intended to make life a little easier, more fun or just simpler. i africandesignmagazine.com 67