Proof of Genius #09 — Impact Producer
Chris Vijn creates projects around topics that often cause society to get stuck: discrimination, democracy, inequality, migration, technology, and polarization. She does this as an “impact producer,” a profession that’s hard to define in a single sentence. Her work often begins with listening, connecting, and creating space, and doesn’t end until people are able to take what has been created and move forward on their own.
Proof of Genius #09 — Impact Producer
Chris Vijn creates projects around topics that often cause society to get stuck: discrimination, democracy, inequality, migration, technology, and polarization. She does this as an “impact producer,” a profession that’s hard to define in a single sentence. Her work often begins with listening, connecting, and creating space, and doesn’t end until people are able to take what has been created and move forward on their own.
PROOF OF GENIUS #08 — PERFORMANCE
PROOF OF GENIUS #08 — PERFORMANCE
When the Body Takes Over Language
A performance by Jana Jacuka doesn’t begin with the question of what you’re supposed to understand. In fact, it’s best not to. It begins with presence. A body, a voice, a space, and an audience that doesn’t remain safely at a distance but inevitably becomes part of what’s happening.
Jacuka is a choreographer, creator, and performer. She moves between performance, theater, and choreography and often works with little more than her own body and voice. No set to distract the attention, no technology to get in the way. Her work explores what happens when words lose their usual meaning and sound, movement, breath, and physical proximity take over. On her own website, she frames it almost as a principle: she creates work that is meant to be felt rather than understood.
And that’s exactly where it gets interesting. Because how do you create something that is carefully constructed yet only truly comes to life when something happens that you can’t fully predict in advance?
PROOF OF GENIUS #07 — HOSPITALITY
When a City Becomes Your Canvas
Is Leiden his canvas?
Beau Artist laughs at the question. Neither he nor his girlfriend has a driver’s license. With two kids, a lot of their life happens on the cargo bike. As a result, a significant part of his world unfolds within the city. Maybe he should have spent a year in New York first, he says. But why, exactly? In his view, Leiden deserves just as much diversity in places, people, and experiences.
Beau is now involved with four restaurants and bars in Leiden. Not four versions of the same successful concept. On the contrary. Every place has to be different, because every environment is different. Copy-paste is out of the question right now. As the conversation progresses, it slowly becomes clear that Beau might not be designing hospitality businesses at all. He’s building environments where people can feel at home.
PROOF OF GENIUS #06 — CRAFTSMANSHIP
When Your Hands Take Over
Anyone who refers to Lois Vlasblom solely as a plasterer is missing half the story. He restores ornamental ceilings dating back to the seventeenth century, reconstructs the techniques of artisans who worked centuries ago, designs new decorative work, and trains new masters. It takes nine years before you can truly call yourself a master plasterer. Lois knows why. In his studio in Zevenhuizen, it’s not just about plaster, lime, and tools, but about something much harder to pass on: the moment when knowledge leaves your head and settles into your hands.
PROOF OF GENIUS #05 — CRAFT and the Courage to Create
PROOF OF GENIUS #04 — UX & RESEARCH Design Starts with Understanding
Peter van de Geer demonstrates that good design doesn't start with pixels or prototypes, but with research. Through curiosity, critical questions, and strong ethical convictions, he develops digital solutions that are not only user-friendly but also responsible.
PROOF OF GENIUS #03 — INCLUSION A museum you can feel and hear
Valentijn van Harn (CMD, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) designed sensory interactions for people who are blind or visually impaired, tested his prototypes with users at a museum — and saw his project selected for the Golden Dot Awards.
PROOF OF GENIUS #02 — DIGITAL SOCIETY Technology that supports people rather than controlling them
Tyneisha van Veltum won the Golden Dot Award for her graduation project on our digital identity and an approach that prioritizes people over technology.
PROOF OF GENIUS #01 — SOCIETY A few seconds that break through online hate
Lucid doesn't block anything or punish anyone—it simply builds in a moment of delay. Just enough to break an impulse. It earned Lanxiang Vermeulen a Golden Dot Award.