Why did you leave your country and move to London? How do you compare Belgium and United Kingdom in terms of visual arts industry?

When I left Belgium in the summer of 2000 I felt that I couldn't do what I wanted to do in Belgium. I was working at a communication agency in Antwerp as an interactive designer, and after working for only corporate clients for two years I wanted to broaden my horizon.

At that time I saw what was happening design-wise in the USA and the UK, and it seemed like an incredible hotbed of possibilities, and I couldn't see myself finding a place in Belgium where I could do those things. Around that time Vir2L Studios, an American design company opened an office in London and was looking to hire a Dutch-speaking designer, so I applied for the job and luckily got it. That's when I quit my old job, moved to London, and I've been here ever since - now as one of the Creative Directors at Kleber Design.

I think that both countries have a very rich visual arts/design industry. At the time I moved to the UK, interactive design didn't seem as widespread as it was in the UK, with only a couple of small design outfits on the one hand, or the giant ad agencies on the other with not a lot in between. If you look at today, the "design scene" in Belgium is quite big with some top names in the international design world. The thing is, I think, that design in Belgium is much more subdued, in the sense that its all there, but you have to know where to look, unlike the UK for example, where almost everyone knows everyone - and you have a sense of community. I think that is the biggest difference.

You presented your works in two exhibitions until now. Imagine that you have a chance to build your own gallery for your exhibition and there is no material limitation. How would the gallery look like? What would be the most impressive way for you to show your works to people?

Well... I have never thought about building my own gallery... That's a very self-indulgent question.... Hmm. I think It would be a giant white neutral space... with signage set in Akzidenz-Grotesk Bold. I'd probably spend more time designing those than the space. And I'd present my work like I have it on my site: very matter-of-fact, no extra fluff. Just pure, honest design. Nothing more, nothing less.

From dgv's "Tres Logos" to Taschen's "1000 Favorite Websites", Computer Arts to Semi Permanent, you and your works were featured in numerous important books and magazines. Do you think fame is important? Have you ever imagined to be a very famous person?

You know, that "fame" thing is very, very overrated. Am I flattered when my work is published in those books? Of course, I'm not going to lie about that. It is a nice form of recognition for your work.

Am I therefore "famous"? I don't think so. The world of Graphic Design is quite self-contained in the big picture... To people seeing my work in those books I might seem famous, but the very unglamorous truth is that like every other designer I spend my time sitting in front of a computer all day. I consider being famous would be going to the grocery store and being recognised by complete strangers. Thus far that hasn't happened, so I don't consider myself a famous person. It's nice to have your work being appreciated though, but its not the goal of my work. Although, I'll admit, before I started working and read design books back in the mid-nineties, I thought it would be really cool to have my work "in one of those books".

Not so long but some years before today, graphic designers were lining up the letters with their hands. Now, we cannot imagine a graphic designer without a computer. When thinking about the dazzling speed of developments in digital technology, how do you evaluate the future of graphic design and digital arts?

I think at the core, graphic design will stay the same. The purpose of graphic design: communicating and giving form to ideas will always exist in one way or another - and despite the constant evolutions in the media we use to communicate, there will always be a need for that. The tools we use will become more and more integrated, and so will the platforms. I think (towards the future) that the web, TV, radio,... will all become centralised in one hub; all quite obvious really when you look around.

Print will always be print (and I mean that in a good way).

While following the latest trends, you keep your simple and powerful style alive. Which designers or artists do you find closer to yourself in terms of visual comprehension?

I like looking at the past for inspiration: Modernism, Bauhaus, the work Massimo Vignelli, Josef Müller-Brockmann, ... design that has a foundation and more important, has a timeless beauty.

Besides that, I love 60s and 70s Sci Fi movies and comics.

Are you interested in movies? Do you have favorite directors or do you prefer not caring for that and just enjoying the movies you watched?

I think my favourite director has to be Stanley Kubrick. I have probably seen 2001: A Space Odyssey 30 times, its as close to perfection as you can get - and the design is beautiful.

The interesting thing about Kubrick, to me, is that although he didn't make many movies - he managed to work in almost every genre and make a perfect film within that genre.

And the title sequences for his movies (look at A Clockwork Orange for example) are so simple, and yet so powerful - and still modern!

What would you like to remove from the world if you had one chance?

Bland-pop. To me it means one thing, to you maybe something else - but we all get the point :)

Can you tell us which work of you excited you most?

Always the most recent thing I do.

Theme of our current issue is "Me". Would you please tell us about yourself with three words or one sentence?

I am a graphic designer.