I Know...
A Digital Ritual for the online edition of Holland Festival 2020

In the light of covid-19, Holland Festival needed to re-establish their programme in an online format, focusing on the notion of being ‘in pursuit of the we’. Together with film director Ruben van Leer we worked on this online project in which African-American choreographer, director and dancer Bill T. Jones wants to find out what people profoundly know. The project invited the audience to participate by uploading a video of expressing a sentence beginning with the words ‘I Know…’

‘Fragmented times’ is how associate artist Bill T. Jones describes the period we’re living in, with its rising divisiveness. He sets out to look for a we, together with the audience. Where his production Deep Blue Sea would have had him dancing with a hundred people from the local community on the same stage, ‘in times of social distancing’ he invited people to individually record a short video about something they know deep down and feel strongly about - expressed in words and gestures.

This innovative idea has effectively taken on the digital daze we are now all living in and created a world in which we connect despite circumstances.

— Glamcult

All the individual video contributions are than turned into a visual mosaic that will grow as the festival advances and more people participate. The strong words and gestures of all these individuals - brought together in a dynamic design based on complex data visualisation techniques and a refined sound design - substantiate a larger, collective knowing.

Instagram-style inspired collages
Each video that a person uploaded we used as the basis for a generated personal video edit in which the uploader would take center stage. The person got an automated email with their personalised video ready for social media share. Creating a chain reaction in activating participation.

Within 3 weeks we reached over 40.000 visitors and our project received over 125 unique video uploads, exceeding the anticipated 100 people that would otherwise join physically on the festival stage. During the Holland Festival 2020 we created a video collage every second day launching with the 'I know' of Bill T. Jones and adding on consecutive days his dancers and audience uploads. The end result is an interactive catalogue of knowledge, brought in by people from all over the world, each filmed in their own way.

Left: Original video uploaded: Empathy is not action. Right: Social Media personal video, generated based on the original video
Copyright original video: Nayaa Opong

To generate the personal videos for social media sharing, we build a tool in OPENRNDR that would take the uploaded video, analysed it in terms of movement and integrate the original video as well as the analysed images seamlessly into a new and unique video. Also the sound is adapted automatically to the length of the original video of the uploader, which could be anywhere between 5 and 30 seconds. All this ran server-side, and the video was auto-uploaded to Vimeo. 

Date
2020
Location
Amsterdam
General Idea
Digital Creation & Video
Commissioned & Produced by
Motion Design
Social Media Video Generator
Web Design
Web Development
Sound Design
Oracle
Visual design system and cover generator for 150.000 TU Delft publications
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OPENRNDR
Open source framework for creative coding
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Air Pollution in Europe
Interactive installation at the Clean Air Forum
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Growth maps of Amsterdam
150 meters long wall graphics for a new underwater bike parking
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Panartis conference
Identity for an online conference on authentication in art
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RoBoGo
Fully customizable 3D printed media facade elements
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Load more

Studio

RNDR is a design studio for interactive media that develops ‘tools’ that are only finished by how they are used.

To achieve this, we develop processes, create structures, design visualisations, code programs, and create interactions. The end result can manifest itself across different media, ranging from interactive installations, data visualisations, generative identities, prints and everything in between – often real-time. We are triggered by how information and technology transforms networks, cultures, societies, relationships, behaviours, and interactions between people. Our work explores and engages with hybrid space as it embraces both digital and physical realms.

RNDR was founded in 2017 in The Hague, (NL). Its main members have years of experience as partners, computer scientists, designers, art directors and developers at LUST and LUSTlab.

One of our core projects, and basis for most of our projects, is OPENRNDR, an open source framework for creative coding –written in Kotlin for the JVM– with over 13 years of development. OPENRNDR simplifies writing real-time audio-visual interactive software. OPENRNDR is fundamental for the capacity of RNDR as a studio, as it allows us to realize complex interactive works. OPENRNDR was awarded the Dutch Design Award 2019

Fields of work
Interactive design (ui/ux), data visualisation, information systems, software tools, interactive installations, media architecture, immersive experiences, interface design, visual identities, generative video, creative coding, exhibition design, graphic design systems, hybrid spaces and platforms, machine learning and artificial intelligence (ai), code and design workshops.

People
Jeroen Barendse (NL), partner. Design and art direction. Former partner of LUST and LUSTlab. Awarded BNO Piet Zwart Oeuvre Prize 2017
Edwin Jakobs (NL), partner. Computer scientist, creative coder and visual artist. Creator of OPENRNDR
Boyd Rotgans (NL), partner. Creative coder & interaction designer
Viola Bernacchi (IT). Design & data visualisation
Els van Dijk (NL), office manager
Marco Dell'Abate (IT), Royal Academy for the Arts, The Hague, Creative coder, 2023
Previously at RNDR
Thomas McElmeel (US), College for Creative Studies, Detroit, intern, 2023
Marco Dell'Abate (IT), Royal Academy for the Arts, The Hague, intern, 2021
Rein van der Woerd (NL), Data Art Technology Arnhem, Artez, intern, 2021
Derrek Chow (CA), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, intern, 2021
Jon Packles (USA), Parsons School of Design | The New School, intern and freelance, 2021
Jasper Kamphuis (NL), Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, intern, 2020
Ferdinand Sorg (DE), Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd, intern , 2020
Jaekook Han (KR), Graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYC, intern
Gábor Kerekes (HU), developer
Amir Houieh (IR), developer
Łukasz Gula (PL), Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, intern
Noemi Biro (RO), Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, intern
Selection of exhibitions
Oracle unfolded @Highlight Delft Festival, 2023
Perpetual Beta; Encounters in open space, The Grey Space, The Hague, 2021
Open Highway, Raum, Utrecht, 2018
Typojanchi Typography Biennale Seoul, main exhibitor (as LUST), 2017
Cartographies of Rest, interactive installation at Mile End Art Pavilion in London (as LUST), 2016
Hyperlocator, What’s next, Future Tomorrow, 38CC Delft (as LUST), 2016
Type/Dynamics exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (as LUST), 2014
Selection of lectures
Creative Coding With Kotlin and OPENRNDR, online presentation for Jetbrains, 2023
Cloud Salon presentation at Parsons Design & Technology, New York
Experimental Data Visualization for Master of Arts in Interaction Design, SUPSI, Mendrisio, 2022
Lecture Information Design masters. Design Academy Eindhoven, 2021
Talk for Graphic Days Turin, Eyes on the Netherlands (IT), 2021
Lecture for TAAALKS conference, Munich, 2020
Presentation at GitHub Satellite, 2020
Lecture at Britisch Library for Central Saint Martins' Form, Reform, Perform: futures of writing, 2019
MiXit conference, Lyon, 2019
Google Span conference, presentation and demo, Helsinki, 2018
JFuture conference, Minsk, 2018
Creative Coding Utrecht, Launch of OPENRNDR, 2018
Selection of workshops
Workshop OPENRNDR for Graphic Days, Turin (IT), 2021
OPENRDNR workshop for Digital Society School, Amsterdam, 2020
Weeklong workshop OPENRNDR @Politecnico di Milano, 2020
OPENRNDR x Machine Learning workshop @ KABK during Tech Week, 2020
Two week OPENRNDR workshop at Tumo, Armenia, 2019
Workshop OPENRNDR at Artez Interaction Design, Arnhem, 2019
Processing Community Day 2019, CCU and Sensorlab, Utrecht, 2019
Royal Academy of Art (KABK), Techweek, The Hague, 2019
Utrecht School for the Arts (HKU), OPENRNDR workshop, 2018
La Scuola Open Source, 1-week workshop, Bari, Italy, 2018
Two-week workshop at TUMO foundation, Yerevan, Armenia, 2019
OPENRNDR x Machine learning workshop @SUPSI, Mendrisio, CH, 2022
Teaching
Information Design, Master program Geo Design, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2023
Creative coding, Master Non-linear Narrative, KABK, The Hague, 2023
Interaction Design, Design Art Technology Arnhem, Artez, 2008
Generative Design, Bachelor Man and Communication, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2019

Contact

RNDR

Paviljoensgracht 20
2512 BP, The Hague
+31 (0)70.3635776

info@rndr.studio


INTERNSHIPS

We are mostly looking for interns that have a background in interactive design. Some experience in coding is preferred. 

interns@rndr.studio

OPENRNDR
Open source framework for creative coding that simplifies writing real-time interactive software

info@openrndr.org
openrndr.org