June Park: driven to create user experiences with societal impact

Introducing you to one of our Dutch Digital Design curators. Our panel of creative experts who scout new digital and interactive work. Together they select the amazing cases you will find on our Dutch Digital Design website, and that are promoted on our social media channels - Instagram and LinkedIn - and other (international) media platforms like The Drum. This time we would like to introduce you to June Park: Dutch Digital Design curator and senior designer at our partner agency Fabrique. We talked with June about the road to Fabrique, her life as an expat designer, and Biblio-graph. Dutch digital design work that inspires her. Biblio-graph is a powerful open source web application for the collaborative collection, editing and publishing of bibliographic data.

An introduction to June

‘I come from a very creative family. Both my parents are jewellery designers and creative thinkers. Creativity runs in the family, and I observed design from a very young age, from different angles. I loved creating something from scratch. I was always making things: drawing and doing paper crafts. And in elementary school I was already thinking about becoming a painter, interior designer or visual designer.

I was inspired by my father who was great at working with 3D programs. However, ‘flat design’ was initially more my thing. Therefore, being a graphic designer became my dream job. Nowadays, software for design is a lot more user-friendly - like After Effect and Blender. These programs are easier to understand, and giving me the tools to now also explore 3D and motion design.

Why did I leave Korea? I’m a curious person by nature, plus I was a different kind of designer than my family. I also felt the need to explore being a designer abroad. Explore design outside Korea, and exploring life outside Korea.

Before starting my studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, I got an internship at Mediamatic - a centre for new art forms focusing on biology, food, sustainability and society, in Amsterdam. And I also did an intensive course at the Dutch Design Summer School Open Set - a two-week thematic program consisting of a series of intensive one or three day workshops, symposiums and film screenings - led by Dutch and international designers, artists and researchers. Here I came across Jan van Toorn - a renowned Dutch graphic designer, and Studio Dumbar - a well-known Dutch graphic design studio, and learned all about Dutch design.

Why the Netherlands? Because Dutch design was and still is hot and happening in Korea. Plus I liked the idea that the Netherlands was a small country like my own country. I was also attracted by the aesthetics of Dutch design. So, it made sense for me to further explore my design career here. It also helped that the Netherlands is very welcoming to expats.’

The journey to Fabrique

‘Next to my interest in Dutch design, I also wanted to learn more about what’s in it for society as a whole, and how a designer can contribute to this. What is the role of a designer in this process. Information Design at the Design Academy in Eindhoven felt like the right course to do, as it explores the role of a designer in delivering a message. It was the perfect match between my interests and a career in design.

Also, in 2017 - the same time that I started my course in Eindhoven - Fabrique designed the Dutch Design Week (DDW) identity and campaign. It was my first introduction to Fabrique, and I was impressed. It made me curious, and I started Googling them. It was the first time I applied for an internship at Fabrique. Unfortunately, they weren’t looking for interns at the time.

After my studies, COVID happened. Stuck at home, I started to learn about coding and web design = new ways to create. Also, there was a high demand by museums to help them get an audience in a non-physical way. This resulted in a collaboration between a lot of freelancers, students and various museums. However, I started to miss working with people, and I tried my luck at Fabrique again. This time it was the right time ☺: I got a job as a junior designer at my favourite agency Fabrique!’

Being at Fabrique

‘I’ve been at Fabrique for almost four years now. My first ‘serious job’ after university in Korea where I studied ‘Visual Communication Design’ and my studies ‘Information Design’ at the Design Academy in Eindhoven.

I love Fabrique’s work - especially within the cultural arena, our diverse teams and clients. From the moment I started at Fabrique, I was able to collaborate and contribute with both clients and across disciplines. That was great, because it gave me the opportunity to ask the right questions that are important for designing an effective User Experience (UX). Also, collaboration across disciplines is essential as I feel there are no strict boundaries between UX and User Interface (UI). It is all about creating the ultimate user experience: front-end, back-end, UI, UX, it all matters. Therefore, working in a fluid way - non-hierarchical - as we do at Fabrique, is important. Working together as a group to create an impactful, interactive user experience.

The non-existence of hierarchy altogether here in the Netherlands - both in society and at work - was an eye-opener for me. I love that everyone works together here as a team - on an equal playing field!

Straightaway I got the trust from Fabrique to experiment on a small project. And in time the projects grew in size. Fabrique’s motto: ‘If you want it, try it!!’ Always with the offer of help if you need it.

My first project at Fabrique that really inspired me, was Taalmuseum (Museum of Language). In 2022 we were asked to develop an online environment that would showcase language, to visualise language on every level. To take away all barriers.

We started from looking at each language (irrespective of what type of language: human, animal, visual, spoken) as modular, as clusters. I visualised these language clusters as pixels - something that our developers then made happen digitally. I love how this interaction between disciplines works: we influence and listen to each other, in order to bring our client’s products digitally to life. Without this close interaction, as well as the support and trust from the client, this would not be possible. And for this particular project, we only had four months and a very tight budget - still we created something truly beautiful.’

Working in the Netherlands

‘The Netherlands was a whole new world for me. Of course, there were cultural differences that I had to get used to. The Dutch - as known by most people - are very open, but also very direct. Initially it was quite challenging for me - coming from a culture where you do not have as much space to formulate and express your opinion. During my studies I was told to not be afraid and just do it. To not sit back.

A great example of my learning curve was my first oral exam here in the Netherlands. My professor asked a question. In Korea when you are asked a question by a professor, you don’t answer but listen and learn. His/her question is a formality. In the Netherlands I learned fast that you need to answer. Because my Dutch professor wasn’t too impressed by my silence. From then on I realised that I had to step up my game.

I have an outspoken personality, so I do feel at home. I believe that I add value to a team, not just because of my expertise/talent, but also because of the different perspective I bring to a project and client. I have an intrinsic drive to learn about different cultures, and I come from a different culture. This offers a wider understanding of cultures, and a different way of looking at our diverse world. This is essential in creating or adding value and/or impact. It prevents people living in their own bubble.

Diverse teams take Dutch (digital) design to the next level - outside that Dutch design bubble.’

Inspired by Biblio-graph

‘Biblio-graph is an open source web application for the collaborative collection, editing and publishing of bibliographic data. I believe it is a passion project by its two creators, Mariana Lanari - a performance artist, researcher and PhD candidate at the Amsterdam School of Heritage and Memory/University of Amsterdam - and Remco van Bladel - graphic and interactive designer, and I absolutely love it!

The project gives us a consciousness into archiving. This could be perceived as boring, but they take this to another level on biblio-graph.org.

I have followed Remco and his work for a while. His work is always unconventional and eye-opening which I like. Whilst following Remco, I came across biblio-graph.org. It is visually stunning and aesthetically pleasing. Also, I love the unconventional UX of the platform and the overall intention.

To give you a bit of background, libraries are keen to digitise their archives. It is fascinating to think about what digitalisation actually means for these cultural institutions. How it translates. Especially as it is so different from the physical experience. It is interesting to see how they have explored to connect these two worlds with Biblio-graph.

How it works? It works like a mobile archiver unit: it copies books. You then have different view modes in relation to its author, its timeline, including the moments the book was read. It also archives/registers what people read when they are in the library. As I understand, they are currently working on further features, including online publishing tools.

As mentioned before, I’m intrigued by the process of digitalisation for cultural institutions. I like to understand its purpose, and am curious how this particular project started. What their ambitions were and are. And how it was funded.’