Duration: Three years.

Staff: Myself, in collaboration with freelance designers, photographers and programmers.

Education: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, The Netherlands (Graphic & Typographic Design).

Cultural Influences: Cantonese ballroom dance and electro-pianos, Dutch china and Greek moonshine, Swip Stolk, Tadanori Yokoo, Anthon Beeke, Katsumi Asaba, Piet Zwart, MRVDV, botanical illustrations, Jan van Toorn, Philiph Glass, Gerard Unger, The Roots, Peter Bilak, First Things First Manifesto...

Environment: Working nocturnally from subtropical Lamma Island, a small secluded island southwest of Hong Kong. Operating under unbearably poor conditions with a nocturnal manual work flow, daylight and sleep deprived, surrounded by loud, bombastic music, consuming moonshine and nicotine, instant noodles and unlimited fresh strong coffee. Preferably once a year, Nivard’s nomadic “Graphic Design Sweatshop” relocates to the (even more secluded) Mediterranean island of Kythira in southern Greece to work on self-initiated projects.

Philosophy: Functional content-focused and narrative-based communication, zealous aesthetics and utilitarian ornamentation, evocative effective content and unconventional problem-solving visualization: feeding thought!