Experience

Dutch Design Foundation

• Netherlands
• Design Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Lab Manager What if Lab

  • Apr 2022 - Present

  What if Lab is a platform to activate and facilitate collaboration between designers and clients (businesses, governments and institutions). A platform that deploys creative thinking power for the design of our common future. What if Lab offers a clear framework to discover how designers and design methods can support (long-term) organizations in developing and researching solutions for complex issues. What if Lab is a platform to activate and facilitate collaboration between designers and clients (businesses, governments and institutions). A platform that deploys creative thinking power for the design of our common future. What if Lab offers a clear framework to discover how designers and design methods can support (long-term) organizations in developing and researching solutions for complex issues.



Studio Kontou

• Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

• Sensorial curator & art director

  • Jul 2012 - Present

  Justine Kontou - curator, art director, creative concepts and visualization of future scenarios. With her eye for colours, textures and shapes, she is able to create esthetic and eclectic experiences. Educated as a commercial economist (HEAO) and as a stylist at Academie Artemis in Amsterdam, Justine Kontou brings the perfect mix between creative and commercial. She knows how to put up strategies without losing the necessary creativity and skills to visualise these concepts. With her multidisciplinary approach and social skills, she brings people together in a way that feels natural to participators. An important quality mandatory to most projects. Due to her curiosity, imagination and open-minded view, she can easily ‘see’ important cultural and social developments and translate these into possible future scenario’s. With her eye for colours, textures and shapes, she is able to create esthetic and eclectic experiences (both 2D and 3D). Most of the time her work consists of combining disciplines like photography, art, design and installations. "My drive is to create, to be meaningful and to contribute to change. By creating multi-sensorial experiences to enhance the well-being in spaces, my goal is to create an environment that’s soothing and comfortable for it’s users. By letting them experience the positive effects of art and nature, they are stimulated to enter into their natural strength." Types of work: ° Creating spatial experiences to enhance the well-being in spaces ° Curator and art director of artistic projects, like exhibitions, events and fairs ° Translating strategy and targets of clients into creative and visual concepts ° Trend forecasts, inspirational moodboards and visualization ° Project management for Art/ Design projects Show less



KONTOU

• Eindhoven Area, Netherlands

• Initiator & Curator of Contemplation Spaces

  • May 2016 - Present

  Contemplation Spaces function as spots that allow you to disconnect yourself from your daily life and mind. In these spaces your senses will be stimulated by a fine selection of art, design, sound, tactility, and also by the use of scent, to immediately put you in a different mindstate. Due to distinct and unique features of selected objects and installations, you consider yourself in a world of its own. This one of a kind atmosphere is enhanced by water-themed installations, the usage of a variety of tactile materials, and matching fragrances and audio to create the best experience possible. To execute this concept, I collaborated with architect Lex Hildenbrant, psychologist Florijn Vriend, students of University of Amsterdam and a wide selection of twenty designers and experts. Research has been done on existing scientific studies that focus on the stress-reducing effects of art, light, sound and (references) to nature. The first edition will take place in The Student Hotel Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week, from 21 to 29 of October. Everyone is invited to experience Contemplation Spaces themselves. Visitors’ feedback will be collected and used for further development, to create permanent Contemplation Spaces. These permanent locations could be hotels, workspaces but also healthcare facilities or residential communities. The final goal is that as many people as possible can one day benefit from the stress reductive effects of art and design. To finance its experimental launch & research during DDW 2017, I started a crowdfunding campaign hosted by voordekunst.nl. Contemplation Spaces is the result of a deep collaboration between artists, designers, and scientists who believe in the importance of creating healthier, more peaceful spaces to balance out the stressors presented by modern living. As a work of passion, the project is unpaid, yet requires significant time and money to bring to fruition. Until 4 October you can find the campaign through the link below. Show less



Design Academy Eindhoven

• Netherlands
• Higher Education
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Projectleader & jury chairman DAE School Awards + Planetree Design Award

  • May 2021 - Present