Niel de Bruijn

Niel de Bruijn is a 20 year-old designer and filmmaker living and working in Utrecht (The Netherlands). Studying at the Graphic Design department of the University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU).

More information



Profile
nieldebruijn@gmail.com
Instagram
01.RICH HISTORY
[DESTINATION: TURKEY]
Mar 2026
Publication
190 x 260mm
136 page Softcover


Worldwide photography archives hidden away in the depths of our earth. Memories long forgotten and sights long not seen. 

By using Flickr, the largest online photography community where photographers and archives post their imagery for everyone to view, we showcase unique images that have almost never been seen before. We want to bring these images into the physical world through this alternative travel guide, where an alternative way of visiting a country is not only more enjoyable but also better for preserving the beautiful qualities of this place.

In this publication we talk about the advent of mass tourism and it's effects on a country. We want to cast a different light on Turkey’s rich history, including its people and their community. Not a view of the country from a tourist’s perspective, but from the residents themselves.


Language: ENG/TR
In collaboration with Talisha Karijowiredjo
Thanks to: flickr & Salt Research



Slide ->
02.Typography Experiment
Jusqu’ici Tout va Bien
Apr 2026
Booklet, Posters

A3, 48 pages
A3

Around 50 typographical experimants with the same sentance.
Part 1: Only fonts, no alteration.
Part 2: Only fonts, with alterations.
Part 3: No fonts, create your own.

Database booklet of all typography experimants and 3 final posters.

s
03.Wat de wind ons vertelt

Okt 2025
Flyers
A5

Flyers for the theatre play: ‘Wat de wind ons vertelt’ (‘What the wind tells us’),
at hal015 & fenix during the celebrations for Srefidensi- or Surinamese Independence Day.

The theater performance ‘Wat de wind ons vertelt’ is a search for what is hidden in the whispers of the past. Four women dare to look back, feel and speak - loud and clear in the light of today.

As descendants of family members who were involved in the Dutch slavery and colonial past in various ways, the players talk about this often silent piece of history. With roots in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa, they each share their own piece of family history. Through text, music, dance and movement, different perspectives are intertwined, inviting the audience not only to watch, but also to feel.

In collaboration with Talisha Karijowiredjo

Lorem Ipsum...
Lorem Ipsum...
04.Chronic Back Pain!
Collaborative Magazine
Nov 2025
Publication

297 x 420mm
67 page Softcover

This was an assignment with the entire second-year graphic design. A small design team created the design language for the other students who had conducted their own research on their individual topic. This allowed everyone to create their own spreads within the design team’s guidelines.

This magazine is an ode to all those who create their own language when existing words fall short. From arpilleras to grime, from zines to digital resistance - this is the place where creation and rebellion meet. Here you’ll find stories of creators and movements that never fit neatly within the box. It’s not about perfection. It’s about urgency. To make a sound before someone tells you not to. To take up space where there isn’t any.

The design team consisted of:
Me, Max Janssen, Roza Disselhorst and Vivienne Wolters.

05.Saudade

Apr 2026
Shortfilm
3.07 min

Saudade is a visual narrative about memory, connection, and the elusive bond with the past. In this short film, we follow a character who is unexpectedly confronted with fragments of an old, cherished friendship. During a walk through the woods, she stumbles upon a seemingly simple piece of textile, a cloth that acts as a gateway to what once was.

The film moves between two worlds: the present, captured in black and white, and the past, which comes to life in color. These contrasts emphasize the emotional distance between then and now, while simultaneously revealing the intensity of memories.

The title Saudade refers to a almost untranslatable Portuguese feeling, a mix of longing, nostalgia, love, and loss. It is precisely this feeling that forms the core of the film. 

06.12:34  Magazine
The Clock
Okt 2025
Publication
180 x 250 mm
112 page Softcover, Link Stitch

“What’s the time?” is probably the first question that comes to mind when you think of a clock. But there’s so much more behind that simple phrase. The clock is a versatile object; it can take a thousand forms and carry a thousand meanings. Think of the original cuckoo clock, charming and mechanical, or the glowing digits on your smartphone, greeting you each morning. Maybe you wear a sleek watch that quietly ticks against your skin, marking your own rhythm of life.

In this magazine, we look beyond the clock’s face. 
We explore time as both experience and expression and look at the way artists, designers, and thinkers have visualized and questioned it. From the surreal, melting clocks of Salvador Dalí, to contemporary installations that turn clocks into more than tools - that stage them into metaphors for memory, movement, and mortality.

This was a group assignment together with:
Jacq Burden, Robin Peeters and Yoek Vork

07.Textile Installation

Poetry
Dec 2025


Textile
Project Mapping

‘𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵
𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺’

This project brought typography and spatial design together, by projecting text onto a textile installation, we created a multi-layered work where text is distorted, extended, and multifaceted. 

It creates a space that you can walk through and not only observe the poem but also the shapes that the individual letters shift into.

This work is in collaboration with Talisha Karijowiredjo, we worked on the concept together, Talisha wrote the poem, and I did the project mapping.

2/3    Doloribus Voluptas: Quo Consequat Ipsula, Voluptatum Ametist Publicatium
Lorem Ipsum...
3/3    Doloribus Voluptas: Quo Consequat Ipsula, Voluptatum Ametist Publicatium
1/3    Doloribus Voluptas: Quo Consequat Ipsula, Voluptatum Ametist Publicatium
08.Habibi Hussein
Q&A, Conversation w, Director
Feb 2026
Poster, Event

Movie

I organised a Q&A and Conversation with Diretor Alex Bakri about his movie Habibi Hussein.  Habibi Hussein is about a restored cinema: the only movie theater in Jenin, a Palestinian city of nearly 50,000 that has been in the news in recent years due to numerous devastating attacks by the Israeli army. 

After seeing the film myself at IFFR, and subsequently receiving an assignment where I had to shine a spotlight on an unseen artist, I immediately thought of using this film. I contacted the director and producers of this film to try and organize an Q&A and Conversation for my classmates, and luckily Alex Bakri himself was very excited to collaborate!! 

This poster was made to promote the event. It was very special and educational to be able to talk with the filmmaker, also because I enjoy filmmaking myself. We discussed the filmmaking process and much more.

Habibi Hussein (2025) is an unusually biased take on the story, in which the protagonist, the cinema’s former and future projectionist, Hussein Darbi, uses his 40 years of experience and connections to get the arc lamp projector working again—while the NGO team treats him like an apprentice. A warning against cultural colonization and an allegory for much more than just film.

09.Font Research
Söhne, Signifier 
Okt 2025


Poster, Augmented Reality, Metrocards, Publication

Researched two fonts designed by Kris Sowersby, Söhne & Signifier.

I created several designs, including a three-layered poster using transparent paper, aswel as this same poster in 3D AR.

Metrocards, because the Söhne font is inspired by the NYC Metroline font.  
And lastly a booklet with full research on both fonts.

10.The Coast of Understading


English / French
Sep 2025
Publication
Carton Enveloppe
115 x 190 mm
3 booklets, 18 page Softcover

This research aims to provide insight into how dialogues contribute to the development of human relationships. By analyzing the meeting scenes of the film A Summer’s Tale (1996) by Eric Rohmer, I investigate how verbal and non-verbal elements make connection, distance and uncertainty visible. The film thus follows a route of transformation, not through physical locations, but through dialogue, emotion and body language.

In films about human relationships, dialogues play a key role in showing emotional development and connection. However, subtle elements such as silences, word choice and body language are often underexposed during a first viewing. 

This research focuses on A Summer’s Tale (1996) by Eric Rohmer, in which relationships do not follow the classic love story, but serve as a psychological portrait of a young man struggling with choices, self-insight and responsibility.
The three women with whom Gaspard has contact, Margot, Solène and Lena, each reflect a different aspect of his inner quest. Their conversations show how human relationships are formed and disrupted by expectation, doubt and timing. The film shows that connection does not lie in grand gestures, but in language: in silences, body language and the space between two sentences.

11.De Dom Dronken


May 2025
Zine
139 x 198 mm
50 page Softcover

A zine that looks too deep into the glass of the ‘domtoren’

A smoky declaration of love
to creaking bar stools, lost nights
and the eternal clinking of glasses.
under the shadow of the ‘domtoren’,
here the city drinks its memories

The "bruine kroeg" (brown café) is more than just a place to eat. It's a cultural phenomenon, a meeting place where time fades and people can unwind.

With this publication, we pay tribute to the Utrecht "bruine kroeg," not as an object of study, but as a living organism in which a city reflects itself.

This project was also printed in editions and sold at a self-organized Zine sales evening at Kapitaal in Utrecht with the entire first-year graphic design class, this event was called: ‘Eerst Zine dan Geloven’.

This was a group assignment together with:
Talisha Karijowiredjo, Max Janssen and Mik Boschker.

12.Analog Photography

Apr 2026
35mm Film Photos + Zine
145 x 195 mm
32 page Softcover, with coverflap

Open Space is a MediaLab at HKU where the student chooses their own project. They get the freedom to learn a new skill or talk about a new subject, and have to make their own planning in these weeks.

I have been wanting to learn analog photography, so my plan was to get inspired by photographers who’s style I liked, come up with a theme for myself and start shooting. The learning curve here will be the photography itself and using the camera gear, but most importantly the developing process. As a final step I wanted to make a photobook with the pictures, I have been wanting to try some new and different things in terms of paper, binding and design of it all. 

13.Weggaan
Poëzie Film
Jan 2025
Short film

0.41 min

Poetry film with the poem: Weggaan, Rutger Kopland,
with music by Steve Reich, "Music for 18 Musicians."

This project was made together with Nomi van der Haas.

14.Exploring Touch
Braille
Jun 2025
Publication

148 x 210mm
28 page Softcover

This book makes you feel the importance of the sense of touch, not only how essential it is for everyone, but how for blind people it provides a bridge to the world around them.

Touch is one of the most important senses, humans, animals and plants all depend on it. It allows us to feel the world around us, detect danger and even convey emotions. From a gentle touch that provides comfort to recognising textures and temperatures – our skin is full of nerve endings that help us to understand our surroundings. 

This book explores this together with braille. For blind people, the sense of touch plays an even more crucial role, their language and way of communicating is based on touch. Because they cannot rely on their sight, they often develop a more refined sense of touch. This is essential for reading braille.

All text in this book has also been written in braille on the pages, so a blind person can also read it.