KOPP kind..
As a visual storyteller and expert by experience, I want to shed light on the experiences of KOPP children.
The abbreviation KOPP is Dutch and stands for Children of Parents with Psychological Problems. According to the Trimbos Institute, 27.9% of children living at home up to the age of 17 are KOPP children. In the Netherlands, an estimated 900,000 children grow up with a parent struggling with mental health issues.
Young adult KOPP children often still carry the consequences of their childhood. Their KOPP experiences, which are often invisible to the rest of society, mark these children with certain behavioral patterns and defense mechanisms. In addition to having a difficult childhood, they carry a heavy backpack into adulthood.
With “KOPP Kind; de Point & Click Game”, the threshold for seeking help for these adult KOPP children is lowered by shedding light on the KOPP experiences. The goal is also to make the term ‘KOPP’ more widely known to raise awareness.
In a tour through the house of a KOPP child, the player becomes a bystander to the KOPP child experience. This experience may resemble that of the player.
The house symbolizes the psyche, with each room storing memories. There is a problem: the basement has flooded, and the house is full of water…
At the end of the game, the bystander wakes up in the office of a therapist. The bystander realizes that the memories in the game that the therapist made them experience belong to themselves.
This game conveys the message that by being a bystander to your own memories and daring to look in the basement full of suppressed emotions, you begin processing the experience of being a KOPP child.
The Taste of Tomorrow
Once upon a time, 70 foreign ambassadors based in the Netherlands paid a field visit to the Province of Gelderland on Monday 8 May 2023. They were introduced to new techniques and products in the field of food innovation.
Within my time as a witch’s apprentice, I was allowed to hex up one big assignment from start to finish. The province of Gelderland and the ministry of foreign affairs asked Studio Katja Gruijters to summon the most magical of walking dinners possible for all ambassadors in the Netherlands representing their country. Presented before me was a hand full of exciting planning-, brainstorm-, research- and design challenges..
We burn through the valley..
“We burn through the valley” is comic book about burnout
Up to 93% of adults with ADHD experience burn out symptoms compared to only 30 % of the general population.
We Burn Through the Valley is an illustrated story that visualizes the process of a burnout and everything else that comes into play. By symbolising and characterizing certain aspects of this mental condition it helps making a burn out more tangible. Using a fictional story as a reference it creates a conversation. The book aims to help you and the people around you understand a burnout better.
The book could be a first reach out to call for help, or simply just an enjoyable reading experience.. your choice.
The rebound effect
“The Rebound Effect” is a game trailer that dives deep into the hidden struggles of living with ADHD. It exposes the darker side of medication, where relief comes at a cost. Side effects like depression loom large, yet without the meds, chaos takes over: overstimulation, distraction, and a glitching mind.
Caught between extremes, you’re forced to navigate a lifelong journey… Searching for balance in a world that rarely makes space for it..
Shame ruined my life
Talking about shame is scary, but it is also a bridge to deeper connection. That’s why I created a format where two people are physically separated by a sheet of paper hanging from the ceiling, with their shame written on it. As they speak openly, they begin to dismantle that barrier—literally. When the conversation is complete, they tear the paper down and see each other clearly again—both visually and symbolically.
Fibula Timemachine
This comic was created for the archaeology museum Huis van Hilde. One of the objects on display in the museum is a large spectacle-shaped brooch, also known in Dutch as a brilfibula. It is worn by Julia, one of the life-sized human figures featured in the museum. This comic is designed to spark curiosity and foster a sense of connection with the people who lived here centuries before us.
