Bas van de Poel is the innovation director and co-founder of Modem, an office for design and innovation dedicated to envisioning how forward-thinking companies and institutions can thrive amidst exponential change.
Modem approaches this mission as a think tank, collaborating with academic partners such as Harvard GSD, MIT, and UC Berkeley, and as a design studio, working with clients like OpenAI, Google, and Chanel. Prior to founding Modem, Bas served as Creative Director at IKEA’s future-living lab, SPACE10, where he led large-scale digital transformation and sustainability programmes.
‘I see Bas van de Poel as a paragon of how, as a designer, you can continue to embrace an attitude of experimentation all throughout your career.’
Miriam van der Lubbe (Creative Head DDW)
Visionary
As beacons, these leading designers are seen as guiding lights for fellow designers, partners, and Dutch Design Week visitors. In the first year, the involvement of joining beacons consists of a deep dive into DDW and sharing their vision of the profession and the world they work in. That exploration leads to the development of projects and/or a presentation at Dutch Design Week.
Bas van de Poel will present the projects Computer-Aided Design and Smart Aid Kit at the Klokgebouw with Modem at DDW24. Bas will give a keynote speech at the Design & AI symposium on Wednesday, October 23, in NatLab (Mission Day - Digital Future).