Hi there, good to meet you here.

My name is Douwe van der Werf and this site showcases my work. I work as an independent creative strategist, writer, director, producer and team builder.

See projects, services or storytelling vision.

Below is first a short, then a longer introduction.

The short story.

I love telling complex, difficult stories in simple, human ways.

Learn more about my storytelling vision.

Who I work for.

I uncover, clarify and develop core stories of value and purpose and I have done so for many different organisations over the years, from the IKEA Foundation (NL) to Harvard University (US) and from Apprenance (FR) to Frank Bold (CZ) and many other organisations with some wholesome intention to express.

See projects I’ve realised.

What I do.

Uncover, define, sharpen and develop core stories of purpose and value.
Scout, build, direct, organise and support creative teams of any size.
Produce powerful media experiences in sound, image and movement.

See an overview of services.

Personal.

The most important role I play in life is that as father of two teenage boys. I’ve lived, worked and travelled around the world for about four years in total. I love walking, cycling and running in nature, yoga, reading, visiting museums, photography, watching movies and more.

Experience.

I have worked as a graphic designer, art director, colour grader, 3D-animator and script writer working my way up to creative direction and production, by now totalling +20 years in the creative industry, of which the last 15 years independently. Also I have served on the board of the Dutch Arts Union to represent the Dutch animation sector.

Education.

I hold a master of design in animation and motion design from the HKU, I’m a proud #thnker and I work as easily in English as I do in Dutch.

Curious? Contact me or connect on LinkedIn

The longer story.

Why I think, write and build stories.

For as long as I can remember, I have thought about the meaning of life, how humans can thrive happily and harmoniously together and how I might best contribute.

My quest for meaning led me to live in the US as an exchange student at age 15 and in Israel at age 19, doing all sorts of odd jobs. Both countries are, in very different ways, places filled to the brim with symbolism, contradictions and mythologies that spark the human mind in a wide variety of ways.

Thoroughly questioning the beliefs I was raised with led me to study all sorts of belief systems and philosophies obsessively.

The more I discovered about different schools of thought, the more I realised that the stories that humans believe, are more powerful than weapons or money can ever be, since weapons are raised because of stories and money cannot exist without the story that loads it with value. Even a tyrant’s power is only sustained by the people’s belief in that power and the same goes for democracy; it only works if most of us believe in it.

On an individual level as well, the stories we hold about ourselves and one another have a deep impact on what we see in others and how we see ourselves and manifest or restrict ourselves in relation to those that walk into our lives.

In total, I have ‘pleasantly gotten lost abroad’ for about four years of my life. The more I travelled, the more I read and the more people I met, the more I realised how both diverse and similar we are. Similar in our core life needs, emotions and drives. Diverse in the way we appear in the world and the things we believe and value most beyond primary life needs. I believe people are all the same in core needs, while they differ immensely in how they ascribe meaning to the world.

I also thought a lot about the immense threats to collective wellbeing. At the surface, these seemed to be things like war, inequality, and environmental destruction.

But the more I learned, the more I realised that at the root of all of these issues, ultimately lie powerful stories as well, stories deeply rooted in culture and habits, norms and values, the structures of our societies and even deeply ingrained into our neural pathways.

To me, there seemed to be a huge divide between the most most pressing long term issues facing humanity and the short term gratification that the advertising all around me was selling. That’s why I decided to learn the language of advertising: to promote ‘things of greater value’. I studied graphic design in Melbourne, Australia and back in the Netherlands I became a graphic designer for advertising agencies.

Eventually I realised that you cannot sell abstract concepts such as climate change and inequality in the same way that advertising does, because we can’t offer instant gratification or achieve quick solutions in working on global issues, since the results of our individual or even national efforts can often feel so much like just another drop in the ocean. It’s complex.

That’s when I realised the importance of education to help people understand the world in a deeper, more engaged way. I wondered what could be the most powerful and flexible forms of storytelling. This led me to studying film and animation at art academy. After landing my first commission back in 2006, making films is what I’ve done professionally until today.

Telling ‘stories of positive change’, by bridging gaps of understanding through deep empathy is what I aim for in my storytelling endeavours.

When I look back I feel so grateful. I have been so privileged for being able to align my professional life so closely to my personal values. And I am excited by the idea that there are still so many stories out there left untold.

How does your story fit into the grander scheme of things? I’d love to hear about it. It doesn’t really matter in what phase you are. Your story is already there, just waiting to be uncovered.

What are the most helpful
stories for the now?

On empathy.

If there’s one thing that travelling has taught me, it’s that ‘those people over there’, on that other part of the globe, are just like you and me.

People far away face most of the same life struggles, although in different ways and to different degrees. Travelling sparked my fascination with the cultural stories of many different peoples and how these stories are so deeply intertwined with different world views, behaviours and choices of different people in different places.

In order to experience the full richness of life, empathy as a potential superpower is always at our disposal. Whatever the story, whatever the subject: seeing from their eyes and walking in their shoes is a very powerful way to touch an audience with a meaningful message.

People and their needs are essential to any powerful story.

Crossing bridges.

There exist more than eight billion different perspectives on our shared reality, while human needs are universal: water, food, safe shelter, learning and love are needed by all to live a happy, healthy life.

Now, opinions and approaches differ wildly on how we ensure life essentials for ourselves and each other. The political arena has become more polarised in recent years and online many get caught up in an addictive global ‘war of stories’, in which different perspectives on life fight one another for an ultimate victory that is inherently unattainable.

I have come to believe that the antidote to disagreement and conflict begins with opening up to other perspectives by deciding to cross bridges that are scary to cross, because doing so might mean having to give up on dearly held beliefs ourselves.

Stories assist people to cross bridges of understanding.

A pause for presence.

For over twenty years, yoga and meditation have allowed me to be more grounded, aware and open-minded than before.

I believe the best things are created by healthy, happy and engaged people — the ones who allow things to ‘flow through’ rather than to control them. I don’t always succeed at that, but constantly trying anyways is very helpful.