IJsfontein Information

You don't truly understand something until you experience it yourself. What dementia feels like from the inside. Why teenagers stop reading around age twelve. How a new employee actually gets up to speed. If you're working with a subject like that, you know the problem already. The content is complex, the audience has better things to do, and a fact sheet won't change anyone's behaviour. You need something people actually do. We're an interactive design studio in Amsterdam, working on playful learning since 1997. The idea behind everything we make is simple: people are naturally curious, and they learn best when it doesn't feel like being taught. So we build games, exhibits, apps and training tools instead of brochures and slide decks. We think play beats a lecture almost every time, even for the topics people take most seriously. Letterprins, our platform that helps children learn to read, won 5 European Digital Impact Awards, including Best Use of Data and Best Use of Mobile and/or Corporate App. Into D'mentia, a VR simulation that lets care professionals experience dementia from the inside, has been used by more than ten thousand people since 2012. And for the Literature Museum, we turned ten themes that matter to teenagers, from dating to standing up for what you believe in, into ten playable games set inside the decor of a back alley, sending every visitor home with book tips based on what they played. We're a mixed team of concept creators, designers, developers and producers, and most of us would rather build a working prototype than sit through another meeting about one. Working on a subject that deserves better than a leaflet? Or looking for a studio where design work actually changes what people do? Get in touch, or check our open roles.