Gijs van de Wal

Design Director at AKQA

Netherlands

About

Design Director at AKQA Amsterdam – leading the Design discipline across brand and digital experiences. I bridge strategy, concept and design with intention and craft, translating ideas into clear, compelling visual narratives that move and move people. I specialise in brand identity, interactive design and art direction, leading global work for brands like Nike, Gucci, ING, Montblanc and Discord.

Experience

  • AKQA (7 yrs 8 mos)
    • Design Director
      May 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 2 mos

      ING, Footlocker, The Coca-Cola Company

    • Associate Design Director
      Apr 2023 - Apr 2024 · 1 yr 1 mo

      Montblanc, Samsung, FACEIT, Atelier Cologne

    • Senior Designer
      Oct 2020 - May 2023 · 2 yrs 8 mos

      Nike, Discord, TikTok, Gucci, Oppo, Alexander McQueen

  • Freelance Brand & Digital Designer at Gijs van de Wal
    Sep 2016 - Nov 2018 · 2 yrs 3 mos

  • Brand & Digital Designer at The Main Ingredient
    Aug 2017 - Jul 2018 · 1 yr

    Startup studio based in Amsterdam – I worked on a wide variety of projects focused on branding, visual identity, and digital design. Additionally, I led the design work for the studio’s rebranding.

  • De Correspondent (The Randstad, Netherlands)
    • Junior Designer
      Jul 2017 - Nov 2017 · 5 mos

    • Graduate Intern
      Feb 2017 - Jun 2017 · 5 mos

  • Grrr (The Randstad, Netherlands)
    • Junior Designer
      Feb 2017 - Jul 2017 · 6 mos

    • Graduate Intern
      Feb 2017 - Jun 2017 · 5 mos