In March 2015 I was commissioned a painting by KPN, one of the largest Dutch telecommunications providers. In October 2015, Peter, the Department Director who commissioned the painting, called if I was interested in making another painting. This time the artwork was intended as a gift for a manager who, after 17 years of service, soon would be leaving KPN. Of course I did not hesitate.

The challenge was to make the gift relevant to Alexander, the manager who would be leaving. Luckily I knew him. I had worked very pleasantly with him before on several UX/UI design projects.

Concept

I had the idea of using a playing card. Not a regular one, but a personal one. An ‘Ace of Spades’ card. Of all the cards in a deck, this card is seen as a lucky card. The character A refered to both an Ace and the first character of Alexanders name. An Ace is also someone who excels in certain activities.

Furthermore I wanted to use my ‘Astronaut’-painting in my current ‘Bold Lines’ style and used it to visualize Alexander as a knight on a horse; a reference to Alexander the Great. Alexander, as a manager, is an outgoing, friendly and passionate person. The short, orange lines are a visual reference to comics where such lines are used to visualise ‘bold’ communication. The kind Alexander likes to use.

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