What a privilege to turn letters into words. Words into stories. Stories that fit in with a clever strategy. Emotional, business and academic stories, sales letters, reports, analyses, campaign slogans, blogs... With every story you are inviting yourself into someone’s head. Sometimes you’ll even conquer a heart. Does it get more intimate than that?

 

Fonts, colours, lines, infographics, , shapes, illustrations, photographs... it’s wonderful to browse through the endless possibilities of creative design. My goal? Give your story more staying power and a stronger identity so your customers, staff, stakeholders... will see and hear you even better. Creative and strategic design is the X-factor of every message, of every campaign. While you concentrate on your core business I’m working on your corporate design, on your image.

In 1995 I entered the professional world of layout, colour and shape. I learned the tricks of the drawing and designing trade at a fashion business and a promotional printing company.

Five years later I traded in textiles and promotional gifts for the paper and printing ink of the book industry: I was hired as an art director by Davidsfonds Uitgeverij and Standaard Uitgeverij. Literally hundreds of books and concepts carry my stamp. Every project is a source of pride. I have mastered the art of reconciling the highest quality standards in terms of layout and design with tight deadlines.

I founded Xpair Communication together with Dirk Remmerie. Think and do is our motto. We work with an amazing team of seasoned professionals from all walks of life.

peter@xpair.be

+32 478 34 95 69

As a child I would rewrite love letters from boyfriends; no birthday wishes on a card from me but in story form, and when I travel the first item to go into my backpack is my travel diary. As an adult I’ve been able to turn my love of language and storytelling into a career. Picking someone’s brain for fun stories, adapting those stories for newspaper and magazine articles, Facebook posts and blog entries... It doesn’t get any better, does it?

 

Taking the reader by the hand to where you want to go. To where they want to go. And there releasing them with a feeling of contentment. A little wiser, more convinced and stronger. Regardless of whether it’s a story, a book, a slogan or a report.

I built my experience in my years as a journalist for Het Nieuwsblad. There I found myself in the heart of the action: both feet on the ground and among people. Initially as a correspondent and some time later as a regional coordinator in Louvain. With the Persprijs Flemish-Branbant 2005 on my mantelpiece my pen dictated its own creative direction. I roamed the world as a travel journalist but I also worked closer to home as the exclusive copywriter for the province of Flemish Brabant and as a documentary maker for De Persgroep. I then wrote several books such as Gevonden, which tells the story of an abandoned girl, and De Renovatie van het Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, as well as a series of hiking guides on behalf of Tourism Flemish Brabant: Demer and Dyle, Pajottenland and Zenne Valley, Gete Valley, Hageland Hills.

Capturing moments no one sees and sharing them with others: pictures speak a universal language and have the power to change the world. With effective communication pictures are more than just the icing on the cake: they are an essential part of the message and can even make the difference. What is a cool pic? Pictures with a nod and a wink that convey the right message while bringing a smile to your face.

I’ve always wanted to change the world with pictures. Thanks to my love of photography I’ve seen my fair share of the world. The Czech Republic, for instance. In 2005 I studied documentary photography at the world famous Famu in Prague - I was one of only six foreign students to be admitted every year. Twelve months later I organised my first exhibition in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. I compiled one of the first interactive digital books on the first Belgian colony in Guatemala: Verapaz, which was reviewed at length in De Standaard Magazine. Under my supervision, twenty amateur photographers created an exhibition and photo book on the occasion of 15 years of twinning between the town of Bierbeek and Oña, Ecuador.

Closer to home I’ve been making photos and covers for dozens of books such as Trappist and Goesting in Vlaanderen, which won the Flemish Culture Prize in 2009. In 2010 De zeven heerlijke bieren received the Gourmand prize for ‘best beer book in the world’ in Paris. I was the city photographer of Antwerp and worked with Toerisme Vlaanderen (Tourism Flanders) and Erfgoed Vlaanderen (Flanders Heritage) as well as dozens of other commercial and non-commercial customers.

Physically touching someone creates a unique connection. I really love it when people tell their story as I’m giving their face, their personality a special touch with my make-up. Those are the moments that the make-up artist in me experiences the same as the frontwoman of Arsenal: people blossom.

Beauty. Beauty in its purest form. That’s what it’s about. Make-up is a technical affair where you have to factor in skin types, personality, lighting, ... But more than anything else make-up relates to an individual. A unique character that I can help shape for a photoshoot. Often the masks come off when I’m applying my make-up.

Make-up is very much like a kitchen: it’s not because there’s an abundance of jars that you have to use them with every dish. The simplest things can give you that bit of extra. It’s an art in itself. Just read The big practical make-up book that I wrote with Wendy Huyghe.

The fact that I frequently take to the stage myself creates a bond of trust with models that I frequently work with, such as Lady Linn and Veerle Baetens. My work is frequently featured in Humo, Feeling, Libelle, Flair, Nina, Het Nieuwsblad Magazine...

Capturing things on film is my soft spot. Photo and film make me happy every single day because they bring me into contact with life in all its contrasting facets: from the catwalk to a dogfight in a war zone.

My first camera experiment in our small bathroom when I was twelve never really ended. Even before I closed the doors of the Ghent Academy behind me I was already working for De Standaard. In no time my work started showing up in other newspapers (De Tijd) and magazines (Trends, Knack Weekend...). Press photography is more than a passion, it’s a microbe that courses through my veins and has earned me the privilege of seeing large parts of the world. I frequently strike out for NGOs, tourist magazines and I even visit conflict areas.

Just as fascinating are the assignments for such companies as Volvo Construction Equipment - where heavy bulldozers are built - or organisations such as the Wit-Gele Kruis, whose hardworking staff I put before my lens. Fashion, cars, croquettes or wine... every subject is an interesting story I tell through pictures or film.

“Write and you will live forever”, or so the saying goes. Well, the saying’s wrong: the authors disappear but their words remain. And they tell a story. Telling a fascinating story - ‘making content’ as it’s called nowadays - takes creativity. Imagination. And courage. Oh yes - and patience! Patience to start by listening carefully, then determining how best to tell the story and then actually writing it. Because the right tone of voice, the ideal format, the proper nuance and the accurate context are all elements that draw the reader into your story. Whether it’s an article, a book or online content, every word has to be spot-on. Business-oriented or emotional, from a hashtag to a long read: every character counts.        

I love the finesse. And the challenges every new text brings. That’s why I write. Always for different target groups. I have written or still write - not necessarily in this order - for De Standaard Magazine, Knack, Beau Monde, Nina, Libelle, Flair, Feeling, Beau Monde, Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Belang van Limburg. My body of work as an author, co-author or ghost writer currently consists of Het Huis. 9 ontmoetingen, 9 verhalen by Eric Goens, published by Van Halewyck, Rentenier je rijk: laat je geld werken voor jou published by John Romain through Standaard Uitgeverij, and two books for a summer scavenger hunt organised by the Davidsfonds: De Druivenstreek and Haspengouw. 

Pacing back and forth, writing, deleting, striking through, adding, rewriting, rephrasing again, a jolt of inspiration in the dead of night or... not. Writing is creating, adding and deleting until you’re left with a text where every word, every single letter has meaning.

In my student years - ages ago - I took my first steps as a music critic. I reviewed hundreds of CDs and concerts, often laced with snide remarks. At the time the alternative music scene was akin to the skaters and snowboarders and this ultimately inspired my love of wintry tales. Meanwhile I’ve developed into a storyteller with a penchant for outdoor sports, winter, mountains and cycling.

Publications in Knack, Weekend Knack, in specials with Eos Magazine and Bahamontes, outdoor magazine Far Out, magazines for Decathlon, many years as the mouthpiece for Mountain Bike Plus Magazine and editor-in-chief of Wintersportgids. Currently I supply text and images for online mountain bike magazine Vojomag and I am the driving force behind 100% Snow Magazine. As a marketing and communication consultant at Kantar I deliver content for websites, newsletters, social media, advertisements and communication strategies and on top of this I also organise events. My calling card says jack-of-all-trades in bold print.