Mikon

Mikon van Gastel, 32, is a New York-based Creative Director and co-founder of AVSO (A Very Small Office). Van Gastel brings to the design process an expertise in film, new media and architecture as well as openness to embrace new forms of collaboration and emerging technologies

Van Gastel’s explorations in layering and interconnecting storytelling elements into architecture, film, and motion have most recently resulted in the design of the electronic signage for the new Museum of Modern Art in New York, seamlessly merging art, architecture and information. He has collaborated with architects CoopHimmelb(l)au on the experience design for BMW's Event & Delivery Center in Germany, and with United Architects, as one of six finalists for the redevelopment of the former World Trade Center site. Van Gastel’s additional credits include: the design of non-linear content for the facade of a skyscraper in Times Square and the design of IBM’s Centers for e-business Innovation. As a director/creative director he has worked extensively in both the film and advertising business designing title sequences for feature films, theatrical trailers and directing commercial campaigns for such brands as Nike, IBM, Reebok, Olympus and Smirnoff

Van Gastel’s work has been recognized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, AICP, BDA, theType Directors Club of New York and by publications including The New York Times, Creative Review and The New Yorker. His work is part of the permanent collection in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

     In 1995 van Gastel relocated from Holland to the United States to earn his MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Upon completing his studies, he began his career at Imaginary Forces' Los Angeles offices in 1997, and moved to New York in 2000 to launch the firm's East Coast Office. In 2005 he and his partner Saffron Case started AVSO. He has spoken about design integration at cultural and educational institutions including the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, Grafill - Visuelt in Norway, the 4th ADG Symposium on Design and Technology in Brazil, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the AIGA's National Design Conference, UCLA, Yale University and the International Design Conference in Aspen.