Norman Hendriks is Art Director and team lead for corporate design at Serviceware and helped develop the new Horizon brand identity from the ground up. In this interview, he talks about his journey from Multimedia Designer to a leadership role and how he balances his career and family life while working from home.
Norman Hendriks joined Serviceware in 2015 and is now Art Director and team lead for corporate design. His biggest project to date was the complete development of the Horizon brand identity, which he helped conceive and implement from the ground up. In this interview, he shares how a one-person design team grew into a team of four, why he works from home, and how he was there for his young family during the most intense project phase of his career.
Tell us a little about yourself: Who are you, what do you do at Serviceware, and what are you passionate about outside work?
Norman: I’m Norman Hendriks, Art Director and team lead for corporate design. I joined Serviceware in the summer of 2015 as a Multimedia Designer for the Marketing department in Leiden. Living in the Netherlands, I’m in the unique position that I don’t work alongside my Dutch colleagues, but rather with my international colleagues in Marketing. I studied Industrial Design at The Hague University and finished my studies in 2013. I’m an avid believer in travelling to gain life experience and did a 5-month sabbatical in 2019 with my wife across Asia, visiting 13 countries. In addition to my love of design, I’m also a true geek for manga & games and a self-taught home chef who loves to cook for his family.
When did you realize that design is more than just a job for you?
Norman: I’ve loved designing and drawing since elementary school, even winning the school-wide drawing contest. I knew back then that I wanted to be creative no matter what, so I tried my best to pursue these goals. Designing has always been more than just a job since the very beginning.
What still excites you about your work today?
Norman: Creative problem-solving is and has always been the best part of the job. Whenever a fun and exciting project or task comes across my desk, I look forward to the solutions that I can come up with - it's like a creative puzzle.
You were promoted to Art Director and team lead for corporate design last year - what did your journey look like?
Norman: As I mentioned before, I started as a Multimedia Designer. I was doing all the creative and visual work for the Marketing department, and that hasn’t changed much after my promotion. Considering the flat hierarchy of the Marketing department, there wasn’t much room for growth, but as I showed potential, I was involved more in projects that had a big graphical impact on the company. I also completed two rebranding projects before my promotion.
What motivated you to take that next step?
Norman: My biggest motivation was to give the design team more autonomy. The design team grew from one person - me - to four, and it needed a leader with a design background. I wanted to represent the team's interests more effectively and be able to prioritize and manage incoming design requests in a focused way.
Which milestone in your career stands out the most to you?
Norman: The biggest milestone is the creation and implementation of our new corporate design, Horizon. This was the third rebranding project that I led, and the first one that I created from scratch and developed myself.
What are your main responsibilities today?
Norman: I oversee the management of the design team and what kinds of tasks we accept and complete. Alongside my managerial tasks, I am still very much hands-on in creating, designing, and developing a myriad of graphical tasks that come into the Marketing department. Lastly, I also gatekeep our corporate design, Horizon, and ensure that the assets created in the company follow the Horizon guidelines.
How does your role as an Art Director differ from your previous position as a designer?
Norman: The main difference is that my voice now carries more weight in decisions around graphic tasks. For a long time, the design team lacked the ability to set priorities and defer requests when necessary. With this stronger position, I feel more confident in the projects that we work on.
How do you foster creativity and collaboration within your team?
Norman: It's simple. I call my team, and we tackle projects together in real time. Having a fresh set of eyes on something that you’re working on is always helpful, but getting real-time feedback and just “sparring” on the go has always been the most fun and most rewarding aspect of teamwork for me.
What was the main goal of the Horizon rebrand?
Norman: To establish a new visual identity for Serviceware. To stand out in a saturated market with a brand that turns heads and feels modern and professional.
How did the project start, and what was your role in it?
Norman: Jörg, our Marketing Director, saw potential to further develop our previous corporate identity - an assessment I shared. He tasked me with seeing how we could improve our brand, and that’s when I decided to see if we could manage a complete overhaul and rebrand of Serviceware. This project went hand in hand with our website overhaul project. I led the graphical part of the whole rebrand and worked closely with the website team.
What were the biggest challenges along the way?
Norman: There were two big challenges. The first one was to find a direction for our visual style that the board would agree with. There were multiple iterations, concepts, and discussion rounds. Each time, we had to go back to the drawing board, but eventually we found one that the board was happy with. The second challenge was managing and converting all existing assets. We had a large volume of materials in the previous corporate design, "Code Blue," including white papers and presentations, that had to be transferred to the new Horizon style. This was very time-consuming and involved a great deal of manual work.
How did you guide your team through this phase?
Norman: Check in often and keep track of lists. That’s the only thing one could do in these situations.
Was there a particular moment that stood out to you?
Norman: Not necessarily. I feel like the whole project, which almost took a whole year, will always stand out for me. It was a very memorable year. It isn’t often that one can lead a whole rebrand project internally for a company as big as Serviceware.
You’re a father and expecting your second child – how does that influence your work life?
Norman: My main focus is and always has been my family. We work to live and not live to work, right? Finding a proper balance where work and my family aren’t compromised has been challenging, but doable at Serviceware. The company enables me to work entirely from home. This is mostly because there isn’t anybody from the Marketing department based in the Leiden office besides me, so regular office attendance is not essential for my role. Working from home allows me to be productive while also being there for my family when needed.
Especially during intense project phases: how do you handle the demands of work and family?
Norman: Thankfully, my loving wife has always been supportive whenever there’s an increase in workload. I communicate clearly when things are tough or are going to become tough. In those moments, she helps me in small ways to ease my workload in our personal lives.
During the relaunch specifically, were there moments when you had to consciously set priorities?
Norman: During the second half of the year, we started migrating and converting all Code Blue assets into Horizon. Racing towards the finish line, so to say. During that time, my wife was going through a very tough and heavy pregnancy. I can honestly say that those were the hardest months of my life. Managing an increased workload, a sick wife, and a toddler all by myself was challenging, to say the least. My family naturally came first. As a result, I had to ask more of my team for a while and could not complete some tasks as quickly as planned. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end.
What are you most proud of after completing the relaunch?
Norman: The designs. I love the Horizon designs, and I want to push them even further, so keep your eyes out for that.
What did you take away from this project - both professionally and personally?
Norman: That feedback is valuable, no matter who it comes from, and that it is not a personal attack. It is not easy to accept criticism of something you created with passion. At the same time, every perspective has value and can help you improve your work.
What makes working at Serviceware special to you?
Norman: The colleagues. No question about that. Since the beginning, the Marketing department has been filled with such warm and passionate people, and we really are our own bubble within Serviceware. This makes it special. Also, getting to travel several times a year to different offices is always a joy.
Why would you recommend Serviceware to other designers?
Norman: Definitely. At Serviceware, there are many opportunities to contribute creatively. At the same time, we work within clear brand and corporate guidelines, which provide orientation and consistency. Within that framework, we still have the freedom to develop new ideas and push creative work forward. Serviceware combines a rather conservative business environment with an open mindset.
What are you most excited about right now - professionally or personally?
Norman: Professionally, I really want to push Horizon even further and develop the brand to new heights. My mind is racing with a ton of cool ideas that I want to get on paper as soon as possible. Personally, I’m very excited to meet my second child, of course. This goes without saying.
What does success mean to you today?
Norman: The ability to be creative and put something out in the world that you are proud of.
Thank you for your time and, above all, for your insights into your career path!