Hugo Puttaert (°1960) is a graphic designer, curator, professor and critical writer working in Antwerp and Brussels, where he has his studio. During his studies in fine arts and art education, he became fascinated by the complex relationship between art and design, and his artistic career gradually developed into an independent design practice. Since then, he and his studio visionandfactory have developed comprehensive design solutions in a rapidly evolving economic, technological and cultural/artistic market. The studio has become known for its atypical approach, combining strategic, conceptual and visual research. Well-trodden paths are constantly challenged, often leading to unexpected results and diverse collaborations.

With a universal and social consciousness, HP has organised several integrated conferences (deSingel, Antwerp), curated exhibitions, published Addmagazine and given numerous workshops. He is not afraid to collaborate with colleagues, students, other designers and studios. HP also writes essays and has authored or co-authored several books on visual culture and graphic design. In 2014, MER Paper Kunsthalle published the book 'Think in Colour' about 25 years of visionandfactory, written by Steven Cleeren and introduced by Rick Poynor. A new book 'Geometrically Speaking' will be published in May 2024. It marks the start of a new publishing company that HP is setting up: Not Yet. Publishers.

As a professor, HP currently focuses on a hybrid educational environment in which critical thinking and design are inextricably linked. He teaches at the St-Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp, where he supervises master students in two contexts (autonomous and applied) and coordinates the graphic design studio. At the same institute he was also head of the graphic design department, founder of YellowPress (a research/publishing platform), co-founder of the research group The Hybrid Designer and responsible for the biennial Integrated Conferences at deSingel, Antwerp. He is also a guest lecturer at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, Brussels, the Plantin Institute of Typography, Antwerp, and has given master classes and workshops at various art institutions, including OTIS (Los Angeles), Ringling University (Sarasota), Aalto University (Helsinki), the Royal Academy of Art (The Hague) and Marmara University (Istanbul).

In 2023, HP launched 'Unfollow the leader', an educational project in which students explore, imagine and comment on the recent history of graphic design. Unfollow the leader critically reflects on dominant thinking and the omnipotence of media, influencers and likes. This is why HP advocates an unbiased view, away from mainstream thought patterns, whatever they may be.

Although he has a dual relationship with 'the spotlights', HP has lectured worldwide, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, Istanbul, Lahti, London, Los Angeles, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Sarasota, The Hague, etc. As the organiser and programme director of the Integrated Conferences, which he hosted seven times between 2007 and 2019, HP said the following about branding and design: "The concept is that there is no concept. In other words, the conference should not have a brand. That is why each edition is redefined and redesigned from the ground up. We want to show a transition instead of sticking to one brand. In my opinion, our society is 'over-branded'. With my studio, we have contributed to this to a certain extent, but at the same time we have always asked ourselves the same question: Is this really necessary? Should we rebrand? The decision not to rebrand is perhaps the ultimate tribute to existing strong designs. We respect our predecessors. In the context of Integrated's so-called 'branding', this may sound contradictory as we design a new system for each conference, but it is not. It is a kind of mirror we want to hold up to designers around the world: stay sharp and design when you feel it is appropriate. Innovate, but don't if you don't have to. And use mockup tools consciously, because slick design is boring".

Visionandfactory has worked for, among others: Arctic Paper, Arjowiggins, Beursschouwburg, Brussels Airport Company, C-Cure, Contrapunt, Cultuurcentrum Hasselt, Cultuurnet, Design Flanders, Dolmen, Eflavours, Erfgoedwijzer, Fedma, Fonteyn Wouters, FontShop International, Galerie De Ziener, GPG Papier, Graphius, Greenpeace, Ingram Micro, Intensia, KunstenFestivaldesArts, KMSKA Antwerp, Kaaitheater, Kristof De Clercq Gallery, KU Leuven, Lannoo, LCI Technology Group, Literarte, Living Tomorrow, MAP Group, Muxum, NMBS Holding, Paper Chain Forum, Papyrus international, Prevent, Prospekta, Rode Kruis Vlaanderen, Sappi Europe, Soft Cell, SOS Kinderdorpen, Stora Enso International, Swift, Stichting Stad & Architectuur, United Distillers, University of Antwerp, Van Reybrouck Accountants, Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren, Vlaamse Opera, Vlaamse Landmaatschappij, Voka, Vlaams Netwerk van ondernemingen and WWF.

Staff and trainees over the years (in alphabetical order): Stefan Algoet, Sofie Apers, Els Bauwelinck, Imane Benyoussef, Lies Bosman, Christophe Clarijs, Kurt Cornelis, Jelmer Dam, Kris De Bruyne, Gerda De Ceukelaire, Hilde De Ceukelaire, Isabelle De Graeve, Ellen De Jong, Ilka Deltrap, Arne De Schouwer, Tom De Smedt, Stijn Druyts, Michel Elands, Katleen François, Joeri Gielis, Kathrin Gleidner, Nico Goossens, Patrick Hannaert, Tom Hautekiet, Christophe Heylen, Philippe Hulet, Johan Jacobs, Maryvonne Jacobs, Dave Jans, Dimitri Jeannottat, Nathalie Kronal, Jan Lemaire, Marcel Lennartz, Christophe Liekens, Linde Luyten, Katrien Malfroid, Jelle Maréchal, Kim Matthé, Marjeta Morinc, Chiara Mutticelli, Tom Nulens, Camille Oberlé, Lorine Perrin, Nico Potvin, Nico Rein, Ronny Reuman, Elke Scholliers, Thomas Schoofs, Sebastiaan Smets, Sean Loring Smith, Tom Suykens, Winnie Tsjang, Roel Van Bouwel, Joris Van de Perre, Johny Van de Vyver, Bavo Van Hecke, Tom Van Iersel, Mark van Varik, Bart Verbist, Thomas Verlinden, Elise Verstraete, Pieterjan Volckaert & Fenna Zamouri.

This website is the fifth in the history of visionandfactory. It was designed and developed by Matthias Deckx, who combines thoughtful and functional design with state-of-the-art technology. However, you won't find any spectacular mock-ups here, even though all work since the studio was founded in 1990 has been digitally designed.

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