My name is Jacob Krayenhoff van de Leur
I know, that name is a mouthful, it means a gathering of crows in Dutch.
Pronounce it just as it sounds.
What makes me unique?
The lens that I see through is one coloured with travel, rich with cultured experience that influences my creative approach. I have been very fortunate to have extensively travelled and I’ve observed the unique ways humans interact with their world. This understanding and intuition is fundamental to my work as a UX Designer. I draw from these experiences when I am creating, designing and problem solving.
Having worked for six years in travel and tourism, I've solved all sorts of problems from bus breakdowns to stolen passports. I've been shocked at how transferable solving people's problems are to solving problems that face digital products. Behind everything is a story. The power of story goes far beyond simply relaying facts and data - Its about what connects us. Let's build a story, together.
Are we the sum of our experiences?
Check out some of mine
Broke a Geiger Counter in Chernobyl
Trekked to Everest base camp
Skydived from a helicopter in the Swiss Alps
Volunteered building houses in the Dominican Republic
Snuck into an abandoned circus in Moldova
Motorcycled in remote Peru
Swam with sharks in Belize
Rode a camel around the pyramids
Pressed grapes in Tuscany
Launched a nuclear missile in the Ukraine
Become a certified scuba diver
Shot an AK47 in Vegas
Bungee jumped in Costa Rica
Volunteered teaching English in The Czech Republic
Slept in a buddhist monastery in Myanmar
Rode an abandoned Rollercoaster in Treptower Park
Swam with Pirañas in the Amazon
Walked across the tropic of capricorn
Got drenched by the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls
Peed into an active volcano in Guatemala
Dressed up as Indiana Jones in Petra
Been an extra in an Indian Bollywood movie.
Danced on the tables at OktoberFest
Hiked remote sections of the Great Wall of China
Gambled away all my money in Monaco
Rode a scooter over the Hai Van Pass in Vietnam
Kissed a giraffe in Kenya
Hiked into the Grand Canyon
Got stuck behind an Elephant in the Okavango Delta in Botswana
Volunteered teaching students with Imagine Thailand
Dogsledded in Yellowknife
Climbed palm trees on a spice farm in Zanzibar
Been on Romanian TV news for driving the Transfăgărășan Highway in winter
Ascended Brunelleschi's dome in Florence
Critiqued secret flavors at the Ben & Jerry's factory
Bobsledded in Latvia
Drove a Westfalia from Canada To Mexico
Tasted the best Gyros on Mykonos
Had three bikes stolen in Amsterdam
Toured wineries in Bordeaux
Taught myself how to play guitar
Floated in the Dead Sea
Danced with Masai Warriors in Tanzania
Swam in Plitvice lakes in Croatia
Sloth spotting in Costa Rica
Graffitied on the John Lennon wall in Prague
Surfed in three oceans
Attempted to steer a gondola through the canals of Venice
Got lost in Carassone Castle in France
Debated a Rastafarian in Jamaica
Watched the sunrise from Mt. Sinai
Played the Keytar in a touring rock band
Worked on a chain team at an Oregon college football game
Correctly pronounced Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Took Salsa lessons from an 83 year old in Cuba
Driven a school bus across Canada
Snorkelled a glacial river in Iceland
Paraglided across a sod farm
Survived a typhoon in the philippines
Boated across continents in Turkey
Snow mobiled in Whistler
Watched the Sunrise over Tikal
Spent almost three days in an airport in Thailand
Fed a Kinkajou in Panama
Danced the night away in Ibiza
Travelled at 60.6 km/h up Taipei 101
Driven to California just to get In'N'Out
Pretended to be Lara Croft at Angkor Wat
Hiked the Athabasca Glacier in Banff National Park
Interrupted lions getting in on in Namibia
Swam in the Ganges River in Rishikesh
Kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland
Sipped too much Sangria in Lisbon
Took a well deserved break in the Szechenyi baths in Budapest
