by Ilse Meulendijks
Design for social progress
Hi!
Ilse Meulendijks is a passionate advocate for wild growth design; thinking as a designer in non designerly contexts. She brings a strategic, systems-level mindset to complex environments, and she's at her best in the messy middle of organisations: starting from the whole picture, asking how things connect, and looking for long-term impact and value beyond the obvious metrics.
Her work sits where design, culture, and education meet. She initiates and guides processes that put participation, equity, and meaningful change first. Ilse is a natural collaborator, building strong partnerships across teams and disciplines, and making sure diverse voices are heard throughout the design journey rather than at the end of it.
Whether she's leading an initiative, shaping the narrative, advising an organisation, or moderating a conversation, she brings both creativity, empathy and rigour.
Her work sits where design, culture, and education meet. She initiates and guides processes that put participation, equity, and meaningful change first. Ilse is a natural collaborator, building strong partnerships across teams and disciplines, and making sure diverse voices are heard throughout the design journey rather than at the end of it.
Whether she's leading an initiative, shaping the narrative, advising an organisation, or moderating a conversation, she brings both creativity, empathy and rigour.
Studio Juxta
Design, moderation of conversation & advisor.
Head of MA programme Design Academy Eindhoven
![]()
Picture by Mark Cocksedge
Ilse Meulendijks
_Design, moderation of conversation & advisor.
Head of MA programme Design Academy Eindhoven
Picture by Mark Cocksedge
Ilse Meulendijks founded Studio Juxta in 2017. In parallel she is Head of the Master Program at Design Academy Eindhoven and part of the Management Team since 2020. Following a bachelor in design, in 2024 she finished her Executive MBA at TIAS School for Business and Society. With her studio, Ilse performs research, initiates design projects and develops commissioned work both independently and in collaborations with other disciplines such as writers, social scientists and fellow designers. Based in the Netherlands, Studio Juxta’s design practice shows just what the name implies: a balanced juxtapositioning of seemingly contrasting elements.
“Contrast doesn’t mean conflict; it’s my playground, it’s where I find awareness. So I combine a firm yet flexible research foundation with a more intuitive and tactile approach. My analytical way of working never loses sight of the subtle elements of perception and association. And I translate a solid knowledge of materials, techniques and organisational dynamics into results that feel instinctive and emphatic”.
Studio Juxta’s interests and expertise aren’t confined to a specific area of design. Previous projects include; research into social and financial structures of craftsmen in Athens; Book for Sale which offers a new approach to bookmaking for artists and creatives; and the ways in which graphic design can not only create a brand identity for commercial purposes, but rather reflect the persons behind it.
Please don’t hesitate to say hi by sending me an e-mail.
Studies/ apprenticeship:
2022 / 2024TIAS School for Business and Society
2019
2017 apprenticeship
Kostas Kostopoulos | Printing House. Athens
2012 / 2017Design Academy Eindhoven
2016 Internship
2010 / 2012Koning Willem 1 College
2011 Internship
2022 / 2024
TIAS School for Business and Society
– Executive MBA
2019
Driving Dutch Design | Professionalisation programme for creative entrepreneurs The Netherlands
2017 apprenticeship
Kostas Kostopoulos | Printing House. Athens
Evangelia Biza | Bookbinding. Athens
2012 / 2017
Design Academy Eindhoven
– Man and Leisure
2016 Internship
– Ersi Krouska | Architecture & Design. Athens
2010 / 2012
Koning Willem 1 College
– Fashion and Design
2011 Internship
Jan Taminiau | Fashion Designer. Amsterdam
Previous partners/ collaborations:
Amarant Zorgverlener, Vaderland, Nabuurs en van Doorn, van Abbemuseum, Floor Frings, Tom van Tuijn Stedenbouw, WERKSTATT, Morgenmakers, Eindhoven Museum, AmperDesign, Manifestations, AMB Producties
Studio Juxta
Ilse Meulendijks
info@ilsemeulendijks.com
0031610534888