Moderator

Iris Maertens is a graphic designer and illustrator.

She uses a wide range of media and techniques, including paper, canvas, murals, oil, watercolor, pen, pencil, and digital media. Iris spent her youth unleashing creativity at the drawing table. She studied at the Royal Athenaeum of Fine Arts and later completed an MBA in graphic design and web design at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. After her studies, she lived in a number of countries in Africa, Central, and South America. She began using illustrations to document her experiences, drawing rather than taking pictures of her adventures. She felt that a drawing of a situation brought so much more emotion and expression to the memories. Since then, Iris has worked on an array of projects for NGOs and organizations all over the world. As a graphic facilitator, she draws at live events and high-level conferences, capturing the essence in real time. Iris continues to enjoy bringing illustration into people's lives to communicate in one image what you can't with words.