About Tim

Photos: Juliane Befeld

Time to get creative!

Our world is changing at a breathtaking pace. New technologies cause fundamental transformations. Now is the time to get creative! To find new ways to deal with change, digitization and disruption. To develop, discover and evaluate new opportunities.

Creative Coding provides a common ground for artistic work with algorithms and data in the realms of graphic design. But who am I to talk – you might think?! Here’s something about me and my mission: My name is Tim Rodenbröker. I’m a freelance designer and educator and with trcc, I am building an online-learning platform and a global community for Creative Coding. with the aim to empower my students to develop a creative and critical stance towards innovation.

How to learn Creative Coding?

It was during my studies in Graphic Design that I first discovered Creative Coding. Speaking today, I can say that this event significantly changed my view of design. The following years, I experienced an incredible creative journey, whose encounters and discoveries inspired me to share the knowledge I gathered so far.

I started working as a lecturer for Creative Coding in universities and was convinced that every designer should learn programming. But being in direct contact with my students, I quickly realised that compulsion can be a central reason why designers close themselves off to programming. Understanding that, I started to develop an online platform that gives everyone the freedom to learn Creative Coding alongside their studies, their work or simply as a hobby.

trcc is an online-learning platform offering Creative Coding Fundamentals in the realms of Graphic Design that is based on and driven forward by a global creative community.

With trcc, I wanted to make Creative Coding accessible to people in graphic design and beyond. I developed a solid foundation – a curriculum – that made its key principles tangible and comprehensible and put conceptual and aesthetic aspects and potentials in the focus of my courses.

What’s the perfect learning environment for Creative Coding?

As I learned Creative Coding from scratch and made my way through different kinds of courses and surroundings, I understood that the key to learning how to code is a distraction free, inspiring environment and a supportive, encouraging community. Because of my not-always-positive experiences, my goal for trcc was to create a counter design to noisy social media platforms and the typical digital education market. Therefore – to this day – you’ll find no advertising on the platform. Instead, it is funded by a vivid community on Patreon.

I’m glad to say that trcc lives from the amazing people who work with my courses. The diverse and globally distributed community of learners and teachers has grown steadily over the last years: Since 2020, more than 2500 people have signed up via Patreon and financially supported the project.

Photos: Sergi Gil

Is Creative Coding is more than a design tool?

During the last years, I learned that Creative Coding is not only a tool that enables me to creatively express my ideas but also a way to reflect on technology itself. In my experience, it is interesting far beyond the infinite spectrum of possible applications. Creative Coding can be understood as a school of thought, to foster a more reflected, curious and brave attitude on everyday technology.

Creative Coding provides a mature, and time-tested foundation for learning and teaching at the intersection of art, design and technology.

Since I uncovered this second layer, I dedicated my work to one central idea: Demystify Technology. For me, the phrase expresses an attitude of productive doubt about the way we as humans interact with technology. It’s an invitation to my students to expose and unmask technological aspects of their everyday lives and to use the knowledge and experiences they discover to get creative.

I have worked with and for

Netflix Design Studios, Slate+Ash, The New York Times, Lenbachhaus (1), Julia Stoschek Foundation (2), ZKM Karlsruhe, CCCB Barcelona (3), Holo Magazine, IBM (4), Springer Science + Business Media, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, DEMO Festival

(1) with Serve and Volley
(2) with Studio von Monkiewitsch
(3) with TwoPoints.Net
(4) with Swift.co

Selected talks, panels, workshops, curational work, press and exhibitions

Teaching

  • March 2023
    • Elisava
  • Winter 2022/2023
    • University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld
  • Summer 2021
    • Rhine-Waal University
    • HAWK Hildesheim
  • Winter 2020/2021
    • Rhine-Waal University
    – University of applied Sciences Dortmund
    • HAWK Hildesheim
  • Summer 2020
    • Münster School of Design
    • University of applied Sciences Dortmund
    • HAWK Hildesheim
  • Summer 2019
    • University of applied Sciences Dortmund
  • Winter 2018/2019
    • Rhine-Waal University

Education

  • 2019 – 2022
    • Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences
      • Master of Arts (graduated)
      • Digital Media and Experiment
      • Thesis
  • Summer 2019
    • Center of Music and Film Informatics Detmold
      • Master of Arts (not completed)
      • Audiovisual Arts Computing
  • Winter 2010 / 2011
    • IADE Lisbon
      • Erasmus
  • 2008 – 2013
    • Münster School of Design
      • Bachelor of Arts (graduated)
      • Communication Design