Transform Times Square into an Art Square. It may sound like a nice fantasy lying at the beach on a Sunday afternoon but it can also be your dream.

Justus Bruns, 23 years old, industrial designer and artist, is living this dream. As a four year old, he wanted to be an inventor and a clown; by now, he has combined both in order to realize his goal: to show the world what creativity can do by replacing all the billboards in Times Square with one art work.

As a kid of the internet generation, he uses this medium to connect and spread his thoughts quicker than any postcard ever could. In his own projects, from building websites to connecting all student’s book closets, advising on power tool design strategy in Shanghai (Ken Power Tools) to building identities, he highly values the advantages of open source knowledge to inspire and teach each other through the web. Though the Internet can accelerate changes enormously, Bruns believes in the true power of making contact in real life.

Times Square to Art Square is just one of the many projects Justus is involved with. His website shows a wide variety of logos, drawings and pictures he has made the past years. He calls himself an entrepreneur and wants to prove the world that from any position, you can change something. “In times where a university degree will not guarantee a job and our retirement fees have already been spent, you have to design your own career. Politics and big companies won’t change the world for us; we have to do it ourselves.”.

The project and Justus’ words haven’t stayed unnoticed. Several blogs, newspapers and magazines have featured his projects: Huffington Post, Good, Mutual Arts and he has been a speaker at the Veerstichting, Stand-up inspiration, and the ‘Hogeschool van Amsterdam’, to name a few.

Justus talks a about a variety of subjects: from graphical design and designing logo’s to brand identities en how to build them. How to come up with a good idea? How can you use new media to reach your audience? And why is new media overrated?

In his presentations, he combines his vision with a contagious form of naive enthusiasm that can inspire you as if you were going to the Zoo with your four-year-old cousin.

Justus Bruns bij iMMovator, mei 2011:

Justus Bruns bij de Veerstichting:

Justus Bruns from VeerStichting on Vimeo.

Justus Bruns bij Standup Inspiration: