Testimonials
Over the past years our customers wrote about their experiences of working with us.
CSU
Jeroen Heijmans, HR manager strategy & projects:
With Visual Contracts we have taken up the challenge to display the employment contract in a visual and understandable way for all our cleaning employees. In this they have distinguished themselves as an innovative party that makes complex matter understandable by means of the Legal Design Thinking theory. Lieke guided us in this in an excellent way and we are proud of the result that is now available.
In 2021 we won the ‘Golden Hourglass Award’ for this project. Read more in the showcase here.
Tzorg
Claudy de Koning, HR Director Tzorg:
‘We want new employees to feel immediately welcome
and eager to work for us. With this visual employment
contract, we are implementing our inclusive HR policy.
A visual employment contract better suits many of our
domestic helpers and supervisors because they have a
better overview of what they are signing for. We think
this is important, as it is a document for employees
that gives them security. So that is our starting point:
comprehensibility and certainty for our employees. This is
how we put our employees first.’
Read more in the showcase here or download our impact report.
Philips
Sarah Levassor,
Privacy Legal Counsel
“To privacy and legal professionals committed to making a lasting impact: the key lies not just in what we communicate, but in how we communicate. Visual contracts are a game-changer. It’s time to transform legal content into something accessible, engaging, and truly meaningful for individuals. Lieke has been a guiding force in this journey, offering unmatched patience, creativity, and dedication. Through her training and coaching, I’ve been empowered to help shape a future where privacy is not just a legal obligation, but a shared understanding between individuals and companies!”
Why I Started Training in Visual Contracts
Three years ago, I began working with AI and virtual realities, and it quickly became clear how these technologies could profoundly affect personal privacy. Imagine a VR headset that captures your brainwaves to monitor your emotional state while you shop online. Futuristic? Not at all—the technology to make this a reality was already available back then. As AI adoption accelerated, it became increasingly clear that many people were willing to exchange their personal data for faster, more convenient services.
This realization underscored the need for change. I could no longer remain passive while so many people were unaware of how their data is being used, often because privacy notices go unread. But why is that? The answer is simple: it’s not apathy—it’s that privacy notices and legal documents are often long, complicated, and misaligned with how people process information in today’s fast-paced digital world.
I understood that true innovation in the legal field, especially in the age of AI, isn’t just about adopting new technologies. It’s about rethinking how we communicate with individuals—making privacy and legal information clearer, more accessible, and, most importantly, compelling. My mission became clear: I wanted to empower individuals to value their privacy and foster trust with the companies that hold their data.
Discovering Visual Contracts
To achieve this, I realized I needed to rethink my approach. As our world increasingly shifts toward visual content on smaller screens like smartphones and tablets, long blocks of text become harder to navigate. Given that visuals are processed by our brains in as little as 13 milliseconds, while reading takes 200-300 milliseconds per word, I realized the challenge wasn’t in what I was communicating, but in how I was presenting the information.
I began exploring studies and resources from LINC CNIL, where I discovered the concept of legal design. It wasn’t enough to simply understand the theory of visual contracts—I wanted to develop the skills to transform complex legal concepts into clear, engaging visuals. This led me to Lieke’s training program.
A Transformative Experience
Working with Lieke, a non-legal professional, was a game-changer. Through this training, I learned that effective communication through design accelerates understanding—not just for individuals, but for stakeholders as well. It’s about making privacy discussions more productive and aligned with business goals.
Not only did I learn how to design and create visual content, but I also embraced a process-driven mindset. Creativity is accessible to anyone willing to challenge their mental blocks! By adopting the principles of empathy, ideation, prototyping, and iteration, design thinking has become a powerful framework for enhancing problem-solving, fostering innovation, and improving client relationships in my legal work.
One of the most rewarding parts of this journey was applying my new skills to a real-world business case. Designing and presenting a visual privacy initiative allowed me to directly influence how privacy information is communicated, sparking much-needed change in this space.
A Call to Action for Privacy Professionals
To my fellow privacy professionals and lawyers who are truly committed to making an impact: the key is not only in what we communicate, but in how we communicate. Visual contracts are a game-changer. It’s time to make legal content more accessible, engaging, and meaningful for individuals. Thank you, Lieke, for your patience, creativity, and unwavering dedication. Your training and personalized coaching have empowered me to help shape a future where privacy is not just a legal obligation, but a shared understanding between individuals and companies!
Koos Service Design
Click Here to watch an interview with Jules Prick and Kasper van der Knaap from Koos sharing their experience;
Koninklijke Metaalunie
Heleen Knaap
Legal Counsel at Koninklijke Metaalunie
Not sure what legal design is about? I had exactly the same. But following Lieke’s course “Legal Design Thinking”, has definitely demystified this.
So, recently I have completed the Legal Design Thinking course at the Visual Contracts Academy. The last 10 years I have been working as a legal counsel for SMEs in the metal industry and I was curious to see what legal design is about and how you can put it into practice. It’s been great to learn this from a pioneer in legal design with a great track record. I learned legal design thinking is so much more then adding a hand full of visuals to a legal document.
Lieke will tell you all about it in a series of videos that you can watch in your own time and at your own pace. Theory is mixed with assignments, which is great. Practicing what Lieke teaches you is key to really get the hang of her lessons. So in the course you will have the chance to design a contract yourself, in my case an employment contract.
In legal design, there is a method you can follow to (re)design legal products and services, such as a contract. This method, called the design thinking method, consists of five different steps you can take. Lieke will tell you exactly what you need to do to take these steps. You can tell Lieke has a crystal clear vision on what legal design can contribute to the legal world and she has a lot of experience with the method. I loved that.
Going through all the design thinking steps is educational and a lot of fun. I spend evenings practicing drawing (and no, you don’t need to have a talent in drawing), interviewing users of employment contracts, trying to get clear what problems they experience when closing an employment contract (think of their wish for understandable text or more transparency about their legal position) and make a design plan to create a contract that solves these issues. Then I designed a whole new contract and tested that with employees. Lieke guides you through every step of the way and provides you with a lot of helpful feedback.
There are multiple things I loved about this course. First of all, I enjoyed discovering how non-lawyers look at legal products. This can be so surprising. For instance the users that tested my new contract wondered whether the contract was actually legally valid. I could reassure them a contract that is completely adjusted to the needs of the users, the employers brand identity and contains plain language and visuals, such as timelines, is also fully valid. Also, I loved finding ways to translate the experience of users into a better legal document. It gave me the chance to think conceptually and be creative.
Working out my concept for a new contract was not difficult at all. I used Canva, which is a very user friendly design tool. But you can also use MS Word or just work out your concept in sketches. Whatever suits you best. I am proud of the contract that I made and I want to thank Lieke for her help and guidance throughout. I can definitely recommend this course to any lawyer, but particularly to those who are interested in improving legal products and services by focussing more on the users!
Pellicaan Advocaten
Caro Mennen, Attorney
“Visual Contracts has a true innovative approach towards legal issues. Combined with good legal advice, the legal design thinking approach of Visual Contracts can lead to an accessible and clear contract or other legal document. Working with Lieke Beelen and her team from Visual Contracts is an inspirational, creative and fun journey.”
Download the (Dutch) brochure here.
Airbus Defense and Space
Retired senior judge Hon. Dory Reiling PhD LLM
