Nick Meehan is one of the students who are presenting their final graduation project on Tuesday 17 December.
If they graduate, you can be the first to see their work on the Open Day on 18 December.
Get acquainted with Nick Meehan!
Nick Meehan
26 years old
Lived in L.A. (California, US) before coming to Eindhoven
Department: Man and Communication
Project: the Lobby
Why Design Academy Eindhoven?
I was looking for a good design school, and I was also very interested in studying abroad. I stumbled upon Design Academy when I was reseaching online. What I like about this school is that you develop projects that are truly relevant. And Eindhoven offers a good climate for design. Although I think this school wouldn't be as productive as it is now if it would be in Amsterdam!
What inspired you to make 'The Lobby'?
I am still very linked to what happens in the US, I read the New York Times every morning. When I heard about the shooting in an elementary school last year, and watched how the bill that would have helped prevent these sort of things didn’t even make it to a vote, I was triggered. Special interest groups have a lot of influence on the government through lobbyists. Instead of working around this, I decided to beat them at their own game and make ‘the lobby’ accessible to ‘normal' people.
What does ‘the Lobby'?
The Lobby is a platform where you can raise money to actually hire a lobbyist to influence the authorities. This way lobbying is not only for wealthy individuals and companies with big (or massive) budgets. As a person with an idea or a problem, you don’t have the money do the same . Signing petitions online often doesn’t help, because it gives people a false sense of resolution.
How do you present your project?
The Lobby is a website that works a bit like a crowd funding websites. You set your goal for a certain idea, or something more concrete, a bill that you would want to propose, and you look for support. Once you gathered enough money, you can hire a lobbyist. In the next few months I want to take the project further, talk to more lobby firms and raise money to actually launch the website and organize the system needed behind it.
Nick Meehan
unsalted.nu