Creativity and Aesthetics
Creativity and Aesthetics I would say is my strongest expertise area. I was already quite in touch with my creative side and interested in aesthetics when I was younger. As I always loved arts and crafts and drawing. During my first year, I grew my competence in developing and communicating my creativity through different mediums. In the exploratory sketching course, I improved my sketching skills while also improving my ability to ideate and conceptualize through sketching.
A new medium, closely related to Math, Data and Computing and Technology and Realisation, was that of using processing in the Creative Programming course. Improving my attitude in terms of learning through doing and taking on new challenges with mediums that I have no experience in.
The interactive game I created using processing in the Creative Programming course.
Furthermore, I got familiar with using various creativity techniques during my projects. These were techniques like body storming and the use of personas to change perspectives, but also more speculative design techniques such as the use of PLEX cards.
Additionally, I realized the value of creating embodied settings for design, for instance when creating a maquette to support the designing of an interior during my internship. This way of working I took with me in future projects, which can be seen in my FBP as well.
Apart from being able to design creative and aesthetic-looking solutions, I have experience in focussing a design project on the aesthetics and intuitiveness of its interactions. The attitude skills and knowledge to accompany this part of design were initially gained during the Aesthetics of interaction course. During this our team created a calming nighttime routine, taking the risk of not actually making an alarm clock like many did. The insights and competence gained during the course became an important part of my professional identity and vision.
In various extracurricular activities, I strongly developed my sense of aesthetics and ability to create aesthetic-looking outputs. For instance in the various promotion designs I have created for my student association, but also when designing an entire yearbook for this same association. Lastly, I created numerous logos and designed merchandise.
The developed competence in Creativity and Aesthetics conclusively allows me to develop creative ideas while handling a lack of information by implementing my knowledge of different ideation methods together with my intuitive, explorative and critical attitude. My skills in clearly and aesthetically visualizing my concepts and developing strong design narratives allow me to communicate, evaluate and validate my ideas and their supporting motivations with users and other stakeholders.
User and Society
During my bachelor, I developed my ability to use design to create value for and have an impact on users’ lives. I implement my understanding of perception, emotion and cognition gained for instance during the User-Centered design course as well as the USE track I followed.
These courses, together with the ERB processes to be completed before user testing, made me aware of ethical and moral considerations and requirements related to user testing. Moreover, and strongly related to Technology and Realisation and Math Data and Computing, the course Making Sense of Sensors gave me strong insights into the ethics of using these sensor-based methods to acquire user data and information.
Furthermore, my social skills, supported by my experience with committees in which I collaborated with people from various backgrounds and considered multiple stakeholders, allow me to ask the right questions. Therefore, presenting me with valuable insight into my user and the possibility to evaluate and validate my designs through qualitative as well as quantitative methods.
Additionally, I have an open mindset, am inquisitive and able to change perspectives. Empathizing with various users or including the wants and needs of various stakeholders. The course Design Innovation Methods present an example of a complex design challenge involving various stakeholders in which I was able to take their desires and limitations into consideration throughout the design process.
Moreover, the Design Innovation Methods course, together with Introduction to Business Design and Design Management courses taught me various methods and techniques for placing the development of a design into a societal context and considering many stakeholders in complex company structures.
The competence I developed in and around the User and Society expertise area is of high value to me. As I aim to create designs that influence or enable users and ultimately society to have more meaningful and collaborative interactions with their products and each other and make better, more sustainable choices.
Business and Entrepreneurship
In relation to Business and Entrepreneurship, I believe to have developed a thorough understanding of organizations. Throughout courses such as Design Management, I have shown my ability to design to support these organizational structures. Designing a system to foster better employee satisfaction and connection in the context of Thuisbezorgd.nl. By analysing their company, identifying the focus area of the challenge and developing a concept based on the gained insights.
Moreover, during my internship at Dutch Invertuals, I gained insight into a design-related organisation and how they work. Additionally, I have used my time at the company to further develop my management and organizational skills and leadership attitude by taking on project management-related tasks. During which I had to manage processes involving multiple stakeholders and many other factors such as the time, availability and costs of production, resources and employees.
During the course Design Innovation Methods I have again shown my competence in analysing and designing for a large business, in this case, IKEA. Additionally, in the individual assignment, I created a strategic innovation advice related to reaching a new market, for an imaginary company based on a previous design of mine. Proving my ability to position my designs in a company context. Whilst redefining the value proposition through the implementation of competitor analysis and trends in society and the market.
Lastly, I gained knowledge on business-related ethics, patents and intellectual property necessary for bringing a product or service to the market.
Conclusively, I see great value in the attitude, skills and knowledge gained in relation to Business and Entrepreneurship. As they enable me as a designer to create value with my designs by working with complex company structures, recognizing and responding to market and user demands and managing multi-stakeholder processes.
Technology and Realisation
Throughout my bachelor’s, I have gained a proper understanding of sensors, actuators and circuits and have learned to apply this technology creatively. During the Creative Electronics course, I created circuits as well as schematic explanations of the circuits. Showing my understanding and ability to both create using the technology as well as convey my knowledge of the technology to others. Likewise, I have proven my competency in doing so within the course of Making Sense of Sensors. Creating the link between this expertise area and that of Math, Data and Computing as well as User and Society. By retrieving data from existing data collectors in combination with self-made circuits involving sensors to create data visualizations linking sitting, walking and sleeping data together.
During the Engineering design course, I further developed my ability to communicate and collaborate with people from different backgrounds in relation to technology and realisation. Collectively creating a scaled-up, but functional prototype for our design. Using a combination of 3D printing and circuits.
A project that shows my ability to creatively implement technology when suitable is that of the Aesthetics of Interactions course. In the project we combined a knitted blanket and movement sensors, signalling to actuators that played music accordingly. Creating a soothing bedtime experience.
Video communicating the interaction with and response from the created design with the implemented sensors and actuators.
Related to more digital technologies I have shown my competence in the creation of 3D models, 3D printing and manual model-making using a combination of foam board modelling and 3D printing in both my project 3 and during my internship.
Lastly, during the digital craftsmanship course, I have become more familiar with the use of artificial intelligence. Collaboratively working with Ai to create code for creative visualizations.
To conclude I believe technology and realisation can serve an important role in all phases of the design process. Serving as an inspirator, and facilitator of interactive user tests but also being implemented as a key component in creating communicative and immersive demonstrators.
Math, Data and Computing
In terms of math data and computing my only experience starting my studies was in math. I developed this competence by completing the Calculus course and ended up finishing the course with an 8. This makes me confident in the belief that I have the mathematical insight needed to be an Industrial Designer who is able to effectively communicate ideas in a mathematically based and correct manner when collaborating with people from different expertise.
Due to my experience in the Data Analytics for Engineers course, I believe to have the competence to structure data in order to get a grip on the complexity of reality. I believe to be sufficiently able to do so by analysing, simulating and validating the solutions I create through models and data analysis. I have proven this competence through the analysis of various user tests with both qualitative and quantitative data. This ability allows me to iterate and/or validate my designs. An example of quantitative data that I analysed and drew conclusions from is that collected during the Making Sense of Sensors course.
I developed a more conceptual and creative way of visualizing or processing data within the Digital Craftmanship course. Using insights from explorations in math, data and computing to drive physical explorations and vice versa. Showing my ability to both use my skills in and knowledge of Math, Data and Computing in academic and scientific contexts as well as creative, conceptual contexts.
Conclusively the developed competence in Math, Data and Computing allows me to communicate my ideas within transdisciplinary collaborations. It enables me to use technology and methods of manufacturing that naturally require mathematical input. I have gained the skills and knowledge to analyse, structure and validate my designs and results through the utilization of data analysis and models. And lastly, I am able to creatively implement insights and inspiration stemming from digital data-based sources in my designs and processes.
