Present
What this study has taught me the most is to make the best out of life. Basically it is a search to investigate what it is what your truly love and find important. It gives the tools to realise these ideas and make them happen. I’m very glad that I chose this study and love the way of figuring things out yourself by experimenting and just doing it. Thanks for being such an awesome study where students can really develop themselves to their full potential. I have learned a lot about myself and where I want to go.
This semester has been very fruitful. I made a lot of professional contacts and could be in the position I want to grow in further. Although the project was though, I’m glad with the end result and resembles my vision in a good way. Working together with other professionals during projects helps to quickly get good results. From all different fields I worked together with professionals, from social design company, to municipalities, researchers at the high tech campus and big business like Groenrijk. Talking to these people showed me what the value of me as a designer can be.
Competencies
DRP
T
C
FS
IC
DBP
UFP
SCA
IT
DMM
Self Directed & Continious Learning
During my project I could have asked more feedback on the right moments. When I’m too focused and close up and think I know what to do. I could have learned more if I hadn’t this attitude. Also as my coach has stated: "Another point for improvement is asking for and processing feedback. In some phases of your project you involved the user, client and me as a coach too little. You overestimated your own knowledge on the subject and underestimated the value of the input which others can give you." This is one of the main learning points this semester and I have talked extensively about this with her.
Design and Research Processes
The past semester I kept track of my hours in order to analyse my design process but also keep myself working enough hours for the project. Also this semester I started to do this but in de end it was better to put it more towards goals instead of the amount of hours being a goal. I noticed I work best in groups where I clearly know my role. When designing by myself I find it hard to know where I have to go and tend to focus on the wrong elements. Although I had an iterative process, more iterations could be made if I hadn’t focused on the wrong parts within a concept. It is a main learning point this semester which I can use within my next design process. Feedback from my coach about this aspect: "You should still work on your design process, going smoothly between its stages and integrating the use of your skills. Moving faster between phases, iterating more and seeing the whole picture instead of the details can help you to achieve very good results quicker."
Teamwork
Within the first week of the project I worked together with master students. I was to see how pro-active and quick they can come to a prototype that could be tested. Later I worked together with Sophie, a fellow Final Bachelor Project student. Within the Couldbee group I also could understand my role as a designer better within a multi-disciplinary professional group. Within a weekend we quickly had to divide tasks, discover each other’s strengths and put everything together. This semester I became chairman of the Dutch Juggling Championships which will be a role I officially never had. Within the organizing scene I had already practically had this role so I will know what I’m up to.
Communication
Visual communication is one of my strong sides also according to my coach about my report: "It demonstrates your very good skills in graphic design and communication. The report is both informative and pleasant to read." But my communication towards other people should be improved. I tend to focus too much on certain aspects I stop asking for feedback or help which makes it hard for people to know what I’m doing. Although I didn’t communicate well, I learned from my mistakes and now pay close attention about communicating well. "In some phases of your project you involved the user, client and me as a coach too little. You overestimated your own knowledge on the subject and underestimated the value of the input which others can give you." It will also make it a lot easier for myself since people will know better what is going on and help me throughout the process.
Form and Senses
The assignment Basic Formgiving skills has shown me how to analyse forms, make transitions between forms and in general look in a different way towards forms. What I learned here I could already incorporate within the last fase of my prototype. The end result had the high quality form I was aiming for. Using an embodied way to show your vote also has to do with a more general way of senses. You use your whole body to show what you mean which results in more overthought answers. The sense the installation gives to you influences the choices you make.
Ideas and Concepts
Using different methods from the book “Thinkertoys” has shown me how to come up with ideas when you stuck in a complex context. It helped me to analyse the problem within my project and create future steps and new creative ways to look at it. The project also has taught me a technique called bodystorming instead of brainstorming. With brainstorming people think of solution with their background in there head. With bodystorming these background tend to disappear and much better ideas can be made. Everyone works towards a solution instead of what is best for themselves.
Designing Business Processes
With Couldbee we really took our concept quickly to the next level. We have contacted several partners and presented our ideas to municipalities throughout the Netherlands. As a group we really are thinking about how we can best launch this product into the market talking to different experts and stakeholders. It is nice to finally do this last step getting in contact with business and see how eager they are for young fresh ideas. I mostly think about the community aspect of the product which makes sure the it is embraced by the public.
User Focus and Perspective
Throughout the whole process I did user test to guide me in my design process. This was something I hadn’t done before in my design process and it could really guide me in the right direction. On the streets walking with just pen and paper didn’t work when asking questions. You’ll need a strange object that catches attention and create curiosity. Doing a final user test together with the client really helped me to understand the last bits of my installation. My ultimate moment was when the chairman of the Stichting Woensel-West used my installation in order to help other people explain what his organisation focuses on. In the process I also gather both quantitative and qualitative feedback and had to search a way to do this. My project is an answers to this design challenge and different user test came to this end result.
Social and Cultural Awareness
Understanding the hierarchy of a neighbourhood and its construction within it was a tough job. Finding the different organisations and talking to them helped to create a complete overview of the neighbourhood. Also seeing this neighbourhood as a community, I could compare it to the juggling world and see how they differ. With the Couldbee app I also could use this knowledge and really had to understand the background of the people that where our target group.
Integrating Technology
I have bought a 3D-printer with which I’m fooling around now. I try to discover the boundaries of 3D printing to discover this technology. Within my project I used different sensors with Arduino but more difficult, think about a mechanical installation that would work. The assignment Mechanical Engineering has taught me a lot about the basics of materials, production methods and how to generally make products that last.
Descriptive and Mathematical Modelling
In the research we had a lot of mathematical models in order to understand the brain activity. Getting this insight was a nice experience about how very abstract numbers can be analysed. Also within the assignment Mechanical Engineering, models have been made in 3D programs in order to understand its behaviour under pressure.
Reflection PDP Goals
Goal 1 | Becoming a professional
Publicity
In this goal I stated how I can become part of the professional design world. My participation at the Hackathon has taught me what my position can be in a multi-disciplinary group and what my role can be in this as a designer. With this project we have reached some publicity and talked to different municipalities around Europe. Already with a relatively simple prototype and idea you can have a big impact at the professionals. You don’t need a fully functional prototype, but just enough so you can convince investors and partners. Also profiling yourself as a student helps you to get away with a lot. Talking to the head directors of Groenrijk without an preparation was no problem, within 2 minutes they were convinced by our concept. At the Brainsaward I have submitted my own project but also Couldbee, with Couldbee we were nominated with the Top20 and could pitch our project. Unfortunately we didn’t win the Brainsaward.
Real context
My project desired a more professional attitude since I worked for a client and in context users. It has shown me what an extra complexity this brings to the project. You will have to proof your concepts and become concrete quite fast so the client can give qualitative feedback. Next time I should keep the client more up to date with my process so they can give me more feedback.
High quality prototype
The assignment Basic Formgiving skills has increased my desired level of prototyping. Receiving many compliments about the look of my final bachelor project and winning the power plug copying during the assignment shows that I improved. Apparently I already knew a lot more about prototyping than I did, I only needed to be more perfectionistic about the desired end result (sanding a lot helps).
Goal 2 | Social Design
Already early on I noticed that the term social design is misused a lot. In an article from one of the designers of my client Tante Netty you can see this is becoming a problem Article. Also when researching social design projects in the book “Looks good, feels good, is good” from Anne van der Zwaag, I didn’t feel so much connection to these projects. Only the chapter about Well-being had some projects that I would see myself doing. In general social design is used to define a project that is just given to the people. Here a solution, good luck with it, we are social now. In my opinion this is not the way how it works. I want to create products and services that have a social interaction with the user and evoke creative uses of the products. It can create a community around the product what in my eyes is social. Instead of naming it social design I will describe my own design as community design.
Goal 3 | Production
Instead of focusing on a product for beer brands, I did a more complex product. My girlfriend was competing in the Hema-design challenge and according to the rules you had to make a detailed production method description and cost calculation. Also I have bought a book with all kinds of production methods with I can use as reference book. The assignment Mechanical Engineering and Design also provided a lot of database with material properties and production methods. Having the access to Mechanical Engineering design methods, material properties and production methods has given me the confidence that I’m able to create a realistic image of the finished product. In the end the study is called Industrial Design, where it is expected that you know how to let the industry produce your product.
Goal 4 | Research or / and Entrepreneurship
The master has changed so the need for a choice was no longer needed. Still I did some nice research in my project analysing the neighbourhoods community. At the High Tech Campus I even contributed as a co-author to a research paper with juggling. Working together with real researchers has shown me the way they work and think. This semester it is still not clear for me whether I find diehard research interesting. Within my master I will follow a course about design research and the semester later I will have to do an research project. It was nice to get in touch with research this semester but within my master I will go more into depth about this subject. There I can determine the value for me as an designer.
