Competencies

Growth

This semester I really started to “see” the design in products. Instead of just looking at products and using them, I really look at them from a designer view. I asked myself questions: “How would the designer of this product come to this exact design”, “what choices would he have made” and formed an opinion about the product. By doing this I think I’m really starting to get a product designer.

Looking back at my competency development, I’m pretty satisfied. I managed to get a nice even development and spent extra time on my weak points. Also I reached most of my goals set in my PDP.

PDP | Renewal PDP | Draft PDP

Professional Skills

Writing: This is a weak point of mine, but of course this skill is improved by all the reflections and reports I will have to write. Still, I think this skill needs some extra attention next semester.
Presenting: By all the juggle shows I do and the extra juggle workshops I gave, this skill is probably already on a professional level. It would be interesting for the next semseter to get a workshop in giving a good presentation.
Teamwork: Enough said about this in the competency area Teamwork & Communication
Reflecting: I still reflect too much in my head, I really should write more reflections down. But I did an extra reflection in the middle of the semester in my Renewal PDP.
Planning and organization: Although planning can be a problem sometimes, organization is not a problem by all the juggle conventions I organize.
Searching and dealing with scientific information: In the basic course USE we got a really good explanation in how to find trustworthy scientific information. We dealt with this information in the assignments we had to make.

Self-Directed and Continuous Learning
After the first quartile I took a second look at my PDP in order to see if I was still on track. I made a Renewal PDP in which my goals became more SMART. I expended some goals such as making a Business Plan and really focused more on my vision development and how I could improve this. After noticing that I really had to develop Designing Business Processes I contacted an in order to make sure I would develop evenly. It was really useful to take a look at your PDP from time to time in order to complete the goals you set. In the Project I noticed that my preferred way of learning new software (Flash and Actionscript 3) is to watch other people do it and explaining it. I did this by watching tutorials on Youtube and also other software that I learned in the past had the same process. I really get inspired by watching what people can do using the software, in order to motivate me to get better in the software. Until now I’ve released that this is my normal learning process of learning new software.

For more theoretical and professional information I prefer books. I used the book “Verleiden het internet” as my guide for conversion optimisation for my website. I also buy a lot of inspiration books to improve my graphic design skills. I have selves full of books with thousands of pages full of logo’s/ webdesign / business identities / package design.

At the Present page you can see all the extra activities I do by myself in the “New Activities” box and “Continuous Activities”. I highlighted the most important learning experiences in this competency.

Descriptive and Mathematical Modelling
This competency area was already developed pretty far past semester for me, but with the basic course Modeling and also my assignment Creative Electronics, I have developed this competency area much further than I expected. My assignment had a lot physics of electronics in it, more than I thought, but it was necessary to understand the circuits.

Modeling was quite a new experience, we learned how to make a model in order to structure information and see what happens if you influence the numbers. Instead of getting a formula and do exercises with them, you had different tasks that a formula had to solve, just the other way around. The course really focused on the different steps in the model cycle just like a design cycle. This competency area is really about making, understanding and using a model, so there isn’t any better exercise than this to develop this competency area. This knowledge on how to make a model can be used for products in order to help make decisions based on the model that uses the information of analysis.

In the Project I had to use math in order to create certain movements like enemies floating simultaneously up and down in the air or creating a perfect pulse circle around your characters dependent of the coordination of that character. Here I could use the Calculus we learned past semester.

Next semester I will try to not develop this competency area for a while, because it is already relatively “over-developed”. It is better to focus on other competencies to develop more evenly as a designer.

Integrating Technology
Integrating technology is competency area I really focused on this semester. I developed it by choosing a Project in which I could learn how to program. After 3 months of intense programming (first 3 months research + concept development) I managed to get to an intermediate level of programming. This will help me to understand other program languages in the future, because the logic will be generally the same.

In my assignment Creative electronics I got to combine all the different aspects of Integrating Technology, because we had built prototypes using sensors and actuators in circuits and check if we build it right through calculations. Also in the end project I programmed in Arduino in order to make our prototype work, completing my set goal from last semester “I want to be able to get a better understanding of electronics and be able to make a working circuit that is programmed with Adruino.” The assignment taught me how the 3 aspects (circuits, calculations and programming) relate to each other in order to create better prototypes.

Modeling was more about creating your own scientific writings, because we had to create a working model for an architect in order to help him make design choices using the model. For me as a designer I can relate this model to products instead of buildings for example optimisation of the costs of a product with relations to its quality.

Next semester I want to implement the knowledge I gained from my assignment in a project and create an electronic working prototype. This will give me the possibility to really experiment with electronics and also get to an intermediate level just like programming.

Ideas and Concepts
For me to come up with good ideas and concepts I usually do research on the subject in order to create a guide for myself. Then I search inspiration on existing concepts by for example looking in books, magazines and the internet; but also by making my head empty. During the project I tried to have “juggle breaks” in order to have an empty head and be fresh to come up with good ideas and concepts. This is something I will continue doing in future projects.

We started our Project by doing research on the target group to create a list of demands for our game, but we also did research on why people play games. Combining these two research subjects we started to brainstorm on what kind of game we wanted. The research gave us guidelines to work with. With these ideas we created different concepts of a game and reflected on what would be the best. We made a paper prototype of the game, in order to make a physical object to interact with. This was very revealing; because you came across a lot of problems you didn’t thought of the first time and we used it to refine our concept. When explaining our game at the cross-coaching it appeared that our game was a combination of different concept aspects from each team member. We were told to take out a lot of different elements and get to the core of the concept. This taught me that you can’t combine all the ideas to one; you have to make decisions and sometimes “kill your darlings”.

As an interaction designer I have to come up with ideas every week. My job is to make vague descriptions of an action concrete into a wireframe design. Doing this weekly keeps me fresh and lets me improve my idea and concept competency area on regular bases.

I didn’t reach my PDP goal to brainstorm and reflect on 3 different brainstorm sessions so I’m going to move this goal to next semester, because I really want to know how to professionally brainstorm.

Form and Senses
In the Project working with the Kinect was a unique way of sense. Because on the screen you can see you touched an object, but in real life you of course didn’t. So we had to give the user some sort of feedback in order for him to sense that he had touched and triggered something. We did this by using sounds as a way of feedback. We still had to be sure our sounds didn’t scare you if you touch something, because our target group was sensitive for that. 
As an interaction designer for websites, you can only use the sense of vision, but it has to trigger the sense of touch (mouse touch). You do this by using “objects” that users already know how to use for example a button. I also have to make icons that refer to recognisable objects, so that the user can interpret what will happen if they click the icon. This can be a real struggle if you have to make icons for more vague concepts, but it trains me to convert abstract concepts to concrete visuals.


Next semester I want to focus more on 3D forms instead of all the 2D designs I did this semester. I got really fascinated by 3D-printing this semester, so I want to create a 3D-figure and let it be 3D printed and maybe in the next project, a nice 3D rendering of the final prototype.

User Focus and Perspective
This Project we had a different approach than in my last project, we really did thorough research on the target group making us able to do experts evaluations on our own game. Still it was a shame we couldn’t test our game on the target group. We did learn much from the first exhibition day and spend the next day making adjustments for the second exhibitions day. It keeps surprising on how the user acts differently than you anticipated.

With the conversion optimisation I did for my juggle website, I learned from tests and results from other interactions designers and used these tips and tricks in my own website. It resulted in a big increase of bookings and I even got multiple compliments from different bookers on the quality and ease of the website. I will continue to use my own juggle website to experiment with conversion optimisation.

As an interaction designer you have to keep the user in the back of your head all the time. I question myself all the time: what would the user want to do, what would be logical, is there a possibility to lower thresholds etc.” in order for the website to work and be used.

Next semester I will continue to work as interaction designer but in my next project I want to make sure we finish on time to really thoroughly user test our prototypes.

Social Cultural Awareness
This competency area is better developed than I thought because of the basic course USE. The whole course is about how Users, the Society and Enterprises shape new technologies. With clear examples throughout the history of technology, we learned what the effects of certain new technologies are and how stakeholders react to them and really dug deep into the underlying theories and terms.

To get a basic understanding of what designs shaped the current society, I’ve watched “the Genius of Design” by the BBC. In a series of 5 documentaries with an hour a piece, they explained the whole product design history from the first mass produced products, till the time of today. This gave me a good overview on how product designers reacted on new technologies and how society reacts on new products. It also gave me an inside on how the profession of product designer really arose because of the need of product designers.

Now that I have a general overview of the design history, I want to get deeper more into specific time periods in next semester and the designs that shaped time period.

Designing Business Processes
For this competency area, I set the goal to make a Business Plan because it was my weakest competency last semester. I contacted Laura van Geel, expert Designing Business Processes and explained the idea of a business that I already worked out a bit. She told me to do research on the target group and this made me change the whole business idea twice, because not enough user would be using the product. I learned how to use the Business Model Canvas and how different businesses can differ in filling in this model. Because I did thorough research, I wasn’t able to make a whole business plan. I already arranged with the expert that I will continue to work on this business plan next semester.

On my Juggling website I present myself as a juggler that can give juggle shows and juggle workshops. This semester I spend a lot of time optimizing my website to stand out of the crowd. The websites of must jugglers are pretty bad, so I searched for other artist. It turned out that clowns have very professional websites and I took them as a guideline for mine. Most juggler don’t mention any price for their shows or workshops, but all the clowns did. So added a calculation tool on my website for the user to already get a rough idea on how much a show will cost (http://www.simonacampo.nl/tarieven.php). This resulted in much more big business requests and all the “do you want to come for free” request disappeared.

I will continue to work on my business plan next semester together with the expert and also my juggle website is an on-going process that I will work on next semester.

Design and Research Processes
For this Project we did a thorough research on the target group, why people play games and the program language we were going to use. We also kept track of our process by updating our logbook daily. We went to a good process and never got stuck. Our game concept has changed over the time, but these changes didn’t affect the work we already did (artwork, programming). Our process went so well because we had a up-to-date planning and to do lists for every person in the group. Also in future projects I want to use a planning an up-to-date to do lists in order to keep the work pace high.

As interaction designer I have to complete wireframes in order for other people in the business to be able to work. We are still looking for a good system to be able to be update by the process of each other. I have learned what kind of process doesn’t work, because now the project leader is some sort of communicator that hears when somebody is done with a task in order for a different person to work further on that task. This isn’t very efficient but I’m sure that we will find a good solution within 3 months that I will be able to use for my own company as well.

Teamwork and Communication
In the Project we didn’t had any problems as a team, we were very open to each other and really became a group of friends with the same passion and goal. Between the hard working we shared funny or inspirational video’s which made the group bonding stronger and also showed our hobbies which gained respect to each other. All these factors made a very strong passionate team.

My USE was completely the opposite and it was really new to work students from other studies that miss the enthusiastic spirit that ID-students have. Within the group I really had to act like a mum in order to get our assignments done. We worked better when I made clear tasks for each team member and deadlines.

With juggling I’m already used to present myself in front of large groups. Also giving workshops in 3 ball juggling is not a problem anymore even in English in front of managers of Danone. But giving workshops in activities I’m less familiar with, is a lot harder because you don’t have your standard talk prepared. That’s why I gave multiple workshops throughout the semester on juggle conventions in tricks I never explained before. This trained me to stay clear in explanation and order and the participants reacted really positive. I still tend to give a little nervous impression sometimes were it isn’t necessary.

Through all the organisation work I do, I really got comfortable with a professional way of meeting. New this semester is part that I’m part of the head- committee that organises the Dutch Juggling convention. The biggest juggle convention in the Netherlands. Next semester I will continue to release this awesome convention (www.njf2014.nl).