Project
This semester I chose the project "Kinect Based Motor Games for Children with Disabilites" in order to improve my programming skills.
The intension of the project was to create a game that would allow children with dyspraxia to improve their motor skills and still be fun at the same time. The challenge was to keep the it fun over a longer time.
Assigment
At the end of Creative Electronics I was able to create a working LED-cube that could move in different patterns by programming in Arduino. I also got to learn a lot of the theory about circuits.
I chose this assignment because I wanted to learn more about creative electronics in order to create working prototypes in future projects.
New Activities
Business Model
I contacted Laura van Geel, expert Designing Business Processes and explained the idea of a business that I already worked out a bit. I had to make an overview on how my business relates to different business, the consumer and want kind of flows there were (product, money, experience etc.) It was a real eye-opener because there was a lot more than I thought.
Website Conversion
In the SDL-week I finished the book “Verleiden op het internet” and implemented the theory I learned in the book on my website.
I decide to make my website more personal and talk to my user in the second person instead of the third person. This resulted in rewriting all the texts that were on the website.
Filming and Photography
Together with Bert Maas I created a promotional video for the chocolatier Smores. This video will be on their website.
During the workshop Bert filmed and I took photos. Bert had more experience in filming and also photography so he has thought me quite some things.
Continuous Activities
Design work
In the evenings I work as a graphic designer and website developer most of the time for starting businesses.
People really seem to appreciate my work because I don’t even have time to create a portfolio website, I have enough assignments already.
Interaction Design
Bset Media (www.bset-media.nl) is the company I work for as an Interaction designer.
For 3 a 4 hours a week I create wireframes for a big website called World Trade Portal. With this website people can upload infrastructure projects and share knowledge, skills, trade rest materials and share their project.
Juggling
Juggling is my biggest hobby; it inspires me, creates an empty head and really had taught me a lot.
Because of juggling I started to create logos and websites and it also got me into organizing conventions. Because of my study, I now spend much less time on it.
Basic Courses
Modeling
This basic course gave me a better understanding on how complex systems like weather prediction are made and used. I learned how to make a model starting from scratch and what choices have to be made to make a good model.
For me as a designer I can relate this model to products and can use it to for example optimize the quality price ratio.
USE
This basic courses was very valuable as a designer, because the whole course is about how Users, the Society and Enterprises shape new technologies into products.
With clear examples throughout the history of technology, I learned what the effects of certain new technologies are and how stakeholders react to them.