Growth as a DesignerVisionAs a designer, I am mainly interested in human-technology interaction. Today’s world is demanding people to quickly get used to new developments. For example, in a few years time it will be impossible to buy a train ticket because of the “OV-chipcard”. This obviously has many advantages, but will people be able to keep up with the pace at which new technologies get introduced? And how can we design these new activities in everyday life so that they do not disturb us and so that they are safe? Another appealing aspect in design for me is business model design. How can it be achieved that your product actually is profitable? Inspiring services in this field are companies like Google and Facebook, which make enormous profits without letting the end user pay for it. As a last aspect of my vision, I like designs that are designed towards its function: “Form Follows Function”. I do not like designs that have unnecessary parts or looks, as I regard beauty to be in simplicity. An example for me is the iPod, with the circular clickwheel to indicate a circular motion has to be performed.

GrowthMy growth in the last semester was not very much related to my vision, but rather to filling up gaps that are mentioned in the past section. My most important points of growth are that I have learned to integrate different sources, and by that add more depth to the work I deliver. Overall, this makes my designs more complete.

PastThis is my second retry of block 1.2. This means that this is my third try in promoting from the first to the second year. In the past I gained awareness in almost all the competencies, as approved by various assessors. However, some areas required drastic improvement. The key focus points are listed below: -The competency Socio-cultural awareness is not developed well enough

-The same goes for Designing Business Processes

-To a lesser extent, the competence of Analyzing Complexity needs attention

-My self-reflections should improve

-My ability to think in an abstract way or the display of this abstract thinking is missing

-Although it is officially a second year’s requirement, I have not shown depth oftentimes, or you might say: academic level is missing

- My showcase should be far more convincing and aesthetically pleasing

Present (1/2)During the last semester I have focused mainly on the points mentioned in the Past section. To improve on each of the mentioned aspects, here is (respectively) a list of what I did on order to work on it. I did the assignment “Designing in International teams” to gain awareness in what issues are involved when specifically designing a product and service for one culture.

To gain the awareness level in the competence of Designing Business Processes, I followed the assignment “Analyzing new product development”, where an analysis was performed on the launch of a failed product. This gave me insight in many levels of business process design.

By self-reflecting in a continuous manner the quality of my self-reflections have improved. Evidence for this is to be found throughout this showcase.

Abstract thinking has been involved in many activities, especially the making of this showcase and the individual project, where I combined several different kinds of sources to reach a similar conclusion.

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Present (2/2)By means of my individual project – which was a research project – some depth has been achieved. Scientific papers together with a field study have been used to reach a conclusion, which is evidence showing my ability to obtain depth.

As you can (hopefully) see, my showcase has been improved drastically. A new style, better navigation, better looks and contents have been achieved. By doing the assignment “Showcase Portfolio” I have worked on especially the structure and visual content/aesthetics of the showcase. More elaborate reflections on my work in this semester can be found in the underlying layer, divided over the sections “Projects, Assignments, Extra curricular activities and development as a designer”.

The schemes showing competency development are my own interpretations to what I learned. The provided pie charts have only been filled out in half of the feedbacks I received, and therefore I regard them to have only little value. If you want to view them anyway, here is the excel file.

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FutureIn short, last semester has been about filling gaps. Now that I have achieved the level of awareness over all competency areas, I feel it is time to put a little bit of “me” into my development.  Translated into competency development, this means that I will put my main focus on the competencies of integrating technology, user focus & perspective and designing business processes.

ProjectsPlease select either of the projects on the left side.

Search & Find

SocialEmails

Search & Find (1/2)Project description || Report || Feedback

Goal: On festivals it is difficult to reach your friends when you cannot see them. Mobile phone networks are usually overloaded making it impossible to get through, and even when it is available it is still hard to hear or feel that your mobile phone went off. To work around this problem, a system should be invented with which you can find back your friends. In order to do this, the newly invented ZigBee technology should be integrated into the existing wristbands that serve as an entry ticket. Outcome: In the group, the goal was set to do more than just being able to find your friends back, because that would be rather boring. Brainstorms were done to think of many applications for the technology, which resulted into our final concept. That concept is a system which is able to trace every single ZigBee node (and so every end user) and displays it on large screens that are scattered across the festival area.

By doing so, it is easy to spot where heavy crowds are, which enhances that visitors can avoid waiting lines at busy bars and crowded toilets. The knife even has two cutting blades, since the organization can spot the same information to determine where extra personnel is needed and which artists draw the biggest crowds to them. These are just some examples of the list of advantages for both parties.

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Search & Find (2/2)Learning moments: This project had an extensive ideation phase. In this phase, brainstorms were performed on different subjects in order to get an overview of all the directions we could take. After the idea selection the concept development stage started. This consisted of thinking out the technology that could make the system work, and also making sketches and searching for inspiration about how our information poles would look in the end. In the starting phase of the project, a Belbin team role test was performed, which helped us in making a role division to improve the teamwork. On an individual basis a look has been taken on the design process during the project. Awareness was gained that the group rolled from one thing into the other without a clear overview of where it was heading, which is something to improve in future projects.

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Search & Find (1/2)Project description || Report || Feedback

Goal: On festivals it is difficult to reach your friends when you cannot see them. Mobile phone networks are usually overloaded making it impossible to get through, and even when it is available it is still hard to hear or feel that your mobile phone went off. To work around this problem, a system should be invented with which you can find back your friends. In order to do this, the newly invented ZigBee technology should be integrated into the existing wristbands that serve as an entry ticket. Outcome: In the group, the goal was set to do more than just being able to find your friends back, because that would be rather boring. Brainstorms were done to think of many applications for the technology, which resulted into our final concept. That concept is a system which is able to trace every single ZigBee node (and so every end user) and displays it on large screens that are scattered across the festival area.

By doing so, it is easy to spot where heavy crowds are, which enhances that visitors can avoid waiting lines at busy bars and crowded toilets. The knife even has two cutting blades, since the organization can spot the same information to determine where extra personnel is needed and which artists draw the biggest crowds to them. These are just some examples of the list of advantages for both parties.

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Search & Find (1/2)Project description || Report || Feedback

Goal: On festivals it is difficult to reach your friends when you cannot see them. Mobile phone networks are usually overloaded making it impossible to get through, and even when it is available it is still hard to hear or feel that your mobile phone went off. To work around this problem, a system should be invented with which you can find back your friends. In order to do this, the newly invented ZigBee technology should be integrated into the existing wristbands that serve as an entry ticket. Outcome: In the group, the goal was set to do more than just being able to find your friends back, because that would be rather boring. Brainstorms were done to think of many applications for the technology, which resulted into our final concept. That concept is a system which is able to trace every single ZigBee node (and so every end user) and displays it on large screens that are scattered across the festival area.

By doing so, it is easy to spot where heavy crowds are, which enhances that visitors can avoid waiting lines at busy bars and crowded toilets. The knife even has two cutting blades, since the organization can spot the same information to determine where extra personnel is needed and which artists draw the biggest crowds to them. These are just some examples of the list of advantages for both parties.

Next page >>

Search & Find (2/2)Learning moments: This project had an extensive ideation phase. In this phase, brainstorms were performed on different subjects in order to get an overview of all the directions we could take. After the idea selection the concept development stage started. This consisted of thinking out the technology that could make the system work, and also making sketches and searching for inspiration about how our information poles would look in the end. In the starting phase of the project, a Belbin team role test was performed, which helped us in making a role division to improve the teamwork. On an individual basis a look has been taken on the design process during the project. Awareness was gained that the group rolled from one thing into the other without a clear overview of where it was heading, which is something to improve in future projects.

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Ideas and ConceptsI have learned to use the ideation phase as a tool to explore the width of the problem that you are facing. Brainstorms were done on:How can the bracelet be replaced by something else? How can you give directions? What functionalities could we implement in the ZigBee system? By doing this, we immediately saw the scope of the challenge that we were facing, which helped greatly in understanding the problem. Furthermore, it gave is the opportunity to quickly combine several elements to enhance a better, quicker concept development. Also I have learned an efficient tool for selecting ideas very quickly, based on three-scale axes. By taking the three most suitable requirements and placing them around a central point, you can place ideas that match all three requirements in the center, and if they match only two or one criteria close to those criteria. All the ideas that collect in the center are suitable, and can be used in further development or selection phases. I feel this is an efficient way because it is very quick, just, and gives a good overview of where ideas fail.

Search & Find (2/2)Learning moments: This project had an extensive ideation phase. In this phase, brainstorms were performed on different subjects in order to get an overview of all the directions we could take. After the idea selection the concept development stage started. This consisted of thinking out the technology that could make the system work, and also making sketches and searching for inspiration about how our information poles would look in the end. In the starting phase of the project, a Belbin team role test was performed, which helped us in making a role division to improve the teamwork. On an individual basis a look has been taken on the design process during the project. Awareness was gained that the group rolled from one thing into the other without a clear overview of where it was heading, which is something to improve in future projects.

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Integrating TechnologyI have become aware of what the ZigBee technology is all about, and what you can and cannot do with it at the moment. For instance, the system we designed would not be suitable for ZigBee technology yet, as its network can not deal with the vast numbers yet. Also, I have learned how to deal with technological restrictions in the design process. The only thing require from the ZigBee network is to submit the position of each node once per minute. This means that there is only one way traffic on the network, and the data transfer is kept at a minimum.

Search & Find (2/2)Learning moments: This project had an extensive ideation phase. In this phase, brainstorms were performed on different subjects in order to get an overview of all the directions we could take. After the idea selection the concept development stage started. This consisted of thinking out the technology that could make the system work, and also making sketches and searching for inspiration about how our information poles would look in the end. In the starting phase of the project, a Belbin team role test was performed, which helped us in making a role division to improve the teamwork. On an individual basis a look has been taken on the design process during the project. Awareness was gained that the group rolled from one thing into the other without a clear overview of where it was heading, which is something to improve in future projects.

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Form & SensesThe visual design of the pole was something that we wanted to in the festival culture, as well as in the image of our imaginary client Pinkpop. Pinkpop is very trendy and flashy in its appearance, and uses bright pink all over in advertising, its own website, and on the terrain itself. We did not necessarily want to use the color pink, bit still express the brightness and “attention demanding power” as the Pinkpop style. I learned to use an out of context benchmarking in this visual design process, as I got inspired by the Allianz Arena, which is a perfect example of a building that not only draws attention on sight, but its color also expresses its identity (Red for FC Bayern, blue for 1860 München and white for the German national team). We wanted to keep the design open-ended, so that the pole would be open to for instance a change of identity or end-user influence on the design.

Search & Find (2/2)Learning moments: This project had an extensive ideation phase. In this phase, brainstorms were performed on different subjects in order to get an overview of all the directions we could take. After the idea selection the concept development stage started. This consisted of thinking out the technology that could make the system work, and also making sketches and searching for inspiration about how our information poles would look in the end. In the starting phase of the project, a Belbin team role test was performed, which helped us in making a role division to improve the teamwork. On an individual basis a look has been taken on the design process during the project. Awareness was gained that the group rolled from one thing into the other without a clear overview of where it was heading, which is something to improve in future projects.

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Multidisciplinary Teamwork & CommunicationEarly in the project we had a workshop on Belbin’s team roles. Having done this analysis in the group, I have learned that not only tasks should be divided among group members, but also the way work is interpreted. For instance, I came out to be the chairperson, which means that for me it is suitable to keep a constant overview of the process and to divide tasks, as it is a strength of mine to spot the strengths and weaknesses of people in my group. With the knowledge we gained in the workshop, we were able to divide tasks in a better way. For instance we asked one group member to make us stick to deadlines that we posed ourselves, whereas the plant (most creative person) was asked to focus on idea generating and on visuals. We did that in order to prevent us from losing the creative spark, if we would have made her keep constant track of what should be finished by when.

Social Emails (1/2)Project description || Report || Feedback

Goal: Today, white-collar workers and students receive way too many emails. This combined with an unstructured strategy of managing incoming mail results in email overload, a problem that many of us face. The problem has become too big to be solved within an individual, seven-week project. Therefore, a thorough study should be performed to gain a clear understanding of the problem. Outcome: A scientific literature study was performed in this research project. It was performed on a psychological level. Early in the research phase it became clear that poor email management can lead to email overload, which can result in stress, which on its own can finally result in a lowered self-esteem. So the research approach was: is it possible by maintaining good email management strategies to prevent email overload, and in the end increase your self-esteem? According to the literature study that is possible, when handling email as soon as it gets in your inbox, or at least by doing so every half-hour if the incoming email comes in too large numbers. Nevertheless, a user research should be performed to be able to draw definite conclusions. A setup of such empirical study is included in the report.

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Social Emails (2/2)Learning moments: This research project did not involve a design process, as it only consisted of a research phase. Therefore, progress has been made in the former Meta-competencies rather than in the core competency areas. For instance, experience was gained in understanding the structure of scientific papers by reading loads and writing one of them. And given the fact that there were hardly any guidelines, it was also a good situation to work on self-directed learning.

The project was also an opportunity to develop awareness in the competence of Analyzing complexity. Furthermore, this was a perfect way to show depth and academic level by being able to combine different sources, coming from different fields of studies. For this learning goal it is a shame that an empirical study could not be performed, as it would have added another dimension to this research.

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Social Emails (1/2)Project description || Report || Feedback

Goal: Today, white-collar workers and students receive way too many emails. This combined with an unstructured strategy of managing incoming mail results in email overload, a problem that many of us face. The problem has become too big to be solved within an individual, seven-week project. Therefore, a thorough study should be performed to gain a clear understanding of the problem. Outcome: A scientific literature study was performed in this research project. It was performed on a psychological level. Early in the research phase it became clear that poor email management can lead to email overload, which can result in stress, which on its own can finally result in a lowered self-esteem. So the research approach was: is it possible by maintaining good email management strategies to prevent email overload, and in the end increase your self-esteem? According to the literature study that is possible, when handling email as soon as it gets in your inbox, or at least by doing so every half-hour if the incoming email comes in too large numbers. Nevertheless, a user research should be performed to be able to draw definite conclusions. A setup of such empirical study is included in the report.

Next page >>

Social Emails (2/2)Learning moments: This research project did not involve a design process, as it only consisted of a research phase. Therefore, progress has been made in the former Meta-competencies rather than in the core competency areas. For instance, experience was gained in understanding the structure of scientific papers by reading loads and writing one of them. And given the fact that there were hardly any guidelines, it was also a good situation to work on self-directed learning.

The project was also an opportunity to develop awareness in the competence of Analyzing complexity. Furthermore, this was a perfect way to show depth and academic level by being able to combine different sources, coming from different fields of studies. For this learning goal it is a shame that an empirical study could not be performed, as it would have added another dimension to this research.

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Design & Research ProcessesI have learned what is involved in a scientific research process. My process started with an exploration of the topic of email overload, and did in-depth research on the psychological side of it. The research question was posed (Is it possible to achieve an increase of self-esteem by means of a good email management strategy?). More literature research resulted into the hypothesis that it is possible, and a user research setup was written. I also learned that in order to justify your research results, you should do a user research in the end, because connections may seem present through literature, but it may not be the case in real-life. Unfortunately the time and resources were not available within the project. The next time I face a challenge like this I will (if possible) validate my literature research to give it more strength.

Social Emails (2/2)Learning moments: This research project did not involve a design process, as it only consisted of a research phase. Therefore, progress has been made in the former Meta-competencies rather than in the core competency areas. For instance, experience was gained in understanding the structure of scientific papers by reading loads and writing one of them. And given the fact that there were hardly any guidelines, it was also a good situation to work on self-directed learning.

The project was also an opportunity to develop awareness in the competence of Analyzing complexity. Furthermore, this was a perfect way to show depth and academic level by being able to combine different sources, coming from different fields of studies. For this learning goal it is a shame that an empirical study could not be performed, as it would have added another dimension to this research.

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Self-directed & Continuous LearningThis project has been a perfect learning experience for self-directed learning. As the project description handed hardly any guidelines, I was free to take the project in my own direction. I took this opportunity to do a research project, something I never did before, as a tool to achieve depth in my work. I feel I achieved in this goal, as I made use of many different sources, and combined them into one hypothesis. By doing this, I became aware of how powerful it is to form a theory that has its ground in many different areas.

Social Emails (2/2)Learning moments: This research project did not involve a design process, as it only consisted of a research phase. Therefore, progress has been made in the former Meta-competencies rather than in the core competency areas. For instance, experience was gained in understanding the structure of scientific papers by reading loads and writing one of them. And given the fact that there were hardly any guidelines, it was also a good situation to work on self-directed learning.

The project was also an opportunity to develop awareness in the competence of Analyzing complexity. Furthermore, this was a perfect way to show depth and academic level by being able to combine different sources, coming from different fields of studies. For this learning goal it is a shame that an empirical study could not be performed, as it would have added another dimension to this research.

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Analyzing ComplexityYou could say that this project is an analysis of a highly complex situation. At a psychological level, many different qualities like self-esteem, locus of control and self-confidence have been linked and discussed. I learned that an analysis at this level gets you to the root causes of problems, which is essential in order to fully comprehend the problem that you are dealing with.

AssignmentsPlease select an assignment on the left side.

Human ProcessesAnalyzing andModelling NPD

Designing in International Teams Showcase

Portfolio

Human ProcessesAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: An industrial design is always made for the costumer, not for the designer. This means that the user is always the center of focus when designing. In order to gain a better understanding of “human processes” that drive people to make certain decisions, a book is studied and several analyses are executed to gain and show understanding of the human being. Outcome: A report containing different analyses on human behavior. Subjects like multi-tasking, mapping, and the working memory are discussed. Learning moments: This assignment has been an eye-opener to me. Never had I known how deeply you can influence a human being with specific designs. By doing this assignment I became aware of how the user can be put in the center of a design process, and what human processes take place in decision making.

Human ProcessesAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: An industrial design is always made for the costumer, not for the designer. This means that the user is always the center of focus when designing. In order to gain a better understanding of “human processes” that drive people to make certain decisions, a book is studied and several analyses are executed to gain and show understanding of the human being. Outcome: A report containing different analyses on human behavior. Subjects like multi-tasking, mapping, and the working memory are discussed. Learning moments: This assignment has been an eye-opener to me. Never had I known how deeply you can influence a human being with specific designs. By doing this assignment I became aware of how the user can be put in the center of a design process, and what human processes take place in decision making.

Human ProcessesAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: An industrial design is always made for the costumer, not for the designer. This means that the user is always the center of focus when designing. In order to gain a better understanding of “human processes” that drive people to make certain decisions, a book is studied and several analyses are executed to gain and show understanding of the human being. Outcome: A report containing different analyses on human behavior. Subjects like multi-tasking, mapping, and the working memory are discussed. Learning moments: This assignment has been an eye-opener to me. Never had I known how deeply you can influence a human being with specific designs. By doing this assignment I became aware of how the user can be put in the center of a design process, and what human processes take place in decision making.

User Focus & PerspectiveI have learned different aspects about the human mind. For instance I learned that first we receive stimuli like light or sound, we perceive this information based on long-term memory, then we decide on giving a response and only then we execute an action. This means for instance, that a warning sound is not effective if we do not remember it as being something dangerous.

Another thing I learned is that multi-tasking can be highly efficient, but if we receive an overflow of information we can not deal with it anymore, and that is where human errors occur. Therefore you should never provide too much information at one time, because information is likely to get lost.

Analyzing and Modeling NPD Assignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: Creating an awareness of all phases that are involved when a new product is put on the market. This is done by means of a post mortem study on an unsuccessful product: the Apple G4 cube. The study should reveal what were the key reasons for this product to fail so drastically on the market. Outcome: With the group, a post-mortem analysis was written on the Apple Cube. By performing analyses of (among others) Ishikawa, basic costs, product success factors and Porter, recommendations were made about how it could all have been better. The main conclusions were that the product was aimed at the wrong market, and the development costs were too high for too little benefit. Learning moments: This assignment was all about creating awareness in the competence of Designing Business Processes. The entire Idea-to-business phase was studied thoroughly and also a look has been taken on the design of a business model. This being a group assignment, it was a challenge to communicate your findings to your team members in such a way that everyone was up to date with what was going on in the group.

Analyzing and Modeling NPDAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

 Goal: Creating an awareness of all phases that are involved when a new product is put on the market. This is done by means of a post mortem study on an unsuccessful product: the Apple G4 cube. The study should reveal what were the key reasons for this product to fail so drastically on the market. Outcome: With the group, a post-mortem analysis was written on the Apple Cube. By performing analyses of (among others) Ishikawa, basic costs, product success factors and Porter, recommendations were made about how it could all have been better. The main conclusions were that the product was aimed at the wrong market, and the development costs were too high for too little benefit. Learning moments: This assignment was all about creating awareness in the competence of Designing Business Processes. The entire Idea-to-business phase was studied thoroughly and also a look has been taken on the design of a business model. This being a group assignment, it was a challenge to communicate your findings to your team members in such a way that everyone was up to date with what was going on in the group.

Analyzing and Modeling NPDAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

 Goal: Creating an awareness of all phases that are involved when a new product is put on the market. This is done by means of a post mortem study on an unsuccessful product: the Apple G4 cube. The study should reveal what were the key reasons for this product to fail so drastically on the market. Outcome: With the group, a post-mortem analysis was written on the Apple Cube. By performing analyses of (among others) Ishikawa, basic costs, product success factors and Porter, recommendations were made about how it could all have been better. The main conclusions were that the product was aimed at the wrong market, and the development costs were too high for too little benefit. Learning moments: This assignment was all about creating awareness in the competence of Designing Business Processes. The entire Idea-to-business phase was studied thoroughly and also a look has been taken on the design of a business model. This being a group assignment, it was a challenge to communicate your findings to your team members in such a way that everyone was up to date with what was going on in the group.

Analyzing and Modeling NPDAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

 Goal: Creating an awareness of all phases that are involved when a new product is put on the market. This is done by means of a post mortem study on an unsuccessful product: the Apple G4 cube. The study should reveal what were the key reasons for this product to fail so drastically on the market. Outcome: With the group, a post-mortem analysis was written on the Apple Cube. By performing analyses of (among others) Ishikawa, basic costs, product success factors and Porter, recommendations were made about how it could all have been better. The main conclusions were that the product was aimed at the wrong market, and the development costs were too high for too little benefit. Learning moments: This assignment was all about creating awareness in the competence of Designing Business Processes. The entire Idea-to-business phase was studied thoroughly and also a look has been taken on the design of a business model. This being a group assignment, it was a challenge to communicate your findings to your team members in such a way that everyone was up to date with what was going on in the group.

Designing Business Processes I became aware of business processes that come along when placing a new product into the market. For instance, the product success factors can play a big role within a company and can make a product either succeed or fail. If you want a product to become a success, it starts in the way the company is organized, and how the business model is designed. For instance, I learned that you should be aware that you are not fully dependant on one of your suppliers, because this gives them an enormous power. If there are many parties that can produce your goods you have a good bargaining power, and have a backup when something goes wrong.

Designing in International TeamsAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: This assignment is a sort of mini project that focuses on designing with and for different cultures. Within that framework, the goal was to “design out crime” for the client TomTom. This means that a product should be designed that makes it impossible or useless to steal a satellite navigation system (SatNav). In our case, the American market was our target. By taking cultural aspects of the United States into consideration, it should lead to a concept that is specifically suitable for the American market. Outcome: Following research on American customs, burglary and law, a concept to prevent the theft of TomToms was created. The focus was on big cities, where burglary is often not very well organized, and where SatNavs get stolen in a very quick way: smash the car windshield, grab the TomTom, and off you go. Our concept does not only make sure that stealing it is useless, it also shows this to the thief, so that he will realize breaking the window has no use. Learning moments: I gained awareness on how the culture of a specific country, or even the law, has its influence on the design of your product. Furthermore I learned to design in a multi-nationality team, with a Kazakh, a Taiwanese and a Nigerian involved in the project. People from different backgrounds have different views on design and how it should be implicated, which was an interesting experience to work with. As a last thing, I learned what a value proposition is, and how it can be used.

Designing in International TeamsAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: This assignment is a sort of mini project that focuses on designing with and for different cultures. Within that framework, the goal was to “design out crime” for the client TomTom. This means that a product should be designed that makes it impossible or useless to steal a satellite navigation system (SatNav). In our case, the American market was our target. By taking cultural aspects of the United States into consideration, it should lead to a concept that is specifically suitable for the American market. Outcome: Following research on American customs, burglary and law, a concept to prevent the theft of TomToms was created. The focus was on big cities, where burglary is often not very well organized, and where SatNavs get stolen in a very quick way: smash the car windshield, grab the TomTom, and off you go. Our concept does not only make sure that stealing it is useless, it also shows this to the thief, so that he will realize breaking the window has no use. Learning moments: I gained awareness on how the culture of a specific country, or even the law, has its influence on the design of your product. Furthermore I learned to design in a multi-nationality team, with a Kazakh, a Taiwanese and a Nigerian involved in the project. People from different backgrounds have different views on design and how it should be implicated, which was an interesting experience to work with. As a last thing, I learned what a value proposition is, and how it can be used.

Designing in International TeamsAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: This assignment is a sort of mini project that focuses on designing with and for different cultures. Within that framework, the goal was to “design out crime” for the client TomTom. This means that a product should be designed that makes it impossible or useless to steal a satellite navigation system (SatNav). In our case, the American market was our target. By taking cultural aspects of the United States into consideration, it should lead to a concept that is specifically suitable for the American market. Outcome: Following research on American customs, burglary and law, a concept to prevent the theft of TomToms was created. The focus was on big cities, where burglary is often not very well organized, and where SatNavs get stolen in a very quick way: smash the car windshield, grab the TomTom, and off you go. Our concept does not only make sure that stealing it is useless, it also shows this to the thief, so that he will realize breaking the window has no use. Learning moments: I gained awareness on how the culture of a specific country, or even the law, has its influence on the design of your product. Furthermore I learned to design in a multi-nationality team, with a Kazakh, a Taiwanese and a Nigerian involved in the project. People from different backgrounds have different views on design and how it should be implicated, which was an interesting experience to work with. As a last thing, I learned what a value proposition is, and how it can be used.

Designing in International TeamsAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: This assignment is a sort of mini project that focuses on designing with and for different cultures. Within that framework, the goal was to “design out crime” for the client TomTom. This means that a product should be designed that makes it impossible or useless to steal a satellite navigation system (SatNav). In our case, the American market was our target. By taking cultural aspects of the United States into consideration, it should lead to a concept that is specifically suitable for the American market. Outcome: Following research on American customs, burglary and law, a concept to prevent the theft of TomToms was created. The focus was on big cities, where burglary is often not very well organized, and where SatNavs get stolen in a very quick way: smash the car windshield, grab the TomTom, and off you go. Our concept does not only make sure that stealing it is useless, it also shows this to the thief, so that he will realize breaking the window has no use. Learning moments: I gained awareness on how the culture of a specific country, or even the law, has its influence on the design of your product. Furthermore I learned to design in a multi-nationality team, with a Kazakh, a Taiwanese and a Nigerian involved in the project. People from different backgrounds have different views on design and how it should be implicated, which was an interesting experience to work with. As a last thing, I learned what a value proposition is, and how it can be used.

Socio-cultural awarenessI learned how cultural influences can affect your final design. For instance, I had a look at the American law, where the right to defend yourself is evident through the second amendment. Specifically to this case, I learned that tracking of the device is allowed if laws have been violated, which is not the case in the Netherlands.  Something that actually got implement resulted from my finding that the theft happens in such a quick fashion: spot a SatNav or even a suction cap, break the window, grab and be gone. I wanted the thief to see just as quickly as he sees the TomTom, to see that it has no use stealing it. That is why we designed our key in such a way that a piece of the casing is missing when you take the key out, indicating that the TomTom is incomplete. Furthermore a message on the screen and a blinking red light should do the rest of the warning. From these experiences I became aware of the implications of culture, law and customs on the design of a product.

Designing in International TeamsAssignment description || Report|| Feedback

Goal: This assignment is a sort of mini project that focuses on designing with and for different cultures. Within that framework, the goal was to “design out crime” for the client TomTom. This means that a product should be designed that makes it impossible or useless to steal a satellite navigation system (SatNav). In our case, the American market was our target. By taking cultural aspects of the United States into consideration, it should lead to a concept that is specifically suitable for the American market. Outcome: Following research on American customs, burglary and law, a concept to prevent the theft of TomToms was created. The focus was on big cities, where burglary is often not very well organized, and where SatNavs get stolen in a very quick way: smash the car windshield, grab the TomTom, and off you go. Our concept does not only make sure that stealing it is useless, it also shows this to the thief, so that he will realize breaking the window has no use. Learning moments: I gained awareness on how the culture of a specific country, or even the law, has its influence on the design of your product. Furthermore I learned to design in a multi-nationality team, with a Kazakh, a Taiwanese and a Nigerian involved in the project. People from different backgrounds have different views on design and how it should be implicated, which was an interesting experience to work with. As a last thing, I learned what a value proposition is, and how it can be used.

Designing Business ProcessesI have learned how you can use a value proposition to appeal to a client. In a statement using no more than 50 words, you should be able to describe what the benefit of your product is to whom and in which situation. If this is convincing enough, you can get your client or the costumer to immediately see the added value, and to buy your concept/product.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Forms & SensesMy skills in photoshop improved drastically. By developing buttons and overall styles, I created an own style which is tight but still joyous, because of the colors that keep returning. The development of the buttons made me aware of semantics. In my view, it shows right away what is and is not a button and what are links, which was rather unclear in the previous showcase.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Idea generationI learned how to use different sources as pieces of inspiration for designing a new layout of my showcase. By comparing different pieces of work I learned to see what is appropriate for what cause in form of content and looks. For example, pieces of inspiration were a showcase of Emin Sinani, the Nike website and the Eurovision song contest. Parts of these three combined with my own input resulted in this showcase.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Showcase PortfolioAssignment description || Presentation || Feedback

Goal: The mission statement of this assignment sounds relatively simple: improve the quality of your showcase. In my case, the focus was on improving the aesthetics (since the previous showcase looked rather dull and ugly), creating a better navigation (last showcase contained too many different levels and buttons were scattered everywhere) and improving the quality of the content. Outcome: The layout, aesthetics and structure of the showcase as you are viewing it. Compared to the previous showcase it is improved drastically, from the dull, chaotic and dark showcase that used to be, to the more stylish, tight look and better structure it has now. Also the amount and quality of evidence has grown compared to previous semester. Learning moments: By using other online showcases as inspiration, awareness was gained in how people can quickly show what they have done, and also on how the showcases are presented visually. The idea development also contributed to my personal development. Skills in photoshop were increased drastically since the beginning of this assignment, as well as the convincing portraying of information.

Self-directed & Continuous LearningI have learned that reflection does not only mean the written text. It is also the way in which you present it, and in that way this assignment has meant a lot. For instance the charts that show up upon opening an assignment or project are an abstracted reflection on themselves, without a word yet being spoken.

Extra curricular ActivitiesPlease select any of the extra-curricular activities.

Lucid Committees

During the past semester, I have seated in three committees at the study association Lucid. Not only does this show a certain degree of commitment, but there also some relevant learning experiences that I gained.

For instance, as a member of the Sports committee, I organized the football tournament. Such experiences make you become aware of what aspects need to be dealt with when organizing a relatively large event: the venue, materials, people, and most important: good communication towards the participants.

In the intro committee this experience will be expanded further, when events with even more participants are organized. I feel such experiences contribute to becoming more independent, pro-active and more communicative.

Smaac World Cup Brainstorm

I have taken part in Smaac’s World Cup Brainstorm. Here a group of 8 clients (among others Coca Cola, Bavaria and Pringles) was present to give specific guidance to groups working for their case. My group was cooperating with Bavaria, and we had to come up with a free item to give away during the World Cup in South Africa, 2010.

I learned to brainstorm with a certain mindset in mind. Bavaria is known as a beer for easy-going people. Not a lot of fuzz, just grab a Bavaria. With this in mind we came up with ideas that could make life even easier as it is. For instance a grappler with which you can grab your beer from a slightly longer distance, so that you do not even have to sit up in order to take your beer. On top of it all, it was a very good experience to be in such close contact with a client, as he was joining in the brainstorm.