Professional Identity
All my life I have been interested in creative activities, doing art projects and photography. I wanted to develop myself as an Industrial Designer so I could transform my creativity into serviceable concepts and products, creating something that is valuable to somebody else. I tend to have the urge to constantly feel useful, with a purpose which is visible in my work ethic. Throughout my projects I aim to be professional and passionate, as I strongly believe that this concludes in the best end result.
It is my passion to work as a human-centered designer. I have naturally always been interested in people and psychology, how they work, why they act in a certain matter, what is going on inside their head and how they interact. Because my main area of expertise is User & Society, I treat the user as a base for my projects. Through both user-centered and participatory design with an inclusive goal, the user plays an enormous role in various stages of my design processes and beyond. I prefer to utilize user research methods like interviews, co-creation techniques and brainstorm sessions with end-users to produce the most suitable solutions. In this way I want to treat the user in an equal manner by not only valuing them during, but also beyond the design process to see the impact of the design.
Throughout my development as an Industrial Designer, I have gained several important skills and insights about myself. As decision-making is not my strongest skill because I want to be sure that I have done the correct thing, I prefer to make plannings with deadlines, so I remind myself when a certain decision must be made. In this way I am less likely to get stuck in the process. Besides this, I am a learner and observer, it is important to research to ground the actions and to look at the user group and interact with them. I strongly believe that knowledge can be gained from learning during and throughout a process.
During collaborations I tend to take the role of the group leader because I enjoy the organizational aspect of group work. As for more practical designer skills, I have been developing a lot in the field of Creativity and Aesthetics by taking on several graphic design tasks. I feel comfortable prototyping, both low and high fidelity, and making ideas tangible. I enjoy translating ideas from thoughts to visualizations.
Vision
I see design a method of problem solving. And a great starting point for problem solving is by looking at the struggles of the user in their daily life. Therefore, I believe that the user should play the key role in the design process. In this way, designers will make less assumptions about the needs and requirements defined by users. My mission is to (co-)create the most suitable product or service possible for the intended user.
An issue that not only triggers me on a personal level but also as a designer is inequality. As this is also one of the strongest factors of global issues, I believe this is an urgent problem that must be solved. Of course, design is not the only solution to this problem. However, I do believe that design can contribute and take responsibility in this through inclusive design. This means that during design processes it is crucial to consider, understand and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities. As a designer that has the need to feel useful, I feel obliged and passionate to create solutions that treat people in an equal matter.
Another global issue that results in my values for design is global warming. We cannot ignore the fact that design has also been the cause of problems, especially looking at the negative impact of mass production on the globe. Therefore, I will not only look at how our products and services are the most suitable and inclusive for the user, but I also aim to be aware, design with correct intentions, and consider the impact that we have as designers.
Future
My plan for my future as a designer is to continue with my Master of Industrial Design at the Technical University of Eindhoven. Because I see myself working for a company in a multidisciplinary team, I have decided to follow the master track of Research, Design and Development. I want to further specialize myself in the expertise areas of User & Society and Creativity and Aesthetics through following electives and extracurricular activities. In this way, I further hope to develop my identity and vision as a user-centered designer.