As a result of my critical attitude towards injustice, I aim to provide users with a luxury they would not or less easily access without my design. As a sensing person, I believe that actual value is being designed, when significant emotional value is added to one’s daily life. I strongly believe in the emotional value of the feeling you belong. The same value goes for offering comfort and luxury for a price that is accessible for all; inclusiveness. I, therefore, feel like designing for user groups that are less represented by society.
I believe that the above can be realized through the products ability to adapt. Through new and old digital and physical combinations of techniques, this can be achieved. As an industrial designer, I feel responsible to define and provide the value of (new) technologies to their users. Products integrated with new technology, providing innovative solutions in daily life, are often designed for users who already have access to luxury and comfort and in such a way that they sabotage the richness of a physical experience. Also, developers seem to ignore the fact that a physical world could very probably keep existing. As an industrial designer, I can be the creative link defining and validating values and applications, in order to make the everyday luxury and comfort that new technologies can bring, accessible in a way that extends the physical now, instead of replacement.
The use of a design causes the impact of a design. Behaviors, values, habits, trends, and needs change all the time. In order for designs to become inclusive and future-proof, a design needs to be seamlessly integrated into the user’s lifestyle, for which thorough integration of the user is needed within the process. As a designer, I will never design something that is (only) for myself to use, which makes knowing the values, habits, trends, and needs that drive the future potential user so incredibly valuable. Altogether, this makes me aspire to follow user-centered design approaches creating designs that create an impact on users’ daily lives.
I strongly admire simplicity. I think that we often lose ourselves in the possibilities of new technology and thereby make things overly complex or extensive as a result of a hurried ideation and conceptualization phase without broad exploration. Also, this results in users losing their connection with integrated technologies, which often leads to frustrations. I find that, although simplicity is often harder to reach within complex matters, it is able to have a bigger, more sustainable, and lasting impact.
This one-day design called the mirror key cabinet is designed for family homes to make the storage and access of keys of multiple individuals effortless and safe. The mirror functions as a face recognizer, actuating the movement of the right key hook, to grab or place a key.
This project matches my vision in two dimensions as it could add comfort and luxury on a daily basis through a physical product and it involves a rather new technology of face recognition. Debatable is if, although it was aimed, the third dimension could be achieved. If the concept would remain a budget product regardless of the integrated technology, it could also tick the box of designing for the less represented user group.
Blindcut is a box-cutter designed for blind individuals during Engineering design. The lid exists of pressure sensors able to actuate the lock in the hinge. This way, if both hands are put on the top, pushing down the blades without contact, the pushing movement was unlocked.
Throughout this project, I recognized the power and comfort of a multidisciplinary team. Also, the project matches all dimensions of my vision as it is designed for a less represented user group, provides them an everyday use value through a physical product and involves rather new technology.
This meatball was 3D-printed and exists of puree. This product was designed for individuals with chewing and swallowing difficulties. This meatball would remain processable, without loosing too much other sensory elements of this meat meal component.
This project matches my vision as it involves an everyday physical product, even though it would not remain the same physical product. It certainly answers the needs of a less represented user group and lastly, involves the new technology of 3D-foodprinting.