Contact me: claudia.vandenboom@hotmail.com
My B1.1 semester was my first acquaintance with Industrial Design. I started to develop my skills as an Industrial Designer. For this, I first got familiar with the design process, learned about setting goals and created my very first concept in a design team.
From Idea to Design
This course gave me a basic understanding of the design process. I got to know the different tasks and roles in a design team and began to recognize my interests. Working in a team was new. I had to get used to different opinions and I was struggling with expressing mine. I did not know yet what I wanted, and I had a reserved attitude. This made me realize, it was important to find out what kind of designer I wanted to be.
Use - Quality of Life
For USE, I followed courses of the learning line ‘Quality of Life’. During these courses, I worked in teams with Industrial Designers with more experience than I had. At first, this made me feel insecure. However, soon I found my strengths and weaknesses and I gained confidence; I had value to add to the projects. I learned to deal with scientific information by writing reports, I learned the link between engineering and ethics and I gained experience with creating a concept linked to theory. Quality of Life was a topic that drew my attention.
Calculus & Applied Physics
At first, my attitude towards those courses was negative. I was afraid of calculations and did not see it as my strongest point. However, during the courses, I realized it was important to master the basis of calculus and physics to be able to communicate my ideas to all stakeholders. Also, I realized basic calculations may be necessary for prototyping certain concepts. When I knew the courses were important for my development, my attitude changed and I came to like ‘puzzling’ with the numbers. It was still not great at it, but I felt confident in choosing the right methods for prototyping.
Creative Programming
Since I got to know the different parts of the design process, I understood programming was a very important skill to have as an Industrial Designer. My expectations of my skills in programming were low since I expected programming to be very difficult. This appeared to be true because I found the lectures hard to follow at first. Therefore I tried it myself and I developed the ability to learn new things by myself. By trial-and-error, the help of peers and the lecturer, I learned to work with Arduino and Processing. My skills in understanding programming language improved, and I learned how different purposes relate to different programming platforms.
At the end of this semester, I understood the basic competencies an Industrial Designer should develop, my B1.2 semester an opportunity to set goals. My first design project allowed me to apply the knowledge I gained so far.
Designing for the User Experience
During my first semester, my interest in developing products that match the user’s needs became clear. Therefore, I followed Designing for the User Experience so I could learn how to get insight into the needs and wishes of the user. This elective taught me to apply different methods to gain insight into the user’s perspective, such as a diary study and using cultural probes. This knowledge was valuable to apply in future projects since I had a better understanding of what method to apply when I needed to get insight into a particular problem or need.
Project 1 - Lula
My very first design project was a great opportunity for me to apply my gained knowledge and skills so far. In the project, I focused on retrieving information from the user and developing the prototypes. In the beginning, I thought that when you have a problem, a solution can be created and that solves the problem. By involving the users in the process and by talking to experts, the concept was defined and I realized multiple iterations should be done to get to a concept that matches the user’s needs. I found my interest for improving quality of life for people who experience difficulties in their daily life because of a disease or other drawbacks. The project aimed to create a solution for support stockings which are difficult to put on. An inflatable support stocking that can be wrapped around the leg was proposed.
Year 1
PAST
During my B2.1 semester, I wanted to develop my skills in prototyping, since I figured this was an important element of user testing. Moreover, I wanted to apply my skills in user testing.
Creative Electronics
During my first year, I already learned the basics of coding Arduino and Processing. The course Creative Electronics taught me how to apply skills in testing, building and designing prototypes. During this course, I developed my practical skills in building circuits. At first, I knew what to program but I did not know when I should program it. This course made me understand what sensors and actuators should be used during a project. These were valuable skills and knowledge because I learned how to deal with electronics when I came up with a concept that involved prototyping.
Project 2 - Somnos
The second project I worked on, focused on creating a solution for frequent travelers that have to deal with the consequences of a jetlag. During this project, I developed myself as a more leading team member. I kept the overview of the process, the overall aim of the project and the tasks that should be done. At first, this role felt unfamiliar but during the project, I developed my communication skills and I found that I like the role of keeping an overview on the general challenge. I developed my skills in building prototypes by coming up with the shape for the concept and focusing on the used material. I sewed multiple prototypes so the final prototype fitted the body shape and the needs of the user. Also, I conducted and analyzed qualitative user tests to validate the concept.
During my B2.2 semester, I wanted to deepen my knowledge of how design is related to business since I found I wanted to set up my own business. Also, I gained knowledge in doing design research, which was still very new to me.
Project 3 - Design Research Vitality
This was my first design research project, yet I had gained a basic understanding of how to conduct research during ‘Design Research’. The project focused on researching the impact of a mirror on the self-esteem of young women with skin problems. In the beginning, I was not sure how I could apply my designer skills in this project. During the process, I learned design research was also about doing iterations and a designer mindset was needed. I found reading papers and looking at other experiments inspired me and gave me a better understanding in the problems people might experience. My skills in prototyping were improved by building a mirror or wood with an integrated screen. My main role was to communicate with stakeholders and participants. During the project, I realized I like to focus on improving mental health and improving quality of life. This was a focus I wanted to explore further.
User-Centered Design
This course deepened my knowledge in gaining insights into the user experience. I learned new methods to conduct user research such as analyzing an interview and using paper mockups to validate a prototype. This course made me realize it is not only important to involve users in the process to find their needs and to validate a prototype, it is also important to test the usability of prototypes.
Setting up Your Business
I discovered my interest in setting up my own business. Therefore, I followed the elective Setting Up your Business. The course taught me the basics of setting up a start-up, the importance of managing stakeholders and writing a business plan. I discovered my entrepreneurial mindset and I decided I wanted to learn more about how a concept can be sold in the market.
Exploratory Sketching
I think that sketching is a valuable skill to have as a designer since it is a fast and easy way to communicate ideas and often an idea cannot only be communicated verbally or textual. Since I experienced difficulties with communicating my ideas to other team members, I decided to improve my skills in sketching. I learned to communicate my ideas on paper and how to emphasize different perspectives or parts of the design. I learned it sketching is not about making beautiful drawings, but about conveying a message and about exploring new ideas. By making a lot of sketches, I got more confident in communicating my ideas on paper.
Year 2
At the beginning of my third year, I prepared myself for my Final Bachelor Project. I was an intern at Innovation Booster to explore my interest in setting up my own company and I followed the course Design Innovation Methods.
Internship Innovation Booster
For nineteen weeks, I was an intern at the company Innovation Booster. I learned new methodologies for creating designs that match the user’s needs and have market potential. Moreover, I improved my skills in conveying information and ideas on paper. At the beginning of my internship, I was insecure about how I could work in such a fast-growing company as an Industrial Designer. However, I found my creative and entrepreneurial mindset added value to the company. By getting involved in different projects, I increased my communication, collaboration and planning skills. The internship gave me insight into the fact that I like to focus on the conceptualization stage of the design process and that I like to focus on the business impact of a design.
Design Innovation Methods
At the beginning of this course, I had a negative attitude towards the Value in Product approach since I was confident about the other approaches I learned during my internship. However, during the course, I found that the approach could create value and was effective. I learned a new approach to analyze the market value of a concept and to create concepts that match the user’s needs. I learned this approach does not have an order of steps. I found a combination of the approach I learned during my internship and the approach used in this course would be an ideal combination for me. The ideal design process for me would start by analyzing the user’s needs with tests and defining a problem statement. Then I would look at consumer trends and analogies and product qualities. Next, I would start brainstorming, building, testing and iterating on this. Finally, my concept would be validated and the product qualities and consumer trends would be revised. I think this design process would help me create a product that matches the user’s needs, but also has market potential. In my final bachelor project, this method was applied.
Year 3
All activities I did during my Bachelor Industrial Design have made a contribution to me, as a designer. The activities that had the largest impact on my development as an Industrial designer are described below.
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