Present

The Present section describes my competencies in Design and Research Processes, as well as each of the Expertise Areas, by reflecting on these skills and their integration into my Final Master Project (FMP).

Design & Research Processes (DRP)

Throughout the bachelor and master Industrial Design, I explored various design approaches, including designing for rich interaction, speculative and critical design, the double diamond model and Learning Experience Design (LXD 1). Initially aiming to explore, choose and specialize in one approach, I learned to critically address and adapt different approaches to align with my personal style, applying the most suitable methods in a design process.

My personal style is a knowledge-driven and goal-oriented approach to design with a focus on the learner, involving them in various phases of the process. It involves comprehensive desk and field research, iterative and collaborative idea development, transferring them to prototypes, and testing and improving according to insights, all aimed at achieving the goal of contributing to specific learning outcomes.

This style was developed and prominently applied during my FMP, which focussed on the goal of enhancing algorithmic literacy. While adopting LXD, I adopted its methods to align with my vision. For example, LXD does not consider learning styles. From my experience in education however, I do believe people learn in different ways. By incorporating participatory design methods, I emphasized with the learner including their preferred learning styles through co-design methods.

Guiding myself with minor coaching and choosing appropriate (academic) methods, such as the Discrete Emotions Questionnaire (DEQ2), greatly shows my growth and expertise in D&RP. Additionally, reflecting upon my role as designer and the integration of all expertise areas, I now value my broad expertise over believing specialization in a specific domain was required. I am not an expert in a specific domain, but have knowledge and skills to guide a process and conduct research (D&RP), involve and consider users (U&S), generate and/or analyse data (MD&C), think creatively (C&A), realize ideas into prototypes through the use of technologies (T&R) and consider business perspectives (B&E). It enables me to connect and collaborate with individuals from different backgrounds, enhancing my impact as designer.

User & Society (U&S)

Aligning with my vision and identity, U&S has been a cornerstone of my design approach throughout both the bachelor and master. I aim to improve people their lives by creating valuable designs that address real-life problems, whether for individuals or on a societal level, which requires a deep understanding of user needs and the ability to emphasize with them.

As my focus shifted towards educational designs, the learner became the user of my designs. Using my knowledge on psychology and sociology from the pre-master Human Technology Interaction, along with my expertise and experience in education, I effectively empathize with learners and involve them as main stakeholders throughout the design process.

In my FMP, I involved learners in the ideation and testing phases through conducting qualitative and quantitative research and design methods, such as participatory design, interviews, the Discrete Emotional Questionnaire (DEQ), and playtesting. In doing so, I enriched the process and strengthened the impact of the final design for learners, and its relevance within the educational field.  

Technology & Realization (T&R)

For me, T&R is about transforming design ideas into functional prototypes using appropriate methods and technologies. This allows me to convey, discuss, test and iteratively improve design interactions.

During the master, I expanded my expertise in T&R by incorporating emerging technologies in the form of sensors, actuators and electronics with microcontrollers and the Arduino IDE. In projects I learned to utilize laser cutters for rapid prototyping and high-quality designs. Additionally, I developed skills in graphic design programs like Figma, enabling me to create realistic, clickable concepts of digital applications.

In the FMP I used and further expanded my skills by using laser cutters to create and explore the use of various prototypes of different materials, finally developing high quality physical designs and accessories for the games. I also learned to create 3D models and use 3D printers, resulting in a valuable accessory for the final design. Moreover, I expended my Figma skills by developing the back end of the digital application concept, which students experienced as a fully functional application during playtesting.

Math, Data & Computing (MD&C)

I view MD&C as valuable in two key ways. On one hand, gathering, analysing and understanding data to create insights for knowledge contribution, or to iterate and improve on designs. On the other hand, integrating computing and data in the technology of functional prototypes through using algorithms. These aspects can overlap, as designs may be embedded with technology that gathers data.

Throughout the master, I developed hard skills in data analysis required after applying quantitative research methods like the Game Experience Questionnaire 3 and the Discrete Emotions Questionnaire. While I recognize the value of quantitative methods for identifying patterns, I also appreciate the deeper insights gained from qualitative research, which often provide crucial context for the quantitative findings.

In my FMP, I integrated MD&C with T&R by learning to use algorithms and IoT to create an interactive design. This enabled smooth transitions between games and allowed the design to function convincingly as a fully operational system, even using a Wizard of Oz approach through IoT.

Creativity & Aesthetics (C&A)

In my view, C&A involves two eponymous sub-expertise areas. Creativity involves generating, selecting and refining design ideas from various perspectives through creative techniques. Aesthetics involves design appearance, considering form, function, interaction and materiality. These concepts often overlap, as creativity is required to create the aesthetics.

Throughout my master, I enhanced my skills in creativity. In projects and courses like ‘a designerly perspective on IoT’, I learned to generate design ideas that incorporated rich interaction or gamification, utilizing frameworks like Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics 4. This enables me to adapt and approach design from various perspectives across different phases of a design process.

As a knowledge-driven and goal-oriented designer, I prefer technical feasibility and achieving learning outcomes, often involving Aesthetics later.  In my FMP, aesthetics was for example integrated after testing the games, focusing on form, function and visuals of the physical design to support user interaction. However, I reckon aesthetics contribute to user experience, possibly to a learning outcome as well, and should be considered earlier in my design process.

Business & Entrepreneurship (B&E)

For me, B&E is about creating value, like U&S, but on a larger scale and from a business perspective. It involves developing unique value propositions through benchmarking, collaborating with experts and stakeholders, and creating business cases with financial models.

While I learned to develop value propositions by applying tools like the Business Model Canvas and SWOT analysis in projects, considering B&E was often done at the final stages. My FMP marked a significant shift, as I drastically enhanced my expertise in B&E by selecting a business context and developing a business design strategy early on.  Engaging with experts and involving their feedback enriched the design its value. This ultimately led to a design ready for adoption by an existing company, complete with guidelines and a business model.

This approach demonstrated how early consideration of business aspects can guide the design process and positively impact design outcomes. These skills enable me to create designs that not only contribute to learning but also deliver real-world impact through a compelling value proposition.

  1. Floor, N. (2023). This is Learning Experience Design: What it is, how it works, and why it matters. New Riders. https://lxd.org/ ↩︎
  2. Harmon-Jones, C., Bastian, B., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2016). The Discrete Emotions Questionnaire: a new tool for measuring State Self-Reported Emotions. PLoS ONE, 11(8), e0159915. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159915 ↩︎
  3. IJsselsteijn, W. A., de Kort, Y. A. W., & Poels, K. (2013). The Game Experience Questionnaire. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. ↩︎
  4. Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubek, R. (2004, July). MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. In Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI (Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 1722). ↩︎