User and Society
The user, whether it be human or non-human, is central to the design process. The ultimate goal of a designer is to have a positive impact upon this group, and improve their current state. Hence it is vital to understand the user and the context around them, in order to make the most effective design.
ITEC: Disruptive Tech.
With the rise of any new technology, many ethical dilemmas present themselves. Quantum computing serves as a great example, as it theoretically threatens and breaks the foundation of encryption that is currently in place in our society. Within this analysis, the position of different stakeholders are taken into consideration, from citizens to governmental bodies, in order to propose the best possible action to take when quantum computing becomes a reality. This project demonstrates my ability to understand different points of view within a macro-context, with a variety of interests and backgrounds, in order to inform the solutions I present as a designer. Making the resultant product not only more informed, but also effective.
Summary video explaining the Ethical Review.
Design with more-than-human worlds
Incorporating users into the design process can often provide valuable insights for the resultant product or overall project vision, especially when there is difficulty in understanding their point of view. One such project is the noticing tool made for the Weeping Willow. The design is an umbrella which is unable to close, as we wanted to force users to understand the area they take up, that will allow people to listen to the willow tree’s experiences the day prior. The creation process involved multiple activities with the Willow tree itself, cooperating with it to learn its needs and values, which was especially difficult given the discrepancy in forms of communication between us two. As a designer, this project shows my active desire to seek out and understand users of interest, even when they are more "unconventional".
Me and Thijs Rexwinkel (partner for project) with the prototype for Non-Human FM.
CBL 3: Artifact
Being capable of evaluating a design during the creative process is vital, especially when there is a very specific target group the design is being developed for. For example Artifact was a board game I helped develop which aimed to facilitate a conversation between students and teachers about the use of AI tools within an educational context. Specifically we were looking at first year university students, and therefore once the game was in a playable state a traditional user test was conducted with standardized rule explanations and questions. While only a portion of this long term project, it does show my capabilities of setting up and running academic quality tests in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a design as objectively as possible.
Resultant prototype of the CBL 3 design process