Creativity Additional Portfolio

Creativity in thinking

Like I told by explaining my identity, I’m a curious person and my previous and current jobs are pointing out that I have a lot of experience with finding ways to solve problems, which goes hand in hand with a lot of creative thinking. Design thinking is hot nowadays, but while looking back, I used this "method" for over years, which feels very conveniënt for me in design processes. Besides that, I also expressed my creativity by paintings, photos, making fashion and so on while using different kind of technics and materials. You can find this in a portfolio containing work of the period before TU/e on the page Additional Portfolio. I’m used to combine knowledge of different areas which can lead to unexpected but proper and useful solutions.
I was already used to brainstorming, but get familiar with different technics for brainstorming and ideating at the TU/e, such as using IDEO cards and so on. Through those experiences I could form an opinion about what works for me at which moment and what could be useful technics for a team ideation process.

Creativity in user experiences

I can enjoy designing just in a way I like it, but I also feel comfortable and satisfied in going through several iteration rounds, involving feedback from colleagues and users in the design processes to make the design as suitable as possible for the users.
For example in my first project “Smart Moves” we should make a devise or services to help a certain target group to revalidate. We choose the target group of people with Osteoporose and we want to stimulate them to train, while a lot of them are a bit afraid of moving. In that case creativity was used to let them train inside, but on materials they could face also outside the house. This to keep the experience and recognition of moving in the outside world alive, including a certain amount of instability to train their stability. Due to serious thinking combined with creativity and try outs, I can develop an imitation of the sensible experience of walking on grass, by constructing a textile surface with dreads with slow foam under it. 
Because of my background as a massage therapist and naturopathic therapist, I will also be aware of the users haptonomic feelings related to their environment and in this project related to the form giving of the training platform and the people who can train besides them. 

Creativity in test scenarios and prototypes

Creativity can also be shown by the way I’m able to make test scenarios if I'm only able to simulate situations. In the second project I did research on winter depression and how to influence that for the better. I tested while using different sizes of a scale model, because I was not able to rebuild a total room. I also filmed in a furnished scale model while adapting different possible solutions. While showing this on a big screen, it gave a quite good impression of a real situation as you can see here.
For the elective “Unfolding Memories”, I made one concept for a piece of jewellery which has to contain technics as well. I wanted to show a moving light through a very small kind of 3-dimensional "picture", which I was not able to construct, because of having not that small parts. However, I managed to make a video of my concept which showed the idea quiet well, which should be enough for technical experts to make it in reality.  

Aesthetics

Aesthetics in different projects

By previous courses and artistic form giving I have built experience with aesthetics. I always strive to a well finished product and I’m quite perfectionistic in that. For me it is important because a well finished product gives at least the idea that there is taken care of the design and would be more convincing about the inside technology than a crappy prototype will do. So I prefer to sew fabric together instead of just glue it together and I like to use a plastic vacuum sucked form for modelling “a car” over constructing a few simple MDF planks. I had to do some concessions with my team while designing a rescue vehicle for the project of engineering design, however it was still a design which stands out in the opinion of the photographer of the Cursor, the newspaper of TU/e.  
While making a training platform for people with Osteoporosis, I tuned form giving and colours onto the users’ age and their environment. Tuning on to the user, could be a matter of doing concessions with the aesthetics, but at that edge will be also a challenge that I like. 
In another project of finding a solution to reduce the impact of a winter depression, I also did divers itteration and research around different aesthetic solutions to make it as an artificial upgrade for living rooms, instead of a hospitalizational experience. 
I worked also on aesthetics by the elective "Exploratory Sketching" as you can find on the page "Teamwork and Communication". To get an impression of my drawings, I wil insert a link here to Sketchdrive, an online platform where we had to store our work, as soon as possible.
About the aethetic quality of work done at the TU/e, I still had to do concessions, so, to get a better view on how I want to finish my work I invite you to look to my Additional Portfolio of previous work.  

Elective "Basic Form Giving Skills"

I already have experience with different kind of materials and methods of formgiving, but I like to get more experience with other materials, to be able to build nice and convincing prototypes / designs. I’m extending my knowledge and experiences to find out which material is suitable for what kind of design, how does it feel and how does it appeal to people e.g. in an interactive way.
I’m learning with trial and error, reaching the opposite of my learning goal; I have often to deal with a lack of time, so I have to get rid of my perfectionism and I’m enjoying the learning process. I have to take my hurried bad choices for granted, knowing how to take a different approach next time. I can take advantage of my way of thinking ahead in modelling processes, but sometimes I’m still learning by experiencing that it would be better if I had done things in a different order.