PASSION FOR DESIGN FOR PASSION
Thomas Michiels
H
i there, I'm Thomas and this is my story.
A story of passion for design, concepts and storytelling. It started in Business Economics in Antwerp, stopped by Imagineering in Breda and took a turn after 4 years of hands-on experience in the food industry. I decided to take a chance on passion. I enrolled in the Master Integrated Product Design in the fall of 2012, and have been loving it ever since. I'm eager to get as much design experience as possible. Maybe your business can become part of the next chapter of my story.
+32 486 988 944 michiels.thomas@gmail.com
EDUCATION '03 - '07 Ma of Science in Business Administration / Lessius Hogeschool (Antwerp, Belgium) Internships:
Benin (West-Africa) > Deployement of healthcare systems and microfincancing in rural Benin - Togo > Field research & in-depth study Colussi Ermes (Italy) > Business Administration in practice > Applied research family business transition Erasmus > Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtshaft (Berlin, Germany) Master thesis “A postmodern view on brand emotions and experiences in marketing” > Construction of a theoretical framework to evaluate and construct positive brand experiences > Case: Starbucks vs Caffénation
'07 - '08 Master in Imagineering / NHTV (Breda, The Netherlands) Imagineering > Construction of the brand experience from a positive and motivating point of view Master thesis > Application at Mars BV (The Netherlands) “Imagineering the Balisto experience”
'09 - '10 Meat Processing Technology Postgraduate Meat Processing Technology / St. Lieven Hogeschool (Gent, Belgium)
Various meat processing courses / PIVA (Antwerp, Belgium)
'12 - now
Bachelor & Master in Integrated Product Design / University of Antwerp (Antwerp, Belgium)
Personalized programme with focus on design thinking, design assignments, 3D CAD modelling and materials Master thesis > Interactive toys with Lilliputiens NV (ongoing)
WORK '08 - '12 Jac. Michiels Vleeswarenfabriek NV (Antwerp, Belgium) > Production work Full time occupation
> Management of slicing department > Marketing & sales, IT, general management > Strategic design of brand portfolio & marketapproach
'12 - now
Part time occupation
> Production
'13 - now Grasgevoerd Vlees (Anwerp, Belgium) Startup with focus on grassfed beef. Premium cuts & hamburgers. summer ''13 GBO Design & Engineering (Antwerp, Belgium) Internship summer 2013
selected work Structural design Brief: Redesign of a structure for storage and charging of e-bikes as primary function. Result: Clean, modular unit with solar panels and easy access to charging facilities. Standard profiles and parts. Lessons learned: design mindset, methodological approach, CAD detailling.
selected work Experience design Brief: Capturing and displaying moving images for children age 3 to 5, based on the principles of rich interaction. Result: Handheld telescopic camera and theatre themed beamer with playback control. Tactile and ledlight feedback. Lessons learned: concept to product, rich interaction mindset, detailed model making.
selected work Focus on smart mechanics Brief: Develop an automated vehicle for applying chalk paint on sports turf. Result: A high fidelity GPS guided robot with easy interface and simple design. It consists of 2 DC motors, a small air pressure pump and 2 liquid containers. Lessons learned: Complete product design from ideation and system design through detailed CAD modeling and rendering.
extra curricular activity bunch. a workshop week product gone rogue.
Brief: design and prototype a product that can be customized, lasercut and flatpack shipped within 3 days. Result: window-mounted bird's nest with customizable front, branded bunch. Three types of fronts were developed: bird factory, keep calm and MAS (a landmark museum in Antwerp). Lessons learned: speed design, creativity methods, packaging design. Extra: > online webshop for commercialisation of bunch. > www.facebook.com/getabunch.now > direct sales via souvenir shop of the MAS museum
extra curricular activity Deadline24. Design competition in 24 hours.
Brief: Based on the principles of Universal Design, make a product in connection with the Central Station of Antwerp. Concept: The station as a perfect host for all visitors, supplying the right information, at the right time, in the right way. Result: Information pillar with multiple acces layers (audio, touch, tactile feedback and braille). The product measures the height of the user, and displays the interface at eye level. Depending on whether the user has a ticket or not, has to run to catch his train, or is on the right platform and can kill some time, the product displays a different kind of information. Lessons learned: speed design, universal design principles.
extra curricular activity Internship at GBO Design & Engineering.
Brief: Project leader on a redesign and detailing job. Lessons learned: Expanded skills on 3D modelling, project managment, fast prototyping skills, business relevance and creative skills.
extra curricular activity Crysalis Skills Tour #4: Smart Textiles
Brief: Design an object that supports a meaningful gesture, based on a 2 day workshop on designing with the body. Concept: Cocooning and relaxing, having me-time. Result: From the movement of flipping on a hoodie and tangling up in a scarf, a hooded scarf arises with a heating element in the neck and embroided speakers. Branded Electrified, this product targets 20-40 year olds and Lessons learned: designing with the body, smart textiles, detailed prototyping.
freelance 3D cad modelling Freelance 3D CAD modelling of 3D printed trophies.
logo design
skill set
future outlook
CAD & graphics Solidworks 2012 > intermediate
Internship Hands-on experience
Illustrator CS6 > intermediate Indesign CS6 > intermediate Photoshop CS6 > novice Sketching > novice
Office Word/Excel/Powerpoint > intermediate
Keynote > intermediate
Freelance Hands-on experience Programming Ruby & Rails Arduino
Soft skills People management
Leadership Creative problem solving
Language skills Dutch > mothertongue
English > fluent / frequent use French > fluent / frequent use German > intermediate / limited use
Core values Passionate
Goal getter Enthusiastic Creative
pastime '07 - 'now PPL license Joy of flight '11 - now Crossfit Strength & conditionning
c
i
ontact nformation
call: +32 486 988 944 mail: michiels.thomas@gmail.com write: Kerkstraat 120, 2060 Antwerp
PASSION FOR h ire FOR PASSION