REFLECTION MODULE | BY DOUNIA BOURJILA
ACTIVATING YOUR INNOVATION RADAR I have been looking for an opportunity to do a project together with a company, to learn and understand their thinking, their visions and to develop the communication between me as a designer and the company. Working with realistic demands also allows me to understand my role as a designer, and what I could offer a company. COMPANY - I was assigned to worked with Toyota, but I was surprised that my team (Rhys Duindam, Gabriele Tempesta, Patrick Leijte) and I actually had to work for Toyota as if we were employees in the company. This meant we had to dive into the company, and get to know and understand it in such a small amount of time , to be able to look trough their eyes and make the right decisions for our assignment and for them. In my opinion this method gives great results, since the designer and company are not working as two separate teams, but create óne team. I also think it was a great experience because the demands from the company were very ‘realistic’.
In other words; it differs from a regular project with a client, this module offered us the opportunity to work closely with a company on a subject that is currently going on, and in which our concept could be taken in consideration by them. - It also felt as a great honor to work for such a large and well respected company such as Toyota, which made me and my team set the standards very high. Due to the short amount of time, high expectations, drive and perfectionism of my team and I, it caused a lot of pressure and hard work but has delivered us a great result and satisfaction in my opinion. THE ASSIGNMENT
-The assignment we got was a big challenge in the way that the designspace had to be defined otherwise the concept could also become too vague. What really set the basis of the concept and what I learned a lot from are theories such as ‘changing the meaning of designs’, Product Service System theory (from the papers), and the ‘U-process’. They made me immediately see that innovation couldn’t come from how we currently see things. Our paradigm/glasses had to be adjusted, and from then one can see how certain things can be connected, and where gaps need to be filled. The PSS theory helped giving form to our new paradigm/ way of looking at the current and future situations. VISION
-These aspects also helped me develop my vision; together with my project (Beyond Accessory) I discovered where I always seek the challenges. I found out that I like to take stereotypes under a magnifying glass, and even break them. I believe that innovation doesn’t necessarily have to be in radical new things, but can be in hidden existing things, in history. They are hidden because we place a stereotypical image on them and don’t make the effort to look a layer deeper. I think if one does, there is still a lot to be found in what there is now and has been. Therefore I support the idea of changing the meaning of things, in how we understand them now. Also concerning the coming years where consumers paradigm on consumption and life will be completely different from what we had: I think people will be looking for meanings in life, and also things that are meaningful to them. Therefore I think it is very important to look at the things in their current state. - I also learned another way of design, and I have seen how a designer could play a different role in the company that what people normally expect: thinking from out of the perspective of the company first instead of a product. I think this way of ‘strategic design’ is very interesting which I would like to know more about. What I also found very great during this module, is that companies could finally see that Industrial Designers (as we are educated in Eindhoven) are not people that can only give form to their products, but can play a very important role in the success of a company on a strategic level. Hopefully this way more companies will specifically ask for Industrial Designers from Eindhoven!
TEAMWORK AND ATTITUDE
As for the teamwork I think we have worked in a very risky but interesting way. The one week was very hectic and challenging. Our first presentation where we presented an initial idea appeared to be on the right track. This gave me at least more confidence to develop it further. The second presentation was our first one for Toyota, which was very exciting, however it didn’t go as we expected. Toyota didn’t seem to understand our idea, which caused some frustration from our side. From this we learned that our communication really needs to be adjusted and adapted to the target group; a non-designer might not have the imagination that we have to visualize the concept, therefore we as designers need to visualize the most things as possible. We realized the concept just wasn’t defined enough and our way of presenting was very messed up. Failing is painful, and in the beginning the confidence dripped away a little bit. But the four had a maximum drive and desire to succeed in this project, and what helped is that we agreed on the same vision from the beginning; we had the same picture in our mind. This belief made us trust each other 100%, because we decided to tell the concept in a story, since the success convincing people of a concept consists from 80% storytelling and 20% content. For this self-narrative movie it was necessary that we divided roles. But due to time limits (we actually had one day, thursday) we all started at the same time meaning that we discussed the storyboard together to make sure we are going the same direction. But we didn’t sit together on each part such as the text, the images, the animation, and the final editing, we trusted our intuition and each other that all these pieces will fall together in the right way. We didn’t only take a risk in our teamwork, but also in the choice of the concept: I saw the most in a concept for the future as well as my teammates, with a future scenario. In general companies are not waiting for these kinds of things, since it is not realistic to realize now, but I think a company can still be inspired with many aspects in the concept that cán be worked out now. SENSING
We started by sensing what mobility means to us, which was the first step for me to see how one could trigger and stimulate his/her intuition and open the heart to the surroundings. The first time sensing went wrong, because due to time limits, I made a decision with my mind and not with my heart: I defined mobility as the (in)convenience of transporting luggage, while what mobility really means to me is a part of my daily life where I rethink my life- a zen moment. This last thing appeared to be the basis of our concept after a couple of days! So I have used my intuition unawarely during defining the concept. SKILLS
Concepts of products and systems often come with stories which are difficult to visualize sometimes. I found out that making a movie or a small animation with a narrating voice can cover a story very well. But still the challenge lies in whether the message a designer tries to convey is also seen the same way by the audience. Therefore it is a process of trial and error. Overall I find this a very enriching experience, and a great opportunity to finally work with companies that are genuinely interested in our ideas. I definitely would like to develop myself further in this new kind of role of a designer in a company, and I’m curious about where the concepts of all the students of this module will end up. I would like to thank the people responsible for this module for offering such a great and enriching experience, and I hope there will be more of this modules in the coming semesters.