| Personal Development Plan //25.09.14
Tamara Hoogeweegen 3rd year bachelor Industrial Design University of Technology coach: Ellis Bartholomeus
I DESIGN POETIC PRODUCTS THAT INTEGRATE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND HAVE A CLASSIC AND WORLDLY FEEL
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I’m Tamara Hoogeweegen, a 3rd year Industrial Design student, with a specific interest in wearable technology and smart materials. Through this development plan of mine I want to set up my goals for coming semester. While doing this I take into account my past developments, my present thoughts and current experiences and take a deeper look into my distant future.
I’m 24 years old and I have a bachelor degree in Public Administration and Organization science with many extra curricular courses and completed the honors program. I started a second bachelor because Industrial Design excites me more as it combines what makes me happy in everyday life: cultures, society, aesthetic, solving problems and being creative.
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| IDENTITY
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Furthermore I find the look of objects important. I like simple forms, geometry, basic colors, classic looks, contrast and elegance. I particularly care about clothing as it is a way to express yourself. It influences perceptions and creates variety.
The type of designer I’ll be, will reflect my background, knowledge, taste and interests. As I grew up I experienced different cultures, languages and countries. Which helped me develop a so called ‘cultural intelligence’.
“Style - all who have it share one thing: originality” -Diana Vreeland (notable fashion editor)
“Cultural intelligence means being skilled and flexible about understanding a culture, learning more about it from your ongoing interactions with it, and gradually reshaping your thinking to be more sympathic to the culture and your behavior to be more skilled an appropriate when interacting with others from the culture.” -Thomas, D.C. and Inkson K.C. (14-15, 2009) “Cultural intelligence: People skills for global business”, Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Fransisco, CA.
As my b1.1 coach, Maarten Versteeg described my showcase design: “CLASSIC and WORLDLY” This is how I would like to describe myself as a designer. “Classic and Worldly” I define as being engaged in worldly interests, possessing a practical and often sharp understanding of human affairs. It’s related to the temporal world. Having clear aesthetic choices, it’s timeless, neat and refined. In the following blog I’ve collected images that appeal to me intuitively: tamaratomoro.tumblr.com.
Cultures and diversity, intrigue me as these aspects live amongst each other. The variety can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts, but this variety in points of view and interpretation offers many opportunities and richness.
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| VISION
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In the current evolving world I see the following:
society
ow I see design in society and what is my role in this? That’s what I clarify in this overview.
___ after
Big companies used to have a lot of power, and most of the consumers followed.
technology
___ before
___ This is where I as a designer come in:
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The way society has been organized is shifting with the upcoming crowd sourcing, 3D printers and open source platforms. Society is getting more power into their own hands.
Technology may seem But it’s also works empowering and it makes things to many people. alive.
scary. difficult. strange.
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I create POETIC DESIGNS that integrate
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___ I call my designs:
- CLASSIC & - WORLDLY This means being engaged in worldly interests, possessing a practical and often sharp understanding of human affairs. It’s related to the temporal world. Having clear aesthetic choices, it’s timeless, neat and refined.
what are poetic designs to me?
Poetic designs touch the magical side of life. Being poetic, is associated with being emotional, human, ungraspable, romantic, dreamy, and full of imagination. Overall it can be said that it doesn’t have practical purposes. Poetic designs need to be analyzed to be able to comprehend, then you’ll get to the details and the different meanings. To analyze poetic designs, they need to be experienced with the senses, you need to feel it. Poetry takes you closer to the human side.
what are innovative technologies to me? I believe that innovation is the only way forward. And I believe that it is my role as a designer to integrate these innovative technologies into new designs. Innovative technologies can in my eyes be - a new way of using materials, - the use of intelligent techniques or - new technologies.
___ So how do these two come together? While integrating technology in my designs I want them to be poetic. Meaning, merging:
interactive products
rationality and irrationality pragmatism and dreams cold and warm colors Poetry evokes the human side, creates layers for understanding and touches the emotions of people. While the technology addresses the pragmatic issues
In the current world where technology in products is becoming almost inevitable, interaction design has become more important. The convergence of interaction and product design, you could call ‘interactive product design’. As these products become more intelligent and more complex, they also become more complicated in use.
In the case of these new ‘interactive products’ I think they should be designed in a way that they are still relatively easy to use and the interaction itself should also be designed. If one also takes the interaction into account in the design process one can still merge the technological and the poetic side in the ‘interactive products’.
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me
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES to solve problems, rise awareness or create poetic experiences.
| Before 3.1 I’m particularly strong in the competencies: Form & Senses + Communication + Teamwork + Ideas & Concepts + Social Cultural Awareness + Self Directed & Continuous Learning. When it comes to Integrating Technology, I’m not a fan of integrating technology for the sake of it, I like looking for alternatives such as using the characteristics of a material to achieve what you want.
| GOALS During this semester I’ll be doing internships in the field I want to specialize in; wearable technology and smart materials. First 5 weeks as an assistant of Marina Toeters during the European Textile Traineeship (ETT) at the Textile Museum. Then 4 months at Studio Bradley Rothenberg in New York. To make sure I develop what I want and have a guideline on how to approach these internships, in the following pages I’ll set up some goals I’d like to reach, related to the competencies. On a more abstract level what I want to reach this semester is to get more experience in the field of wearable technology from people outside the TU, and for me to get more knowledge on how to make certain things (develop my making skills).
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Ideas & Concepts + Form and Senses + Integrating technology <S:> I want to learn about the techniques of textiles and yarns to know its characteristics. <R:> Only by knowing and understanding the materials better one can innovate with it, and make the step towards smart-textiles. One needs to know the core first. <M&A:> I will report the things I learned in my dummy. <T:> After ending the Internship.
28.08.14-24.09.14 Assistant ETT in Textile Museum To learn about textiles to see how they can be used in the field of smart textiles. I’ll do this by assisting Marina Toeters as coach and by being closely involved in the projects done by the participating students. I’ll help out Marina as much as I can in the workshop to build a soft circuit. Also in anyway the students can use additional help in the form of hand work, critical view, soft circuits, programming, knowledge in electronics and smart textiles.
Communication + Ideas & Concepts + Form & Senses + Social Cultural Awareness + Integrating Technology <S:> I had a role as assistant I was a link between teacher(s) and students. In this position communication was important in different ways. <R:> By getting involved and close to this kind of projects and assisting textile design students, the organization and Fashion Innovation teachers, I get to learn a lot about this specific field and create contacts one could work with in the future. <M&A:> I’ll ask feedback about my role as assistant to Marina, the students and Ellen Sillekens (ETT coordinator). I’ll write a reflection on my role as assistant before reading their feedback and then I’ll reflect on it again with the feedback. <T:> After ending the Internship.
Self Directed & Continuous Learning <S + R:> As it wasn’t defined what my role would be, by being there and acting proactively I got to learn as much as possible and be as helpful as possible. <M+A+T:> My proactive behavior is reflected overall during the internship.
| Looking for an internship. Setting up my portfolio and writing a good e-mail was very exciting to me and I learned a lot from it. In how to approach writing the e-mail: short, to the point, fun but formal. hen I received replies and started to realize people are interested to work with me, it was, and still is, pretty cool! 9
Social Cultural Awareness _ Teamwork _ Communication _ Designing Business Processes _ Designing Business Models _ Design and Research Processes _ Ideas and Concepts
01.10.14-20.01.14 Intern at Studio Bradley Rothenberg
As I will be working in a completely different environment I will learn about their company culture but also a whole lot more that New York City has to offer.
“Located at the intersection of design and technology, Bradley Rothenberg is focused on making 3D printed textiles, jewelry and accessories a viable and accessible reality. With the goal of unlocking the potential that 3D printing has to forever change the design, and manufacturing of textiles jewelry and accessories, the studio explores 3D printing’s potential to create complex objects that could not be made in other ways.” - Website bradleyrothenberg.com
By interning in a studio and working in a rather small team this will be a new way of working for me. I will learn how this is on a professional level. I will have to communicate to my superior and my fellow colleagues. Through out the design/ work process communicating will happen in different ways, verbally and visually.
As Bradley Rothenberg works in the field I’m interested in I approached them. I also had internship option at studio Francis Bitonti and at Di Mainstone. I specifically choose for Bradley Rothenberg as I felt during the Skype meetings that I would get more responsibilities and that I would be able to work closer to the designer, while in the other cases not so much.
Integrating Technology I will develop my, what I call, digital crafting skills: 3D modeling. As at the studio they 3D print in the field of wearables. I will learn how it is to integrate this technology into a field which at first sight is rather contradictory as it are usually soft materials which are worn.
When I’ve started at the studio I’ll have a better impression of what my internship will look like. Then I’ll be able to make a better planning and rewrite my goals in a SMART way.
During the 4 months I’ll document my internship in my dummy and also visually as much as possible. At the end of this intership I’ll evalluate my work with my superior(s). Then I’ll write a reflection combined with visuals, for my final exhibition.
Basically I expect to experience in the studio how all the different competencies come together.
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| AFTER B3.1 During this semester I want to take in as much as possible and based on that, start thinking on my final bachelor project. Like an (almost) continuously running program in the back on my mind. Furthermore Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll start orientate on options for my Masters. Therefor I need to be aware of deadlines, requirements and my personal wishes. . . . . . . .
Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always secretly dreamt of moving to New York, but who would have thought that would happen so soon! So who knows what the future could bring!
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much more to come...
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