About

For years, I have made step-by-step changes to my lifestyle to reduce my impact on the climate. I have learned new skills, such as sewing my clothes and reducing waste, but improving myself is a continuous process. Throughout the years, people have often said, ‘I could never do what you are doing’. But also, ‘Because of you, I have reduced my meat consumption’. Both motivated me to put my skills into designing for sustainable lifestyle change. By changing my lifestyle, I will continue to learn and implement this by designing tools to support others in this transition.

I often find myself in conversations, listening to people’s challenges, discovering their motivations and trying to help them. One of my strengths is being a great listener and having open conversations without judgment. My analytical mindset allows me to easily map different needs and view projects from a helicopter view. This strength will enable me to dive deeper into people’s motives, which can support my decisions in the design process.

At the start of my projects, I conduct extensive research to ensure I am well-informed on the topic, which allows me to have an overview of the challenge. Once I have established sufficient background knowledge, I continue ideating concepts for the challenge. Researching before ideation ensures my project stays realistic, which I value in my designs.

My design processes are shaped to match the project goal. Even though I already understand many design methods, such as scenario thinking, prototyping, and user studies, I constantly explore and learn about new design methods. My goal is not to excel in a few methods but to have an extensive understanding of several methods, enabling me to decide which method fits the project goal the best. Matching the best method to the project goal will help my projects reach their full potential and support my vision of contributing to a sustainable planet.

To flourish as a designer, I need people in my environment who can challenge my design decisions and spark my thoughts with exciting perspectives. I work very structured

and communicative. Therefore, I often take on the role of facilitator in projects. In discussions, I am a listener who analyses perspectives and formulates conclusions to keep moving forward. In my future career, I work in an open-minded environment surrounded by creative and sustainability-oriented people.  To continuously develop myself, I focus on expanding my knowledge by researching, engaging with users to add more perspectives to my work, and learning new methods. As a designer, you often work with too little information, which made me comfortable asking for help during the process. Lastly, I will continue reflecting on my progress to ensure I develop myself in line with my vision.