I design interactive technologies that foster physical and mental wellbeing
FINAL MASTER PROJECT
timeline
09.2024 – NOW
COMPANY
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02.2022 – NOW
COURSE PROJECT
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02.2024 – 06.2024
FINAL BACHELOR PROJECT
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02.2023 – 06.2023
INTERNSHIP PROJECT
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09.2022 – 11.2022
What motivates me to design
Who am i as a designer
The world is facing a growing wellbeing crisis (KFF, 2022; RIVM, 2023; Trimbos, 2022; CBS, 2022). This has negative consequences for everyone and everything around us. Therefore, the trend needs to be reversed, but how? When could you reflect on your life and say you feel well? I believe this is one of the most important questions to ask yourself, since it gives you direction for how to use the limited time you have alive. I am guided by a well-known quote, attributed to Confucius:
(Goodreads, n.d.).
First, the baseline is established; physical health comes first, so technology and design should care for this. From here, other wants emerge. Philosophies like Existentialism and Stoicism define self-development as the true progression towards being well (Sartre, J. P., & Mairet, P., 1960; Inwood, B., 1985), with which I agree. In my personal experience, working on myself and learning are foundational to my wellbeing. My discipline and self-knowledge have built my confidence and resiliency tremendously from where I started as a child. They enable better career opportunities, relationships, and physical wellbeing. Moreover, they enable me to deal with everything else that is beyond my control. Short-term (physical and mental) discomfort or struggle is inherently required for self-development and long-term wellbeing (Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G., 1995; Park, C. L. et al, 1996). I believe this is often overlooked by technology. When striving for great and immediate ease, any less convenient activity falls prey, as we tend to prioritize what is easy now over potential future benefits (Ainslie, 1975). Take smartphones for example; they are remarkable for their instant access to information and social connection. However, exactly this ease and multi-functionality is the danger, negatively affecting wellbeing (Abi-Jaoude, Naylor & Pignatiello, 2020).
To realize the vision of designing wellbeing-promoting technologies requires removing or reducing the conflict between present and future selves, accounting for both short-term and long-term wellbeing. Firstly, technologies should always respect and promote physical wellbeing by being safe for sustained use. Secondly, as established above, long-term wellbeing comes from within, not from technology. Consequently, the role of technology needs to be supportive rather than controlling. It should be unobtrusive by limiting its features and being directed at a singular application context. Otherwise, it risks competing with your attention for more challenging (thus growth-enabling) activities. In its context, the technology should be aesthetic, understandable, effective, and reliable. Designers should be conscious of the cognitive load of technology (Baumeister et al, 2007; Sweller, 2011). If technology depletes willpower, motivation, or mental resources, it negatively affects the user’s ability to deal with other challenges and grow.
To truly be supportive in the long term, technologies can enable users to observe progress and trends and prompt self-reflection. In doing so, availability bias can be mediated by supplementing readily available information with more context (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973). This implies the need to collect and communicate data. To do so sustainably, technology should be personalizable to grow with the user’s skills, knowledge, and requirements. I believe personal informatics (PI) systems are the embodiment of this. As defined by Li, I. et al, these
(Li, I., et al, 2010).
Smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and Garmin series are examples of PI systems. In communicating data for self-development, I advocate for a more embodied design approach to aid engagement, understanding, and reflection (Jansen, Y. et al., 2015; Ishii, H., Ullmer, B., 1997).
My vision on technology aligns with parts of the EU’s vision for Industry 5.0, focused on sustainability and wellbeing of industry workers. They propose that technology should serve people by prioritizing physical and mental wellbeing, autonomy, self-development, and work-life balance (European Commission, 2021). I will be realizing my vision by conceptualizing new intra-logistics technologies at EPHI based on the aforementioned design principles. With this, the people working with these technologies stay more physically and mentally well, leading to higher life satisfaction and productivity, making themselves and the industry flourish.
As a designer, I am skilled in translating high-tech concepts to experiential prototypes through expertise in technical prototyping and project management, and theoretical knowledge of experience and interaction design. I leverage these skills to operate on the intersection of design and engineering, specializing in the Expertise Areas Technology & Realization and Creativity & Aesthetics. I believe in clear communication, taking responsibility, and being thorough. According to my peers and supervisors, this makes me easy to work with. Additionally, I am experienced in managing (multi-disciplinary) design processes, where my eye for detail and organization, combined with high empathy, help me achieve productive and enjoyable collaborations.
Bowling Karapun, founder of EPHI
I am not the most naturally divergent thinker, precise engineer, or confident entrepreneur, nor do I want to be one of those exclusively. Rather, I prefer to operate on a meta-level to align a vision throughout a project. I am skilled in thinking outside the boundaries of individual disciplines. I brainstorm with the creatives to develop a concept that is both novel and feasible, which I effectively translate into a technical prototype. Together with the engineers, I iterate on the prototype, where I oversee quality in the experience and interactions. Lastly, I build a convincing design case, pitch, and marketing materials with the business-minded. Throughout this process, I always remain hands-on. I believe a sketch speaks a thousand words and a prototype speaks a thousand sketches. I identify with a quote from Peter Skillman, Head of Design of Philips:
All my life, I have been mostly driven by two things. Firstly, the need to create, and secondly, the need to develop. The majority of my hobbies involve creating: LEGO, drawing, videography, making-related videogames, and later, PC building and electronics projects. Next to that, I spend my time playing various sports and studying, and I have become known for rarely being satisfied in these areas. Regarding my interests, I have always been fascinated by technology and obsessed with staying healthy. Consequently, the only profession I ever wanted was to be an “inventor”, developing technology to help people. This inspired me to study Industrial Design and still fuels my design vision and activities.
In my studies, I shaped these values and interests into my professional identity. I developed a particular interest in microelectronics and programming, which became a major strength. Pitfalls in my design skills and processes are overthinking solutions, constraining creative concept development, and overemphasizing a technology push over context awareness. To mitigate these, I built a repertoire of low-fi prototyping techniques to quickly iterate through concepts and immerse myself in the context of my designs to create a better understanding.
I used extracurricular activities to further develop my creative, technical, and entrepreneurial expertise; the branches of my broad profile. I designed various promotional materials. Additionally, I set up a company with friends where we develop and rent out an interactive festival installation. Finally, this year, I set out to explore engineering and design in more real-life settings, for which I joined EPHI to graduate, an Innovation Space Entrepreneurship course, and the TU/e contest. These activities are essential for realizing my design vision and enable me to be impactful with my designs, since they ground my design decisions in a real-world problem context and teach me to better evaluate the feasibility and viability of my designs.
In the current market, the broad profile that I developed is exceedingly rare; many studies teach you to excel in one expertise. However, companies need people with broad profiles for experts to thrive. This need and my fit have been validated by EPHI since I got a position as Project Manager. They benefit from my creativity, technical knowledge, vision, and communication skills since I need to conceptualize new technologies, work hands-on to realize these technologies, internally manage a team of engineers, and externally manage stakeholder expectations. The first project that I am currently managing aligns with my FMP and vision: re-designing PostNL’s unloading procedure for oversized packages to be safer and more ergonomic. To be doing this is a unique opportunity that I am well-equipped and excited for, and that brings my vision closer to reality.
Relevant software that I have a professional affinity with
Relevant engineering competences
Relevant design competences
Project management and collaboration
Theoretical knowledge of design processes and methods
Relevant personal qualities