Design is a carrier of values and beliefs, and as a user, you could surround yourself with all different kinds of values. In this complex mix, I believe design should focus on the momentary experience as a reflective practice. I believe that design initiatives should use bodily experiences [4] and care [7] to initiate inspiration and care. This will let creativity flow and reduce stress and anxiety [2], in a world where optimization takes the foreground.
This means that, in my design practice, I try to include slow practices [3], and make use of tools that are capable of representing the values I strive for, which are aesthetics, mindfulness and creativity. An example of this is a previous project of mine, which transformed an old analogue camera into a hybrid exploration item. By capturing an image, the user would not see the image directly, but instead get a question or prompt about what was visible in the image, to take a different look at what the camera might have seen. This represents the visual aesthetics of the old camera, becoming aware of your surroundings, and wondering about what you see.
I believe that design should slow us down. As the world is focused on optimization and speed, it becomes easy to expect that of our human self. However, we need breaks in that speed as well. Design has the task of both making work and tasks more efficient, but it also needs to set the boundaries to go slow and recover.
By redesigning the way we as a society look at our free time, this time can be spend more on long-term fulfillment, rather than short-term bursts of happiness.
I am a designer of treats. While my design experience lies with the aesthetics of Artificial Intelligence and ethics, my goal is to use the beauty of design and ethics to bring inspiration.
My projects are based on a combination of first-person perspective design approaches and involvement of users. By talking with users or people involved in the situation, nuances of the context can be spotted. Drawing on my own bodily experiences, I explore the context to gain insights for informed design decisions. My approach is driven by experience, and the prototyping and making of a design often happens only after the experience is prototyped. As in a recent project, where I took a dive into what mindfulness through bodily experiences means to me, and how such things are treated in professional context, to bring that knowledge into my own design practices.
I am eager to learn something new to achieve a goal, I have resultingly built up a set of 'skill languages' to communicate, such as sketching, programming, crafting, story building, mood boarding, and more.
I have a drive to deliver and the patience to try to understand those around me. I rely on my team and believe in using everyone's skills to invite care and inspiration into the design from the start, though I have to remind myself sometimes that that takes patience.