User & Society
In the first year I chose the elective ‘User Focus and Perspective Basics’. This course was the first course where I encountered the need to do user research. In this course I learned the whole user centred design cycle step by step and got more insight in how to do all the research and evaluation techniques.
What I really liked about this course is that it changed my view on designing. I learned to design from the user’s point of view. Especially when I did the cognitive walkthrough I was surprised how well that works to find problems of your design, when you put yourself in the shoes of the user.
In my second year of the bachelor I did my project 3 research about elderly with dementia. The participants of our field study were Dutch speaking seniors. All my group members were from different international backgrounds. Therefore, it was up to me to do the user tests. At the start of this project I was quite hesitant, because I wasn’t sure how to approach the participants in such a way that I was respectful yet engaging. The participants however were all very kind and because I had to, I quickly found the way. I had never worked with people that might have less cognitive ability. I saw that working closely with people is ever changing, and that moods of people with dementia can very quickly change. Therefore, it is important to approach your methods carefully and always have a plan B in case things do not go as planned.
In my B3.1 semester I wanted to explore some more user centered courses, because I had not yet focused on this as much as I liked. I chose to do the course ‘Introduction to psychology in technology’. In this course we had to study a book about psychology. This book really opened my eyes to what happens inside people, and why we sometimes act the way we act. It was a very diverse book, that covered ranging subjects about human behaviour, and neurology. In this course I discovered that I extremely enjoy to learn about the human mind and behaviour. Furthermore, I got inspired to focus more on the user in my future career as a designer, as humans are such complex and interesting beings.
The other course I did in this semester is ‘Socio and cultural sensitivity’. The course Socio-cultural Sensitivity is a course that introduces certain topics within a socio and cultural perspective. Such as history, interculturality, sustainability and ethics. The topics are discussed through online lectures, talks and hands-on assignments. In this course I learned more about different perspectives in history when it comes to design and art. In this course I also discovered that I am not very good at designing something without function. It is not the way I wish to go with design. I find the functions and societal influence of my designs very important.
In my second year I had already worked in a multi-cultural team within my project 3 research. From this I already learned some valuable lessons how much cultures can differ when working together. In my personal life I am also surrounded by a lot of different cultures, and I see the variety in people, and how this can sometimes cause difficulties.
So in my last semester I followed the course ‘Intercultural design’. This course gave me insights in cultural differences and what this could mean in both business and design. The book ‘Cultures and Organizations’ by Hofstede was central to this course. From this book I got a clear picture about differences per country. This book was complemented by the other papers we read throughout the course. These papers, gave more frameworks and perspectives regarding culture and ethics. In this course we learned how to alter designs, while being sensitive to the culture of our user. I found this course extremely interesting, I know better understand culture differences both in my personal and professional life.
Overall I can say that I am quite user focused. I’m interested in designing for a variety of users. However, I discovered that my designs need to have a clear function or for example a problem to solve. I think I can communicate well with a variety of users. I’ve learned a lot from courses and through experiences.
What I really liked about this course is that it changed my view on designing. I learned to design from the user’s point of view. Especially when I did the cognitive walkthrough I was surprised how well that works to find problems of your design, when you put yourself in the shoes of the user.
In my second year of the bachelor I did my project 3 research about elderly with dementia. The participants of our field study were Dutch speaking seniors. All my group members were from different international backgrounds. Therefore, it was up to me to do the user tests. At the start of this project I was quite hesitant, because I wasn’t sure how to approach the participants in such a way that I was respectful yet engaging. The participants however were all very kind and because I had to, I quickly found the way. I had never worked with people that might have less cognitive ability. I saw that working closely with people is ever changing, and that moods of people with dementia can very quickly change. Therefore, it is important to approach your methods carefully and always have a plan B in case things do not go as planned.
In my B3.1 semester I wanted to explore some more user centered courses, because I had not yet focused on this as much as I liked. I chose to do the course ‘Introduction to psychology in technology’. In this course we had to study a book about psychology. This book really opened my eyes to what happens inside people, and why we sometimes act the way we act. It was a very diverse book, that covered ranging subjects about human behaviour, and neurology. In this course I discovered that I extremely enjoy to learn about the human mind and behaviour. Furthermore, I got inspired to focus more on the user in my future career as a designer, as humans are such complex and interesting beings.
The other course I did in this semester is ‘Socio and cultural sensitivity’. The course Socio-cultural Sensitivity is a course that introduces certain topics within a socio and cultural perspective. Such as history, interculturality, sustainability and ethics. The topics are discussed through online lectures, talks and hands-on assignments. In this course I learned more about different perspectives in history when it comes to design and art. In this course I also discovered that I am not very good at designing something without function. It is not the way I wish to go with design. I find the functions and societal influence of my designs very important.
In my second year I had already worked in a multi-cultural team within my project 3 research. From this I already learned some valuable lessons how much cultures can differ when working together. In my personal life I am also surrounded by a lot of different cultures, and I see the variety in people, and how this can sometimes cause difficulties.
So in my last semester I followed the course ‘Intercultural design’. This course gave me insights in cultural differences and what this could mean in both business and design. The book ‘Cultures and Organizations’ by Hofstede was central to this course. From this book I got a clear picture about differences per country. This book was complemented by the other papers we read throughout the course. These papers, gave more frameworks and perspectives regarding culture and ethics. In this course we learned how to alter designs, while being sensitive to the culture of our user. I found this course extremely interesting, I know better understand culture differences both in my personal and professional life.
Overall I can say that I am quite user focused. I’m interested in designing for a variety of users. However, I discovered that my designs need to have a clear function or for example a problem to solve. I think I can communicate well with a variety of users. I’ve learned a lot from courses and through experiences.
