Creating reusable Design tools for Impatient Designers
The new way of working
Most of the work I do is completely taken over by this way of working. Impatient, effective & genuinely more fun. The greatest thing is the feeling of having something backing you to be more confident in your work. We're building a community of like-minded people & keep improving the tools together.
My journey
Working in the startup world exposed me to a lot of Design Thinking, Sprints & Accelerators. While using these methods, I started improving & designing them for myself. Here I also met my co-founder of the in this journey, Matic. Together we completed the Design Sprint Masterclass, from AJ&Smart, making us licensed workshoppers, starting to making it our own & using it to help others.
The challenge/why?
While working with startups, both me and others involved in the journey realized so many mistakes could easily be prevented. And the same main problem always occurs; not having the right team/person to create the right solution. Seeing so many great ideas not getting anywhere, we decided to join foces and help. Using and building tools to facilitate, mentor & teach.
How it works/ did it work?
The amount of hours spent on fine-tuning our curiculum paid off. We now have a large archive of exercises we use for ourselves & use for starting any design projects. We hosted a Design Sprint Week, Impatient School program & faciliated in the Swedish nature.
An optimal use for the AFA research archive
So much great research...
It deserves its own online presence showing the size & importance of the AFA research department.
In addition to the main website, AFA is working to give the Research department the attention it deserves. With its own domain it needs its own (re)brand.
An interactive platformWe solved the problem with the foundation of what will become a platform working for itself, where research is offered & to put it to its optimal use. While there was a need for refreshing the main brand, we initiated a new look starting with AFA FOU.
How we worked/ if it works
My work was to create a new brand for FOU (Forskning) resembling the great work it does. The work included branding & design for the website. Behind me was a great team of developers & managers to give this the importance its been asking for a long time.
This is only the start
Next up is to make the Research Archive come alive as an interactive platform. The Brand Guide is an ever-evolving document which keeps growing with every addition.
Project development platform for environmental issues
We're all Perfectly Fine
What should the future look like? And how can we play a role in shaping it? Creativity should offer inspiring visions of a better future, shaping the space of possibility.
What can we do?
It's not easy & frankly there's not much we can do individually. Which is why platforms like this need to exist. Coming together, fighting the fight together, making big changes!
Next generation technology to digitize human data
Humanizing healthcare
Medical tech startup in San Francisco, where I spent 2 years working as Creative Lead. Out of all my experiences, this one brought me the furthest. Doing what I've never done before and learning while doing it. But this startup (like unfortunately many) turned out to scam the employees. It didn't take away from my efforts and I'm extremely proud of what I have achieved.
Working in Med Tech, with no experience in either
As the only creative in the company, apart from 20+ scientists & Marketing, it was obvious my role was to bring insights into how to communicate very complicated technology. As this product was set out to firstly be 'Doctor's best friend', it needed to put trust in user's experience.
Challenge
Being able to build a brand from scratch, to accompany great tech & an even bigger goal. It was during these years I moved from being just a Graphic Designer, to taking a lead in a project, taking on more responsibilities, even pitching & selling to investors.
Performance
Even though the startup doesn't exist anymore, the branding worked to do the thing it's supposed to do. Where many in the field fail to communicate on a 'human' level, we distinguished ourselves to be approachable. As much as I love how it turned out, including leading my first Industrial Design assignment, the most precious takeaway has been meeting friends for life, being part of numerous accelerators & incubators, and to never make this mistake again.
Jumping on the ICO bandwagon
Just when I thought I knew tech startups...
When being part of the Silicon Valley startup scene you can't miss out on an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), so this made it into my portfolio.
Decentralize everything!
Connected to the human data the Orphidia device & other devices could extract, there is a need for decentralized data control. And if you've paid attention during the 2018/2019 trend, that's what Blockchain is all about. And even though it was (is?) a trend that never got us anywhere yet, the intentions were there. By putting the authority over the patient's data in their own hands, all of a sudden they get to decide what happens to their own data & they can even make 'money' by selling it to whoever they'd like.
Did we get there?
Unfortunately not. And unfortunately this company turned out the 2nd time I had to learn the lesson of not working for the big promises startups tend to make. Remember kids, never work for free & let's stop blindly trusting in people that are saying they're going to change the world.
California brand for handmade, hand printed products
Getting inspired by San Francisco
When I moved to the US I was still completely naive & full of energy coming from Art school. This project embodied my ultimate project. Work I love to do, I'm good at & people loved it. We didn't make a lot of money doing it, but it was a great experience selling in 5 retail stores in SF.
Moving abroad, repsonding to new surroundings
California was great, obviously. Extremely expensive, but great. And even better was the fact I came over from Holland, bringing something new. That plus the unconditional love towards handmade stuff was a perfect fit to put my 10+ years of screenprinting experience to good use.
Palms is unfortunately not live anymore, we still have some products I think.. Looking forward to print again though!
