Vision
I see the world as a relational and entangled network that continues to grow in complexity. Ongoing technological developments, political forces, and challenges such as climate change all contribute to this expanding network. The actors within it are not only human, which makes it necessary to look beyond a human-centered perspective and to pay attention to non-human entities and relations. By doing so, we can better understand how design is transformative, how it shapes relations, and how designers are responsible for the impact they create [1].
​
I believe designers must learn to navigate this complexity not by simplifying it, but rather by developing ways to understand, map, and design for and with it. Design research plays an important role in this process, as it offers a hands-on and exploratory approach to engaging with complex systems. I value this especially in combination with philosophy, which helps to direct research, frame critical questions, and speculate about the futures we aim to design for, and ultimately inhabit.
​
The designer of the future must therefore remain in a continuous process of learning: about theories, technologies, and methods, but also about developments beyond their own discipline. Equally important is an awareness of how their design practice is transformative and how it affects environments. Central to this is our relationship with technology, as it plays an increasingly large role in everyday life. Through this ongoing engagement, the designer of the future can be equipped to address both the challenges of today and those yet to come.
Professional Identity
Making is central to my identity as a designer. It is not only a means of production, but also a way of thinking, questioning, and reflecting. My process often begins exploratively: through hands-on experimentation with materials and tools, I find direction in my research. The things I make create tangible anchors that provoke discussion and reflection. A hands-on, situated approach also keeps me sensitive to the context I design in and for.
​
In my open approach to designing, I give space for things to emerge. This includes new directions, questions and ideas. But also for my materials and tools to shape my making process. I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge from engaging in more-than-human approaches, which has led me to develop skills to pay attention to shifting relations, my role as human designer, and the complexity of design systems and processes.
​
With my work often being deeply grounded in design philosophies, I use this as a starting point for my making process. I create tangible designs as a means of reflection to develop an understanding of complex systems and concepts. My design processes therefore oscillates between reading, making and reflecting. Employing a first-person approach lets me take a deep dive into how these inform each other, and reflect on the questions I had at the outset of the research. I balance a directed research plan and the openness for emergence in my work.
​
I approach my practice as an ongoing learning process, in which making remains central. By continuing to develop myself in all five expertise areas, I work toward a design practice that prioritizes the environment and its relations, using making as a way to stay attentive to complexity.
​[1] Ronald Wakkary. 2021. Things we could design: for more than human-centered worlds. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/5175/Things-We-Could-DesignFor-More-Than-Human-Centered