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Hi, I’m Serra

A social designer with a knack for tech.
Welcome to my design portfolio.

Serra

This is me

Professional Identity

I am often described as a ‘silent force’, someone whose actions speak louder than her words. With its underlying value of dependability, it forms my basis to forge strong collaborative bonds and a reliable network over time. It also means that I have a sense of responsibility towards my work and others. In a team setting, this translates into me assuming a supportive or leading role, focusing on collective thriving.

However, the past proved that responsibility can easily evolve into overworked perfectionism. Through experience, I have learned that speaking honestly and directly with others and myself minimizes the depth of my pitfall. Reflecting between iterations according to the Reflective Transformative Design Process (RTDP) (Hummels & Frens, 2009) creates natural breaks within the process that help me pace myself.

Furthermore, I am an analytical observer. I ground my work in theory, connect concepts and spot patterns, which I love to dissect and challenge in reflective and speculative conversations with others. This forms the foundation of my thriving within complex contexts. It is my passion for complexity that makes working within wicked problems – especially societal challenges involving public organizations – so intriguing to me. Despite my theoretical tendencies, I intuitively navigate and explore through complex design processes similar to intuitive inquiry (Anderson, 2019) and am able to switch into my pragmatic making mindset when the process calls for it. Infusing my practice with a high frequency of iterations and an open-ended mindset, resulting in lo-fi communicative prototypes helps me flow through the process in a grounded way.

Moreover, I have what I call a ‘Pitbull mentality’, meaning I fully commit to challenges and find a way to navigate them through constantly learning new skills when the situation calls for it. As a result, I consider myself to be a pragmatic generalist: an occasional programmer, woodworker, sketcher, brainstormer, session organizer, interviewer, networker, analyst, … . One who moves with the flow and requirements of the process. Today, I profile myself as a social designer with a knack for technology, not only focusing on the areas of expertise user and society and creativity and aesthetics, but able to responsibly implement and experiment with novel technologies through technology and realization.

Lastly, my design practice is deeply entwined with my personal directions of action. I see myself as a constantly evolving, open-ended inquiry, drawing from constant reflection on what I know, do and believe as a person and translating this first-person perspective and cross-pollination with others into input for my design practice. Through this, I hope to not only enrich my design practice, but also leverage a movement of change through inspiration (Schaminée, 2019).

Anderson, R. (2019). Intuitive inquiry: Inviting transformation and breakthrough insights in qualitative research. Qualitative Psychology, 6(3), 312–319.  https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000144

Hummels, Caroline & Frens, Joep. (2009). The reflective transformative design process. 2655-2658. 10.1145/1520340.1520376.

Schaminée, A. (2019). Designing With and Within Public Organizations: Building Bridges between Public Sector Innovators and Designers. BIS Publishers.

Vision

Major global challenges like climate change, the almost incontrollable rapid development of technologies like artificial intelligence, and the capitalist focus on continuous growth, show society’s compromised capability to focus on the long term, to empathize with next generations and other beings. The waters are troubled, making it nearly impossible to get a grasp of the long term implications of our actions. Working as a social designer in the participation sector, I noticed that exploring these long-term visions is hardly attainable within the current socio-economic system. I believe that designers can help clear the water, by bringing people and non-humans together, and by scaffolding imagination of the world beyond the ‘issues of the day’.

I believe that the power of design lies in its ability to inspire and create room for reflection and connection through embodied and speculative experiences. Design interventions have the ability to afford deeply personal interactions, to connect and amplify unheard (non-)human voices, to stimulate intergenerational thinking and to transcend disciplinary boundaries. Therefore, designers have to be inquisitive, flexible generalists, able to explore uncharted territory and bridge gaps between perspectives and expertise. Especially in multidisciplinary contexts, these abilities have great potential to connect stakeholders and to incorporate room for open-endedness and the exploration towards a thrivable (Russel, 2013) ecosystem. To this end, public organizations and institutions form an excellent playing field in which designers can make lasting impact on rules and legislation, the preconditions of society.

However, for the system to afford a thrivable future, a paradigm shift involving an alternative value system (next) to the capitalist notion of value is needed. After all, collective thriving does not always ask for growth or economic value. The transformation economy (Gardien et al., 2014) and the social economy (Manzini, 2015), which focus on collaboration and value diversity based on collectivity and sustainability, provide implications for thinking and designing that could scaffold an environment in which alternative notions of value can thrive, creating space for a hybrid economy (Wizinsky, 2022). Designers hold power to approach their project from alternative paradigms, scaffolding change through design.

Gardien, P., Djajadiningrat, T., Hummels, C., & Brombacher, A. (2014). Changing your hammer: The implications of paradigmatic innovation for design practice. International Journal of Design, 8(2), 119-139.

Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation. MIT Press.

Russell, J. M. (2013). Thrivability: Breaking through to a world that works. Triarchy Press.

Wizinsky, M. (2022). Design after Capitalism: Transforming Design Today for an Equitable Tomorrow. MIT Press.

My work

All
Creativity & aesthetics
User & society
Business & entrepreneurship
Technology & realization
Math data & computing
Ring 'm Up present cover image

Ring 'm Up

Creativity & aesthetics, User & society, Business & entrepreneurship, Technology & realization, Math data & computing

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Middel 2

Elevate

Creativity & aesthetics, User & society, Technology & realization, Math data & computing

B22

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versatile image

VersaTile

Creativity & aesthetics, User & society, Business & entrepreneurship

B21

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Waitt disk

Waitt

Creativity & aesthetics, Technology & realization

B12

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Extracurricular activities

User & society, Business & entrepreneurship
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laars internship

Internship at Zet

User & society, Creativity & aesthetics, Business & entrepreneurship

B31

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My development

Creativity & aesthetics

This area is about critically exploring uncharted territory through different lenses, challenging the status quo. It is about generating concepts and ideas based on those explorations using grounded, creative approaches. I learned to not only depend on mental creativity, but also on the body to break free from mental constraints. Interaction relabeling (Djajadiningrat et al., 2000) for instance, introduced during aesthetics of interaction, helps me unlock my creativity intuitively with a first person perspective.

It is about giving form to these explorations in expressive and communicative ways, either quickly through sketching (exploratory sketching) and lo-fi prototyping or through convincing high-fidelity prototypes that convey the experience. During aesthetics of interaction, design for debate and Elevate, I learned that aesthetics go beyond form and are deeply embedded in interaction. I developed appreciation for open-endedness and situated perspectives within interactions, allowing for beautiful, unique experiences.

Moreover, I have grown to be an experimental designer who explores and learns by doing. During VersaTile, and design for debate, I learned that the boldness and vulnerability to put things out there, even if they are not perfect, provide the most meaningful insights, leading to deeper insights and gain perspective beyond the obvious.

FBP: I explored the design space through constant making, shifting lenses (first, second and third person) and presenting (lo-fi) prototypes to gain new insights. Furthermore, I focused on the aesthetics of the interaction, strongly driven by my vision and curiosity into infusing the interaction with an embodied aspect. Through multiple iterations, I designed in line with my vision, moving beyond the obvious role AI could play.

Djajadiningrat, J. P., Gaver, W. W., & Frens, J. W. (2000). Interaction relabelling and extreme characters. Proceedings of the Conference on Designing Interactive Systems Processes, Practices, Methods, and Techniques – DIS ’00. https://doi.org/10.1145/347642.347664

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User & society

Good design surpasses form and aesthetics. It requires the ability to relate the micro to the macro socio-economical scale, to immerse oneself into the perspective of others to inform and validate the design practice.

From VersaTile, my internship and traineeship, my practice evolved from using people’s perspectives solely as validation, towards interweaving other lenses and perspectives throughout the (co-creative) process. Therefore, a designer’s vision should be steady yet porous, inviting cross-pollination with outside perspectives into the practice, the value of which I experienced during design for debate and my internship. To make it possible to gather these perspectives, participating must be accessible. To this end, I learned to organize, plan and set up studies and sessions with grounded methods (design<>research, Elevate, user-centered design) and fitting communication (VersaTile, internship, traineeship).

To place my practice into a larger societal, historical and ecological perspective, I followed trends & forecasting, ID Green. Design innovation methods helped me consider the effects of this context on my practice mindfully. From design for debate, I learned to extend my notion of users and participants from humans to non-humans.

FBP: Ring ‘m Up has a strong foundation in my vision of different socio-technical macro trends which through my vision have motivated me to do this project. Scaling down, I related this trend to my own practice of participation and started a co-creative process with Buitenlijn with whom I have organized different sessions. Over time, I aimed to stay ‘porous’ and invited insights from different experts through semi-structured interviews to inform and validate/challenge my design, vision and practice.

Session with stakeholders to present and discuss design
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Storyboard of the dog leash redesign
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Business & Entrepreneurship

To scaffold meaningful change through design, designers must spot and act upon trends (trends & forecasting), analyzing the status quo, spotting opportunities, seizing them and placing them within the greater perspective. The viability of the concept needs to be investigated: whether there is an actual fit between the design and the context, and whether it could hold up within the larger socio-economical context. All of which I applied methodically during design innovation methods and USE: enterprise.

Furthermore, to ensure the design is robust enough for the complexity of the real world, I learned it is essential to actively involve relevant stakeholders in a collaborative environment. Therefore, designers must set up strong designing coalitions (Manzini, 2015), coordinate stakeholders towards a shared vision and acquire and maintain a strong and reliable network. I acquired these skills through experience during my internship and traineeship.

Lastly, executing a project is one thing. To make change lasting, it is necessary to know what it means to run a viable business beyond the project (something I learned during my internship and traineeship). For this, I learned the importance of stimulating the feeling of ownership within other stakeholders so they take co-responsibility for change.

FBP: To position Ring ‘m Up, I performed benchmarking and spotted opportunities using a value curve. Furthermore, I continuously involved Buitenlijn in my process with whom I forged a strong collaborative relationship. The design was created with post-capitalist and modular principles, allowing for it to be customizable and flexible, even through socio-economic transformation.

Manzini, E. (2015). Design when Everybody Designs. An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. In TECHNE – Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment (Vol. 0, Issue 13).

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Photo by Zuzanna Skalska during Trends & forecasting
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Technology & realization

This area is about bringing concepts and ideas to life. Through experience, I learned that having a broad skillset makes communication and crafting convincing experiences easier. Making with different technologies and materials is key to opening up possibilities and exploring and innovating beyond mental limits. Communicating these explorations effectively is just as vital, which I learned during engineering design.

Over time, I expanded my skillset with lo-fi prototyping techniques and different physical and digital materials. With creative programming, creative electronics and engineering design, I acquired basic programming skills (Processing, Arduino) and skills for creating electronic circuits. This primed for me to explore AI as a design material during Elevate, during which I created a webapp and explored the capabilities of AI models. With Waitt, my internship and VersaTile, I gained physical skills using laser cutting, 3D printing, woodwork and cardboard.

Cultivating my abilities to make has taught me that essential to this expertise is to not think in limits, but to do, make and explore. There is always a way.

FBP: To explore the possibilities of AI and create Ring ‘m Up, I continued learning to work with a variety of AI-models. Additionally, I learned to create Electron applications and polished my web development skills using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. To create the physical experience, I used Arduino and electronic skills to work with RFID readers and to create a serial connection, making the experience fully interactive. As for the casing, I crafted it with wood.

3D render of the bottom of the Waitt disk
Lighthouse
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Elevate webapp
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Math, data & computing

This complex society, produces an abundance of data. The power of design lies in forming insights from this messy reality, implementing it in an honest and scientifically responsible way and generating, bending and transforming it into meaningful interactions and make data accessible.

I have learned to responsibly analyze (messy) quantitative data in academic research settings using python and communicate transparent and honest insights during the foundational course data analytics for engineers. Following this, making sense of sensors taught me to set up measurements and to document data in a responsible and meaningful way to form truly meaningful and actionable insights others can work with.

Although existing data can be analyzed and transformed, it can also be interpreted and generated using AI-algorithms. During Elevate, I learned about the underlying concepts, opportunities and dangers of AI, equipping me to responsibly implement and critically question it.

FBP: Creating Ring ‘m Up, I critically questioned and explored the capabilities of AI within the messy context of participation to generate meaningful data and experiences.

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Design research processes

Expertise areas provide little meaning in navigating complex, wicked problems if they are not holistically integrated into a clear processes. I learned this by doing, through my design projects (Waitt, VersaTile, Elevate) and fundamental courses (design<>research, from idea to design). As time progressed, I became increasingly independent and able to navigate complexity, intuitively feeling when to switch between research and making. I have developed a reflective, iterative and flexible approach to my processes of which the RTDP (Hummels & Frens, 2011) forms the basis.

Hummels, Caroline & Frens, Joep. (2009). The reflective transformative design process. 2655-2658. 10.1145/1520340.1520376.

Middel 27
VersaTile process
Waitt process

My present

Ring 'm Up

Final Bachelor Project
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My future

My bachelor’s degree has primed me to become a designer operating in complex social settings, constantly evolving with her practice. I see opportunities to grow this practice, especially in strengthening my confidence as a designer and cultivating my leadership skills, to effectively create change within large networks and organizations. Within the master Industrial Design at TU/e, I see opportunities to grow in this area. Values based leadership is a course I have enrolled in as a concrete step. To enrich my studies and leverage my abilities as a designer for change, I will continue freelancing.

Having explored AI, I plan to continue my exploration into the direction of the technology in different contexts with Buitenlijn and within TP. I believe I can play a role in giving it direction, requiring me to sharpen and broaden my generalist skillset. However, being a broadly oriented generalist, I do not mean to specialize in AI. I aim to always keep an open-ended mindset and let my path and process take me where it matters.

If there is one thing I learned, it is that I am never done learning.

Curious to see how we could work together?

Nice! Let’s figure it out together.

Serra
Serra van Santen contact

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