Master project 1 - Sensory Matters 2021-2022
FUTURELLA
Climate change is putting increased pressure on the food industry to find more efficient and sustainable food sources as farmland becomes more scarce. Chlorella Pyrenoidosa is an algae that can be grown with significantly fewer resources and its high protein content makes it an excellent contender in the shift to more sustainable food sources. In its current powder form, however, Chlorella is unappealing to consumers. We applied a material driven design approach to find a new food application for Chlorella powder. We present Futurella, a 3D printed protein bar of the future which derives the majority of its protein from Chlorella. Futurella will be produced by 3D printing farms that support local, sustainable food production demands. Consumers can personalise the bar according to their dietary, nutritional and textural preferences. Through its strong design language of the deep green paste and futuristic printed shape, Futurella signals to consumers a more appetising application of Chlorella.
Master project 2 - Inclusive Design & Thoughtful Technology 2022-2023
A TOOL TO INVOLVE
Dementia is one of the fastest-growing causes of death in the Netherlands. With an ageing population, it will only grow bigger. An active social life can postpone or protect against the development of dementia. While this active social life is often in the hands of relatives visiting a person with dementia in a care facility, relatives may experience difficulty when confronted with dementia. Especially young relatives may find this difficult This project focussed on developing a tool that would increase the incentives for younger adults during conversations to assist them. Through a mixed-methods approach, the tool was developed, problems were indicated and the tool was used in an intergenerational conversation. A growth in the level of feelings of awkwardness, confusion, difficulty and problematic conversations was indicated during intergenerational conversations with a person with dementia compared to those without dementia. While the tool could contribute positively, a more sophisticated long-term effect was not included.
Master project 3 - FMP Preparation at a company in the Netherlands 2023
FAIR SHARE
A design project for a client working for youth care centres in the Netherlands started a project surrounding the topic of working alliance. Working alliance, described as the relationship between a care professional and their client, can have positive effects on the treatment motivation and potentially the treatment outcome of youth in youth care. This project continued with a project initiated by Garage2020, a company that designs with and for youth and their environment. The project named Fair Share, developed a tool that provides topics for care professionals and their clients to talk about during the treatment sessions. The product provides the users with a time unit, an emotion and a situation, based on which the users should formulate a question and answer. The question should first be formulated by the care professional and answered, to introduce a safe space for sharing for the client participating. The tool was developed in an iterative design process with expert and client insights to iterate on. Eventually, the tool was evaluated with experts (n=4) and students (n=4) on its functionality and gained critical feedback to improve on.
Master project 4 - Final Master Project 2023-2024
PLAYFUL WITH DEMENTIA
The population in the Netherlands is ageing and the risk for people to develop dementia increases. Research has found that audio, music and soundscapes of everyday sounds help people with dementia to trigger feelings of reminiscence, and can positively influence social interactions. In this report, an audio-based communicative tool was developed named Archiful. Archiful relies on stories and conversations which develop based on the personlised auditive triggers of the tool. Archiful was developed using an iterative design method, with insights from experts, caretakers, and people with dementia. A marketing and business perspective was introduced throughout the development to design for real impact and with values of multiple stakeholders taken into account. The design was able to support these conversations, but was not tested in a relative-on-person with dementia setting. This report suggests more emphasis on designing for caretakers at home, who deal with communication issues and suggests exploring sounds in dementia care more often.
