HI, I'M LAURA.

Welcome to my portfolio website. Here, you can read about my development as a designer during my bachelor of Industrial Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology.

PERSONAL IDENTITY

Ever since I was little, I have had an interest in helping people and being compassionate. Due to this, I have developed into an empathetic individual. As a child, my biggest ambition was to become a doctor, because helping people gives me the feeling that I am meaningful to society. Moreover, the positive impact and people’s appreciation gives me energy and motivation to dedicate myself even more to society. However, I chose to become a designer because I think I can have a bigger impact on someone’s life as designer than as a doctor. Doctors solve existing problems and thereby save lives, but designers can prevent these problems and improve the way of living for both the patient and their loved ones. 

Furthermore, I have developed a greater understanding and a renewed global perspective by observing the differences in behaviours in other cultures. Moreover, I learned to understand why people interact in a certain manner. I did this by making contact with locals when I went abroad. Different cultures and societal norms must be respected, which is important in designing for a target group and specifically during user testing. I think that people require mutual respect in order to be able to entrust someone with very personal experiences.

I am open minded, which means that I am open to new ideas, experiences, theories, people and ways of life. Being open to ideas of others without judging results in understanding and empathic towards other people and being more empathetic. Due to this, people mostly feel comfortable telling me personal experiences, which can be useful during fieldwork and user testing. I became more open minded when I moved from the north of the Netherlands to Eindhoven, without knowing anyone. I had to build up a new life, which made me appreciate people, ideas, and the world even more. 

Moreover, I can describe myself as a perfectionist in everything I do, which gets the best out of myself. Meaning that my attention for detail is very accurate, I strive for quality, and I demand the highest possible for myself. Hereby, I see mistakes and feedback as opportunities to grow and learn to become a better designer. 

Finally, I like to work in a team because I think working together is important to improve the results by giving each other feedback. In this way the design will be seen from different perspectives. Mostly, I am the chairman within the team. I like to have the oversight in a project, and I am usually the person who guides the group back to our main focus when things go off track. During my board year at my volleyball association E.S.V.V. Hajraa as commissioner of competition, I developed as a team player by helping each other, working to the same goal in a multidisciplinary team and asking for help. 


VISION


As a person, I have always felt the need to help people with health problems, consisting of elderly people and children, and people who are struggling to participate in society. The subject that also has my interest is sports, which can be derived from health. I like to stimulate people to move and be healthy. Physical activity is not only important for maintaining a healthy weight, but also for the development of the brain and ensuring a healthy heart (Voelcker-Rehage et al, 2016). 

 

I would like to design to make it easier for people to participate in society. In a world where everyone becomes more individualistic and where the gap between rich and poor is widening (CBS, 2019), I think it is even more important to focus on the needs of others and their wellbeing. I aim to actually have an impact on society itself by especially designing for people who are struggling with health-related problems in society. 

 

As a designer, I want to create products that will improve the quality of life for those in need. The design should be user centred, whereby the future user is directly involved in the design process to optimize the experience. I am convinced that the key to a successful design is when the interaction between user and product is smooth. I belief in flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), which states that if a product is too hard or too easy, the user will not enjoy using the product. I aim to find the middle point, where the user gets more interaction and empathy for the design over time. However, the design should be understandable from the start.

 

In conclusion, I want to change the world with my role as a designer to improve quality of life and give every individual the opportunity to be whoever he or she wants to be without being judged by society. I want to achieve this by product design. 

 

CBS. (2019). Statistische trends: ongelijkheid in inkomen en vermogen. 

Csikszentnihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row

Voelcker-Rehage, C., Niemann, C., Hübner, L., Godde, B., Winneke, A.H. (2016). Chapter 3 – Benefits of Physical Activity and Fitness for Lifelong Cognitive and Motor Development – Brain and Behavior. Pages 43-73. ISBN 9780128036341, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803634-1.00003-0 

PROJECTS

Share by: