From the start of my studies, I have been drawn to the social dimension of design. In Social Cultural Sensitivity, I conducted interviews and immersed myself in a subculture, my first meaningful use of qualitative methods.
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In Project 2, I designed for people with spinal cord injuries (Figure 1). This required deep empathy and helped me turn lived experiences into design decisions.
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Through Marketing Research and Design Methods (Figure 2), I learned to select and combine research techniques such as interviews, observation, and contextual inquiry.
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As a mathematics teacher at Eckart College, I learned to adapt communication to teenage learners. This strengthened my awareness of cognitive and emotional context in user understanding.
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At Morgenmakers, I facilitated co-creation sessions with non-designers (Figure 3). I learned to balance ambition with empathy by adapting the format based on feedback. I also worked with AZC residents (Figure 4), where I saw how something like language can shape agency. These moments taught me that true user-centered design begins by seeing through someone else’s perspective.

Over the years, I have developed a strong foundation in understanding people, not just as users, but as individuals shaped by culture, context, and lived experience. Whether through interviews, classroom teaching, or co-creation sessions, I’ve learned how to approach others with curiosity, empathy, and respect.  My growing confidence in applying qualitative methods and translating insights into meaningful design decisions has laid the groundwork for the kind of designer I want to become: one who connects, includes, and builds with others, not just for them.

Figure 1: User profile of people living with a spinal cord injury

Figure 2: Video made on "Observe the user" shows how we did user research in this design case.

Figure 3: Designed co-creation session for En Nu Wij Samen

Figure 4: Left: conversation with AZC resident during an intervention.