Deciding what type of designer I want to be has been quite an intensive process. Reading back on previous iterations of my vision and identity has helped me to understand how this evolution came to be.
Long before I ever heard of Industrial Design, I had decided that I wanted to study Computer Science. This was based on my affinity with computers, which had enthralled me from a very young age. I started building websites, forums, media management systems and such.
However, as I grew older, other interests, linked to computers, started to emerge as well. This started with some small graphic design, but I later started working on creating music on computers as well. As I developed my interests and personality, these aspects started emerging and lead to two relevant decisions: (a) joining my local school newspaper, and (b) creating a moniker for the music I was composing. These decisions later lead to graphic design becoming part of my identity, as I started doing graphic design work for various organisations and people. This goes for creating music as well, after I decided to pursue a semi-professional career in this field. As my identity changed to fit these aspects, pursuing a computer science career no longer felt like an obvious choice.
Sound, Architecture and Graphic Design
After re-evaluating my life choices, I stumbled upon a study called Industrial Design, which seemed to better fit these emerging aspects. I enrolled, and started my first year in 2013. My early explorations in vision development were based on my love for technology, but were subservient to my newer interests.
Intially, I decided that the combination of sound and design was worth pursuing, resulting in a choice for the Adaptive/-Able Music project and the Sound Design assignment in a single semester. I eventually found that the combination of these two areas could result in two things; (a) designing sounds for interaction, or (b) designing musical instruments. I was fond of neither for a number of reasons.
As for sound interaction, I considered it to be an important facet of a good design, but too specific when seen as a specific discipline. I like to have more control over a design than solely its aural aspects. I also like sound in a musical sense, which was absent from this realm.
As for instrument design, I felt that the target group was quite small, as I felt I wanted to design for a larger target audience. Trends in this area went towards instruments which would not produce sound, but rather notes, so that the musician could fill those gaps. I created music entirely within a computer, and thus instrument design seemed a poor fit for me.
In the end, I feel like composing music is still the most important aspect of this exploration, and I could reconcile that with neither of those two options. After this semester, I swiftly eradicated any notion of sound or music from my vision or identity. Afterwards, my music endeavours remained exclusively in hobby and amateur territory. I still enjoy doing it immensely, although I do no have as much time for as I used to.
On the other hand, I ventured into exploring graphic, architectural and industrial design history and icons. I investigated Raymond Loewy, Mies van der Rohe and Dieter Rams, and incorporated some of their design aesthetic into my work. This was partially inspired by the Design History in a Global Perspective assignment, where we were tasked with examining design history. I explored this in my B2 as well, but I eventually eliminated this part from my identity.
I recognise the impact these grandfathers of design have had on our field, and that they have thoroughly influenced design standards. Nevertheless, our current design circumstances, particularly in the domain of digital design, are so different than those of sixty years ago that I consider them outdated. I now try to look for inspiration in current design trends, such as modern (post-post-modernistic?) minimalism and flat design when working on graphic designs.
Coding
I started exploring the notions of programming again during my B1 and B2 semesters. This started when I founded a small web design company I called Codified, in the starting months of my B21. This, along with building showcases reminded me of the notion how fun programming could be. I developed new systems again, such as a new showcase system, and when I was looking for a new job later that semester, I eventually took a part-time job at De Jongens van de TU, a web design and marketing company founded by ID alumni. While there, I experimented a bit with graphic design, but I learned that my greatest asset was in working on the user and system side of larger websites.
This notion of programming eventually made its way into my B22 project, where I explored how software development was situated in a craftsmanship-context. My desire for building larger systems eventually manifested itself in a project I called the Lucid Cloud, during my board year. It was intended to gather all files for committees, so they could be archived properly. During my board year, I noticed that I missed the building aspect of doing projects and electives a lot, and thus sought an internship in which I could address that want.
In order to finish my internal debate on preference for hardware design versus software design, I opted to focus a bit more on hardware development during my internship at Studio Tast, where I worked on the GoTo robot. I also participated in developing a few larger digital systems, which I enjoyed more thoroughly. This experience inspired my exploration on how large software systems were built in my Final Bachelor Project. This resulted in yet another large software project, in the form of Context, an instant messaging app for education.
Placing Programming in a Broader Narrative
I have always been idealistic and I try to been uncompromising as well. I think this is partly due to how I was nurtured, and partly due to circumstance, as self-reliance is an increasingly common trait among millennials. I read a lot of digital and physical media, and always try to stay in touch with the latest news. Though, my favourite pieces of reading are mostly interpretive and consider long-term and analytical narratives. I use this information in order to construct an explanation for why and how things are the way they are. I also like having deep, philosophical discussions about our current issues. I think this is also a position I took in the Lucid board, as I advocated creating clear policies, in stead of reacting to whatever happens.
The Great Recession, from which we are recovering only as of right now, has brought many of these issues to light, and created new ones as well. In a way, I believe everyone is reacting to this event through more radical action than they would normally, whether it is electing autocrats, occupying squares or eliminating beneficial inter-state agreements. This, coupled with our increased reliance on technology is bringing about a major change in our society. Whether this change is for better, or for worse is to be seen, but I believe our generation has to play an active role in this.
I have tried grasping this narrative before, but during my first three years, the pieces of the puzzle did not fit yet. I think that I missed the clarity to pull those pieces together. As I returned to some of my roots near the end of my B22 semester, and throughout my boar year and internship, I finally felt that I could conclusively connect my own backstory, technology and social narratives. This resulted in the blueprint for the vision I have today.
A frequently recurring remark from both my assessors and coaches, particularly earlier in my career, is based on some of my work ethic, citing either a lack of focus, poor planning or bad communication with coaches. Due to this, it has also been a recurring goal in many of my PDP’s. I consider this to be my most significant improving point during the Bachelor.
I think the root cause of this problem is my stubbornness combined with being easily distracted. I have been this way throughout my childhood and adult life. At secondary school, I would often wait until the last moment to do my homework, and I spent minimum effort at my school work, often opting to work on small projects instead, which were computer-focused. I would often procrastinate a lot, but by studying at the right time, I could get away with doing whatever I wanted.
This behaviour was a disastrous combination with the lack of oversight and external discipline I encountered during my first project at ID. I would often have long discussions with group members about a project direction, and would mix working on my ID project, working on personal projects and leisure at will. During both my B2 projects, I chose to withdraw from the original groups, in order to follow my own course. During these projects I would often work little on my projects, only being able to work for long stretches whenever a deadline was approaching.
One of my coaches once remarked that I might have ADD, as he recognised some of the symptoms his son, who had been diagnosed, exhibited. Although I have not been diagnosed myself, I do recognise most of the behaviours that are associated with the disorder. Doing research on the subject has lead me seeking ways to deal with my behaviour, instead of trying to force other behaviour. This has been instrumental in helping me focus on project work.
A turning point in this development was becoming a part of the Lucid board. Being a board member is an enormously intensive effort, as I would spend all day at Lucid, most of my evenings as well, and was forced to deal with juggling a lot of tasks at a single time. I would often spend the weekend not doing anything out of exhaustion.
Having lots of different tasks, and a chronic lack of time means I had to change the way I work in order to manage this workload. This started with changing the way I dealt with email, using it more as a to-do list, rather than a Facebook timeline. I also made use of my calendar to track larger events and deadlines, while employing Trello as a means to track shorter tasks. I dealt with procrastination in other ways, as a framework I established at the end of my board year indicates:
- Structure is imperative to dealing with procrastination. When it is clear what tasks and steps are required, it is easier to just do them. In this regard, I have adopted Trello for keeping track of tasks, structured my agenda so I know what is going on and have I started organising and archiving my email, also using it as a task completion indicator. Next up is keeping a clean desk.
- Tricking yourself is a major tool in keeping everything on track. If you acknowledge your tendencies, you can work around them. For example, telling other people about what I need to do, helps me in remembering to do those tasks. I have also adopted delegation as a tool for keeping my focus on the things I still need to do.
- Allow procrastination, instead of fighting it. Fighting procrastination is usually a lost battle. In stead of trying to prevent it, I usually allocate about half an hour or an hour to read, and explore some topics during the lunch. After the hour is over, I can get back to my work, and the urges are less stringing.
The biggest difference though, was due to the total change in working environment. Having a desk in an office, brought a much clearer difference between work and leisure than before, allowing for better productivity. Having a ‘working time’ established also helped in this regard.
I am also grateful for how we collaborated as a board, establishing shared goals, but individual responsibilities. This, combined with individual expertise, made it a breath of fresh air to work together, as we could fully trust one another to get the job done. This changed my perception of teamwork, and I have seen working in well-adjusted groups as a condition for good work ever since.
These learning points were supported by the internship I did at Studio Tast. Having a structured working environment, supportive and competent team, as well a personal structure allowed me to work my ass off during the four months I was there. Having a less diverse set of tasks, and doing work that I love doing contributed immensely to this fact.
Ever since I started my FBP, I have become a bit more lax in this regard. I think this is coupled with a loss of working environment, as the space is too crowded for individual focus. An important factor is also the lack of interaction with other FBP students and lack of set working hours. Although I regret this, I see it as supportive evidence for the theories I have developed. I am sure that I will eventually thrive in office environments, where a strict routine will help we stay focused.
Being an entrepreneur runs in my blood, as my father is one. During my time at Industrial Design, I have been investigating whether entrepreneurship fits with me personally as well. This was a reason for me to start a company called Codified, in my second year at ID. I have however that noticed that at time, I lacked the professional skills to scale up this effort, and it has remained small ever since.
Exploring this context was also a reason to choose the Technology Entrepreneurship learning line, but I was thoroughly disappointed in its contents. I noticed that these courses taught entrepreneurship in the way of salesmanship, and creating a concept is subservient to this salesmanship, rather than focusing on building exciting products. The courses also glorified startup-culture as a way for one to make it in life.
This corresponds with a later view I had whilst at the Aalto University Startup Sauna, where this behaviour was shown as well. Getting investment was linked to one’s skill as a founder, rather than the actual quality of your idea. Most of them preached growth as an absolute measurement for success, and I left Helsinki kind of estranged.
A good contrast with this was beginning my internship at Studio Tast, where I learned that there was a more balanced alternative to this view on startups. I learned from Mitchell that he focused on making decisions based on the long-term rather than being shortsighted. This was evident in his approach of doing business-to-business first, before actually bringing products to the market. I have learned these and many lessons over there.
This has made me enthusiastic about being an entrepreneur, but I will not commence being an entrepreneur right now. I still think I have valuable skills to learn in the realm of professional relations, before I want to pursue this direction further. I also think it is a good idea to build my professional network first, possibly at a larger company, and then starting my own business. This is however a long-term opportunity, and I will not start considering it anytime soon.
