Self-Directed Learning Weeks

1. Marina van Gog 3 weeks of self-study time… Let’s get to work! Self-Directed Learning Weeks 21 Oct. – 08 Nov.

2. DDW ‘13 I have been to: ID’13 Klokgebouw Stadhuis Graduation Show Onigiri

3. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK ID’13 These light bulbs turn towards the person standing near. It feels like they are living things.

4. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK ID’13 Here it is: the NANO Supermarket! I finally had the opportunity to actually see the Nano Supermarket from the inside and find out about all the products that are presented. I am doing a project for the Nano Supermarket so this is my reference point. The experience gave me more insight in this department.

5. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Klokgebouw These vases give off a very cheerful and Dutch aura as I may say. The figures in the fabric make the boot look very refined and the veil behind the heel of the shoe creates elegance.

6. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Klokgebouw I found a peaceful looking closet made of newspapers. That’s what I call upgrading! This lamp reminds me of the sun because of the way the light flows from the surface.

7. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Klokgebouw These pots are made from eggshells. Another way of upgrading! This time the bag and the coat come together as a whole.

8. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Klokgebouw The combining of gold and newspaper material makes the jewelry soft and lustrous. You can adjust the amount of light by pressing the keys like a piano. Looks like a playful interaction to me.

9. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Graduation Show –Design Academy It is a wastepaper basket made of waste plastics. Looks like a show box to me…

10. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Graduation Show – Design Academy A lamp and a piece of art in one. It looks somewhat futuristic, but the stand makes it look old.

11. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Graduation Show – Design Academy This piece of glass has been given a very organic and complicated shape. A chair consisting of different layers of transparent material.

12. DUTCH DESIGN WEEK Reflection This was the first Dutch Design Week that I have been to. I wanted to see as much of it as possible because I have seen quite a lot of art exhibitions in my life, but I never really saw an exhibition solely for design products. I really liked the Klokgebouw exhibition. There were so many different products, all presented in a very nice way. You could see this was made my professional designers; every product was very unique and had its own story. Because of this, I got an idea of how to present your design products in an exhibition. I also saw the Graduation Show of the Design Academy. There was so much to see and the products were well finished. Some were very meaningful, because they offered a solution for world problems. And some were just very handy. The first thing I saw during DDW’13 was ID’13 at the University of Technology. I didn’t see much but what I saw, left me a big impression. The products presented at the TU/e were intelligent and very fascinating. I want to be able to make something like that in the future. I learned of the importance of design exhibitions in presenting your products to other people. It will give you connections and opportunities to sell them to new customers. I got more orientated in the world of designing and therefore achieved my goal at the beginning of the Dutch Design Weeks. I also got a vision of what I want to be able to do when I can call myself a real designer.

13. 2WAB0Calculus This has taken a lot of my time!

14. Calculus Reflection By attending the lectures and doing my homework I learned how to solve most math-related problems. In the SDL weeks all there was left to do was study and being able to solve any problem that I encountered. By passing this basic course I want to develop myself in the competency Descriptive & Mathematical Modeling. In the future I will be able to apply my knowledge when needed. This will also help me in communicating with other designers or scientists.

15. Improving my Prezi skills with help of my little sister

16. Prezi Reflection I had the plans to learn how to use Prezi even before the SDL weeks. During these weeks I had the opportunity to ask my sister, who already worked with the program before, to make a Prezi together. This way I learned how to work with Prezi and how to make a very nice looking presentation. It will help me in presenting my future concepts in a nice way and therefore giving me bigger chances of succeeding. The better something looks, the better people think it is.

17. Book: Sketching the Basics Improving sketching skills

18. Sketching Reflection I bought the book Sketching the Basics at the beginning of the year. I had seen that it had about 200 pages of step by step explanation on how to sketch industrial design products. So in my SDL weeks I started some sketching and I started at the very beginning of the book. I learned that when drawing shadows, you do not only have to pay attention to the position of the sunlight or light that comes from a lamp, but also to light that comes from the ground. When sketching during project time at the university, I never paid attention to drawing shadows in my sketches, as you can see in my deliverables. But I noticed that it really finishes your sketch and brings it more to life. So I will apply more shadows in my future sketches. It will make my visuals look a lot better. By doing this SDL activity I have developed myself a little bit further in the competency Form & Senses.

19. WorkshopProduct-Photography Arranged by Emma Dhaeze (fellow-student ID) ME

20. Product Photography Reflection When presenting your products you will need to have nice visuals including photos. I was immediately interested when I heard that a fellow-student was organizing a workshop Product Photography. I wondered what things you have to pay attention to when photographing a product and what materials are best used. All these things I learned and more: you have to pay attention to what subject you are going to take a picture of, the best location according to the lighting, what camera and tools you can use, about the focus of the camera with colors etc. and how to finish a photo. I can use this knowledge in future photographing to make my products look as attractive as possible. This experience contributed to my development in the competency Form & Senses.

21. HTML workshop Lucid Day 1

22. HTML workshop Lucid Day 3

23. HTML Workshop Reflection With my upcoming showcase in mind, I decided to participate in the HTML Workshop offered by Lucid. It was a three day workshop. On the first day, I learned the basics of HTML. On the second day, I learned how CSS works. The last day was about combining the two. Every day we got an image and we had to create the exact same duplicate in HTML and CSS. www.showkaas.nl provided us with the codes needed. I can use the gained knowledge to create my own showcase. This will also help me in the future. As a designer, it is a good thing to have your own website. When people nowadays want something, the first thing they do is search on the internet. Using my showcase, I want to present myself as good as possible.

24. The end!