Throughout my bachelor I worked on projects that led to products with market potential, i.e. Mugen and Muziekmagneet. In the aftermath of Muziekmagneet, I found that when I present a design as a finished product to others, they are not afraid of trying, critiquing, expanding and explaining its use. I personally am not interested in setting up a business of my own, but I want to present projects as a marketable product, whether it is actually a viable product or a research prototype for greater knowledge. In my future project at Baltan Laboratories I want to explore how I can use art and fashion as a way to market research findings and technologies.

 

Early on in the process, analyzing a context’s market has greatly helped me to identify the opportunities and risks, and frame my design as a solution to the defined (knowledge) gap. In Disruptive Design I learned how to do this properly, being aware of my position, assumptions and of uncertainties in the market. In Trends and Forecasting, I learned how to spot trends of different levels (e.g. global, long-term and short-term), important in/for the analysis of opportunities.

 

I learned how to use C&A skills to present my business opportunities creatively. In Design with and for Multiple Stakeholders I used SWOT, Business model canvas, the Value Proposition canvas, value flow model and Board of Innovation to analyze a business model in the context of global retail trends. By talking to regular shoppers I identified that in the complex situation with multiple stakeholders the real issue was one of U&S. In the final presentation we focused on framing the issue and presenting the opportunity, what proved a creative way to present product solution.