January 31, 2010 • 23:09 0
KLM Battle – onthaast relaaaax (1 punt)
Review TEDx Amsterdam (1 punt)
Blog (1 punt)
Meedoen aan quizz (1/2 punt)
Lesopdracht: 10 trends voor 2010
Lesopdracht: freemium businessmodel
Column over Concept Development (1 punt)
Parijs opdracht ( x punt ) (vertaling teksten naar engels)
Eindopdracht ( x punt) (presentatie volgt, link in e-mail opgeleverd)
Filed under: minor
• 16:26 1
Iedereen heeft ideeën, en vaak ook hele goede ideeën.
Ik vroeg me altijd af: “Ideeën, wat doe je er mee en hoe breng je het aan de man?”, en “Wat als je juist ideeën moet genereren, en je kunt het niet?”. Voor een ontwerper zijn dat cruciale dingen. Als je bij een bedrijf gaat werken of je word freelancer, en je moet een opdracht doen, dan moet je met ideeën komen. Of dit nu een ontwerp is, een stuk code, tekst, of welke vorm dan ook, het moet een oplossing zijn voor iets. En soms is het niet makkelijk. Helaas kun je niet vertrouwen dat inspiratie zomaar binnen komt vallen. Je moet je ideeën gaan genereren en als je het idee hebt, hoe ga je dit omvormen tot een oplossing die zichzelf kan verkopen.
Toen ik op het MBO zat, kon ik stage lopen bij een webbureau. Dit heb ik dan ook gedaan, en leip vaak tegen de plank. Je moest een website maken met een aantal doelen of oplossingen, maar altijd oppervlakkig. Je maakte wat, en het moest nog eens 4-5 keer overnieuw. Dit is natuurlijk heel vervelend, ook voor jezelf, want je gelooft in je eigen ontwerpen.
Je merkt gewoon dat je een heel belangrijk ding mist, hoe goed je ook bent met tools. Je idee, je oplossing in een concept en die nog eens te kunnen verkopen zonder dat het 4x terug komt… dat wilde ik.
Dit wilde ik leren. En ik kwam erachter dat dit niet zomaar op een MBO opleiding geleerd kon worden. Deze opleidingen zijn vaak de tools en manieren te leren om tot een bepaald resultaat te komen, in plaats van meer te weten te komen hoe die resultaten bereikt worden, en of er misschien geen andere manieren zijn.
Met deze vragen ben ik mijn nieuwe opleiding in gegaa; namelijk Communicatie en Multimedia design. In deze tijd leerde ik vrijer te denken, meer te weten over bepaalde ontwerptechnieken en leer over interactie. Maar ik miste eigenlijk nog een ding. Het beargumenteren, presenteren en verkopen van je idee/oplossing.
In het derde jaar moesten we voor een specialisatie gaan. Een specialisatie (minor) binnen de opleiding was Concept Development, gegeven door Saskia Best. Eigenlijk raakte deze specialisatie de kern van wat ik wilde doen met deze opleiding. Al het andere kon ik mijzelf aanleren.
Tijdens de lessen leerde we verschillende belangrijke onderwerpen die meedragen tot het ideeën genereren, beargumenteren en verkopen. Onderwerpen als Trends spotten, Design (thinking), Productontwikkeling en Business models.
Wat ik het interessantst vond is hoe deze onderwerpen, die toch wel heel erg lijken te verschillen ontzettend goed in elkaar passen, en eigenlijk ook wel heel nodig zijn. Niet alleen voor argumentatie of ontwikkeling, maar ook de mate van relevantie.
Filed under: concept, minor , column, concept development
• 14:42 1
My last schooltrip; a trip to Paris for a few days.
This morning, it was cold, snowy and there were hardly any trains on the railways across the country. I was lucky enough to say I haven’t gotten any problem with it so far.
I went to Rotterdam to wait for my classmates and my teacher to get into the Thalys.
After some warming up with a coffee on Rotterdam trainstation, the Thalys arrived and we got in for our journey.
When we arrived in Paris, we went straight to our hotel. A nice and affordable hotel. Good breakfast, beds and shower. The hotel was near the university we were going to visit, just outside the city centrum.
Later that day, we visited Centre Pompidou.
In The Centre Pompidou were different exhibitions which were really cool. I haven’t seen the fine-art section though.
There were some various artists and subjects being shown. From modern art, to a bit of morbid art, weird sexual arts and industrial product design.
The most inspiring things were the designs and more touchable art with copper and glass. I’ve brought some of the explenations of the work with me, unfortunately, they’re at the other place.
What I think was funny, is that on the design parts, I knew a lot of artists and work, and some even in my own home 
Too bad we could not wander a whole day there, because it’s an inmense museum with a lot of good work!
Oh yhea, the view from the roof is amazing . Also the restaurant is beautifully designed. It’s not the work of Karim Rashid, but it looks like it.
The dinner was in a typical frensh “eatshaft”. The food was allright, but I guess some people didn’t like the food there. I had a pathe and a confit duck; which are both one of my favorites. It was quite fat, both, but very tastefull. It wasn’t top quality, and I guess we could agree we wouldn’t visit that restaurant again.
After dinner, we went to see the Champs-Elysees, It was quite desolate, but i guess it was the time of the year. It looked very pretty, because all the trees were lit up. After a walk around, and visited the Arc de Triomphe. An amazing large statue, full of details, and of course, a nice warm flame 
yay.
After visitng the Arc de Triopmphe, we didn’t want to go to sleep yet. To kind of celebrate our arrival in Paris. So.. 23:00, and everything’s closed…That’s what we found out at that time. So on our way back to the hotel, we found one bar which was open. Fully covered in neon light and a bit noisy.
We decided to go in. And we realized we’d just walked into a multicultural bar. Where of course everyone was drunk! A drunk Italian owner with her less drunk husband from Saint Maarten (which could spreak proper English).
Mathijs had a good conversation between two people from Georgia, USA, and I had to give tips for interior design when I told I was designer. So..I’m in France, home of great designers, and as designing student, i had to give advice for interior design..in Paris…weird, but I must say, it was great fun 
.
Real french breakfast… lots of croissants, jus d’orange…but all very nice.
A few hundred meters further lies the university Gobelins, who practises the art of of animation, multimedia design, graphic design. Their main focus is animation.
Some teachers showed their projects of old students. They were all very fascinating. The big difference to explain the quality between their and our projects is that they have a year for things, and we have way less…So it’s hardly possible to get into shape with the various people you meet in projects.
After the explenation, we’ve gotten a tour around the animation section, and see what students were doing. Most of them were really really nice and cool! You see that animation takes so incredible much time.
When the tour was finished, we had lunch at the uni. French cuisine/catering. Our uni should have that as well. Fresh food..much better then just only sandwiches.
After the lunch, we went back to the conference room, and our teacher Saskia Best explained about business models and how to earn money with concepts.
A few examples from the class; Gido and Rob presented their concept for KLM, how the concept worked etc. The other one was from me and Mathijs. I explained that sometimes simple solutions are great. We don’t always have to think of something to add, but sometimes to just extract from something to make it stronger.
Quite fun, in english, full space… yikes
After that, our day at Goblelins was finished.
)
After Gobelins we split up, and the girls went for shopping while we went to a bar next to the school, drank some wine (instead of beer, it was cheaper :p, we’re still students right?) Then later we were going to an Italian restaurant. Very nice food and wines, not too expensive. I had a bruchetta and a risotto with caps and parmaham. Awesome!
After dinner, we said goodbye to our hostess of Gobelins.
It was a cold night, but we decided to visit the Sacre Coeur, since we were around anyways.
When arrived, it was closed unfortunately, but the area at night was very pretty. The view was awesome. I’ve never seen it at night. After the walk around, we went to the bar there. It was a very odd setting.
A bar of french brothers, with music of two old people playing gipsy styled music of modern artist, looking at too old decoration left from christmas, drinking beers. It’s just not right
After the Sacre-Coeur we decided to get back more near. We had to find a place…a so called “Crazy Violins”. Apparently, foreigners like it. When we found it, it was closed. We thouht it was a strange bar, too American. Finding another bar on a monday night, at around 23h again was hard to do. So we ended up in another weird bar, it was dirty, but they had beer .
After breakfast, we went to the Eiffel tower, most of our classmates went up; but because I’ve already seen it, I went with 3 other classmates to a great patisserie, awesome pastries and nice coffee and tea. Just had the feeling we had to pay and leave straight after, other then that, it was awesome. Fresh made, good products. French people know what nice is.
When everyone gathered again, we went to a museum near the Louvre, since the Louvre was closed on tuesdays.
I wasn’t really impressed by the museum, actually..the art there..kinda got me depressed for some reason. How nationalistic it might sound, I liked Van Gogh most, even though it’s not even “my favorite painter”, but his use of colors were nice,..made it happy amongst all other paintings. As well as Monet, which was so good, it almost looks like the setting was touchable. I don’t think i’ve seen that art in a long time which gives the same feeling. Other then that.. I was happy to be out of the museum. I think it was only me and another classmate who didn’t liked it much.
Shame.. but oh well..that’s art isn’t it? sometimes you just don’t like it.
Back to the trainstation to the Thalys, bought a BIG box of chocolates for Saskia to tell a big thanks for the planned trip. My final schooltrip. Gives a weird feeling knowing that it will be <the last> trip.
Filed under: events, minor, weekly post , centre pompidou, Champs-Elysées, gobelins, Paris, Sacré-Cœur, strange activities
• 11:16 0
A nice notable mention;
My quote is included in the book “Connect!” of Menno Lanting
Translated: “By the effect of social media, the line crossing business and private life will dissapear in the near future”.
Filed under: weekly post , social media, menno lanting, connect!, book, social media quote
• 11:09 0
Sometimes I am wondering if a specific product made for men, or women still work. Not as target group, but in communication. There are always many words spoken about it. Especially in the men vs women communication, there are very big dicussions going on. There’s a whole gray area being left out. Of course, we can debate if in the communication, this gray area needs to be a target group for a product for men.
Cheese for men!
So here I am, in the subway, on my way to class. There I saw it! A black poster with a big chainsaw, and cheese on it. It had absolutely nothing to communicate other than “for men”.
I wonder if it had any real value, no information about the cheese, how nice it is.. how it tastes, or anything like that. And then I asked myself if I would buy it. I am no fan of the kind of cheese they presented, but I just might buy it because it is so extremely witty. In a good way of course. Not even to present yourself as a kind of alpha male, but just for the fun of it I guess.
I couldn’t let this statement go, in ways of communication. I thought back on any earlier experiences where companies made a strong statement and how people respond.
In the case of strong statement communications, many people kinda disliked the company or product after it, or just felt extremely attracted to the product/company. Like me with the cheese.
Thinking of the weak statements like : “so easy” or like; doesn’t give the impact as the strong statements do. Of course, the product/service often differ too much. Weak statements are often used in advertising for the mass instead of more focussed target groups. Weaker statements often tend to be ridiculized, but well known. Like Mc Donalds: “I’m loving it”.
I feel that using strong statements in advertising is very crucial to the communication on your target group. If you use it right, it can be extremely powerful. If not used right, you will trash the reputation for a long time.
Filed under: weekly post , cheese for men, powerful communication, statement advertising, strong statements, weak statements
January 24, 2010 • 10:23 0
One of the people I followed posted the following link: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2010/01/21/realism_in_ui_design/.
I foudn this a very interesting article, because sometimes we simplify and iconize not just realism, but also simplifying the simplified, or iconizing the iconic. The example with the house is great.
This happends not just in visual communication, but also with words. Often is stated that Less is More, but when you have too much “Less”..there cannot be any “more” anymore.
I was thinking of making a model which decided of you could turn less into more, and when it was possible, you have a “good communication” if not ..the outcome will be “not good communication”. Unfortunately, time is not on my side this quarter .
It’s just one of those things I like to kick against!
Filed under: Uncategorized
January 19, 2010 • 00:01 0
Sander Duivenstein posted on twitter this following blog post: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/jan/18/news-corp-blocks-linking
It reminded me to the new action from the dutch anti piracy organization Brein.. it phrobits dutch blogs and websites to link youtube movies. Because we spread the music without paying for it. But on the youtube website itself, we don’t have to pay. It’s so incredible strange.
I’ve had these conversations many times before, and ‘ll stick with my point of view: Copyright is dead. I feel that we need to have repsect for achothers ideas and work, but other then that, we should copy as much as possible, and try to alter it as much as possible.
A good example of a broken idea is Cradle to Cradle. The concept itself is awesome, but the orginazation wants to be elite in it’s green technique, it misses the point.
The whole point of a greener solution is to keep the world from getting “sicker”. Apparently, they want to see more money instead of persuing their values.
I think back to the time that there wasn’t a myspace (music to be precise), and small artists haven’t gotten a chance to get known! If the same rights were practised now, as it was in the old days, only elitist artists, decided by the record companies could live from it.
Everyone is able to be something now, persue their needs and wants by exercising work that gets them better by copying, adjusting and learn in the end. It’s a free investedment for governments, but instead they try to still use their old methods to contain progress. It’s a weird world.
In my opinion; copyright is no longer.
Filed under: Uncategorized
January 4, 2010 • 14:00 1
I am a thinker. I always think, and I am always trying ways to think more.
According to specialists, a man thinks about once a minute at least about sex. I think that I think about concepts, future, technology, new challenges more then once a minute. And apparently as well once a minute about sex.
This thinking is not bad at all. It makes me deal with a lot of data I come across, linking it in my head and making it like a continuing brainstorm.
My biggest problem is telling the story. Ideas that are perhaps word spreading don’t get a chance. Why? I started to think why. My memory is volatile, I forget a lot because I am constantly busy with thinking.
So I need to slow down, focus, and that’s where writing comes in.
I experienced a couple of times already that when I write things down, and read it again, the whole story doesn’t make sense at all. Rewrite and correcting helps to give shape to the story, and as well in my head. A moment of a concentrated time to think over the idea/concept/vision. So I decided to write more this year (and I don’t like to call it a new year’s resolution).
I realized that concentrating to the story, leads to more focussed brainstorms and bit of peace in my mind resulting to better telling. and listening
A late personal revelation perhaps…
Filed under: vision , thinking, braindstorming, writing, telling, resting
January 1, 2010 • 20:02 0
Januari 1, 2011, a great day to write this article.
Lifehacking
The last couple of decades we’ve been bombarded with new things, especially information and entertainment. With internet and it’s social networking taking more and more part of our lives we can do, can know basically everything we want. Our intellect grows with it along. We can do more, so we want to do more as well. Especially, doing things you like.
We don’t like to do things which takes much time, we feel that we’re loosing our time to the things we think is more important.
So we need to organize our life with our new digital life. We want to be more productive, and to do that, there are so called life-hacks. Lifehacking is reasonable new phenomenom. It is a way of getting things done in shorter perdiod of time.
The matrix
Our lives as we live it now reminds me more and more of how the movie The Matrix goes. Companies and goverments makes us lazy and unknown of our own capability of the human body. We trust and accept the products and services governments and companies provide for us.
We demand products and services helping us speed things up and making it easier for us to perform specific tasks. We move by electricity/fuel driven transportation, make decisions by recognizing patterns and shapes. It’s fast, easy and works.
The requirement of the human body is so low that we are dependent on products and services. Simple tasks we could’ve performed pretty easy.
Lifehacking in a more natural way
There’s a lot happening around us. We use products and services to help us speed up and organize things. I feel that we can do a lot more with our own body and mind to inform us what’s happening and make the right and fast decisions we so eagerly craving.
In eaxample, you want to cross the street. We look left and right to see if it’s safe to cross…but why do we need to look left and right? we have two ears positioned left and right..why not use them? We can hear the speed and distance and even the force of an approaching car. At both sides at a time.
Now, we’re using our eyes, and need to look to two sides, which is actually much slower. But people don’t make their decisions with their ears. People aren’t used to trust much else other then their eyes. Because we’re trained to use them most.
Why do we need to get every key out of our pocket to see what’s the right one? We could simply feel and listen to it as we try reaching for the right one;
We could blindly avoid objects coming at us by simply feel the air moving;
We could cook better if we used our nose more;
We could enjoy more, do more, be faster and more precise if we only trained all of our senses more.
My advice: train your senses, use them together to speed up and enrich your life!
Filed under: vision , lifehacking, natural, natural lifehacking, senses, the matrix
December 17, 2009 • 12:51 0
I’ve gotten this mail this morning in my spam box. I sometimes check if there is anything funny.
Today I’ve seen the most weirdest translation which doesn’t make sense at all. Shamefully, it’s in Dutch, for the English readers here.
Title: “Probeer onze Europese Pillen aan de Macht” (translated: Try our European power to pills “
“Via onze beveiligde server en genieten van het comfort worden geleverd tijdens de nacht. Drugs, die graag een andere. Ik beter slapen of eten? Deze tabletten kunnen u helpen. Zeer snel gemaakt gewoon goed. “
Translated: “Via our secured servers and enjoy the comfort of being delivered during the night. Drugs, which likes another. I better sleep or eat? These tables can help you. Made fast just good.”
Now tell me, isn’t this strange?
Filed under: weekly post , power pills, spam, weird
