Design Theory and Methodology 2019

In this second design practitioner podcast Mieke talks to Cathelijne Bertels, who is based in Amsterdam. Cathelijne originally studied at IDE in Delft before going on to work at Microsoft for 13 years, working as a user-experience designer at a time when UX design was just becoming a major part of large IT organisations. After working at Microsoft, Cathelijne established her own design agency and over the years has broadened her approach to design, embracing an ever wider range of design problems, and working with very different organisations. Most recently she has been working in the area of social innovation as a designer in government.Cathelijne describes the progress of her long career as a designer and discusses what she has learned (and continues to learn) along the way. She reflects on the iterative nature of design processes saying that designing“isn't just a double diamond, it’s a gazillion diamonds in a certain time frame pressed together”. But she also describes designing as a human process that can feel like magic: “that's just the magic of the creative process and in our brains, this stuff that we can't really figure out- this beautiful human side”.But she emphasises that for design to be effective, the scientific side of designing, including working with real experts, needs to be present.

In the third design practitioner podcast Mieke talks to Grace Turtle, a well-travelled Australian-Colombian strategic designer and futures research manager. Grace is based in Amsterdam, dividing her time between Deloitte and Becoming Studio, a speculative and critical research collective based in Barcelona. Grace originally studied Interior Design in Australia, before focusing on sustainable design at the Pratt Institute in the US. From the US she returned to Colombia to work on social and community projects, before then going to Australia to do a Masters, establish a makerspace and a new design studio called ‘Mash Up’ where she first did a project for Deloitte. Her next move was to The Netherlands, where we catch up with her.Grace talks about her unique path of working and learning in different places in the world. She talks about the way she uses design and other practices such as, futuring, play, and embodiment in her work and the many different people, books and other resources that have inspired her work and continue to influence her today. She reflects on the role of designers in the world, particularly in what she calls ‘designerly engagement’. She describes design being about doing things with beauty, not creating beautiful things. Grace is a unique person, who is critically engaged with many different practices of design and how they can be used to bring about change and transformation – whether that is an organization, a community, or herself.

In the third design practitioner podcast Mieke talks to Grace Turtle, a well-travelled Colombian strategic designer and futures research manager. Grace is based in Amsterdam, dividing her time between Deloitte and her own design practice, Becoming Studio. Grace originally studied Interior Design in Australia, before focusing on sustainable design at the Pratt Institute in the US. From the US she returned to Colombia to work on social and community projects, before then going to Australia to do a Masters, establish a makerspace and a new design studio called ‘Mash Up’ where she first did a project for Deloitte. Her next move was to The Netherlands, where we catch up with her.Grace talks about her unique path of working and learning in different places in the world. She talks about the way she uses design and other practices such as, futuring, play, and embodiment in her work and the many different people, books and other resources that have inspired her work and continue to influence her today. She reflects on the role of designers in the world, particularly in what she calls ‘designerly engagement’. She describes design being about doing things with beauty, not creating beautiful things. Grace is a unique person, who is critically engaged with many different practices of design and how they can be used to bring about change and transformation – whether that is an organization, a community, or herself.

In the first of several podcasts with design practitioners, Peter talks to Wouter van der Hoog, who set up the Rotterdam-based design practice Hoog+Diep in 2006. The aim of the practitioner podcasts is to get more of a professional view of how working practices and design theory & methodology are related. Many of the questions asked relate directly to Assignment 2. Wouter touches on many aspects of designing in the interview. As an IDE alumnus he starts by reflecting on his education and notes his thirst for learning as many subjects as he could. He explains in detail what working with clients involves. There is often education required, and clients aren’t necessarily always after design outcomes he says.As he has acquired more experience Wouter has learned to trust his intuition – something that both Matthijs van Dijk in the Design Expertise podcast, and the associated paper Expertise in Realworld Contexts note. He explains how design methods and theories provide a structure and discipline that he can then use to improvise with, working in a more opportunistic way. A key element of Wouter’s design practice is working effectively with others. He explains how the process of ‘alignment’ is important, communicating with all stakeholders. He describes how you always need a person as a ‘sounding board’ to test your ideas and also to reflect on your own learning. And he explains how you bring new employees into the business. Perhaps surprisingly he describes a large part of the design process as being about managing the design process, something that might not be obvious to design students using methods where the element of management is lessened. Finally, Wouter gives a tip for design students: get as much experience as you can! It’s a fascinating conversation with a lot of insight from a practitioner, but also an educator and thinker about the activity of design.

In the first of several podcasts with design practitioners, Peter talks to Wouter van der Hoog, who set up the Rotterdam-based design practice Hoog+Diep in 2006. The aim of the practitioner podcasts is to get more of a professional view of how working practices and design theory & methodology are related. Many of the questions asked relate directly to Assignment 2. Wouter touches on many aspects of designing in the interview. As an IDE alumnus he starts by reflecting on his education and notes his thirst for learning as many subjects as he could. He explains in detail what working with clients involves. There is often education required, and clients aren’t necessarily always after design outcomes he says.As he has acquired more experience Wouter has learned to trust his intuition – something that both Matthijs van Dijk in the Design Expertise podcast, and the associated paper Expertise in Realworld Contexts note. He explains how design methods and theories provide a structure and discipline that he can then use to improvise with, working in a more opportunistic way. A key element of Wouter’s design practice is working effectively with others. He explains how the process of ‘alignment’ is important, communicating with all stakeholders. He describes how you always need a person as a ‘sounding board’ to test your ideas and also to reflect on your own learning. And he explains how you bring new employees into the business. Perhaps surprisingly he describes a large part of the design process as being about managing the design process, something that might not be obvious to design students using methods where the element of management is lessened. Finally, Wouter gives a tip for design students: get as much experience as you can! It’s a fascinating conversation with a lot of insight from a practitioner, but also an educator and thinker about the activity of design.