I design for vulnerable people by understanding the cognitive and social dynamics that shape their everyday life.
Vision
Supporting vulnerable people through participatory design
Where health care ends, daily life continues. Here support stops while the challenges for many vulnerable people remain.
​
During my bachelor’s in Cognitive and Neurobiological Psychology, I became aware of this gap. I saw an opportunity not only to design beyond treatment, but to rethink how design can respond to human behaviour in everyday life.
​
I therefore combined Psychology with Industrial Design to move beyond intuitive user-centered design. My work is grounded in behavioural science: I analyse cognitive and social mechanisms, identify behavioural patterns, and translate this into concrete design interventions. I focus on a positive health perspective that balances people’s challenges with strengthening their potential.
​
This psychology-based lens enables me to uncover underlying dynamics and deliberately integrate them into the design process: from research framing to concept development. During my master’s, I further specialised in participatory and user-driven design, working closely with diverse vulnerable user groups.
​
My projects include:
-
Contributing to an exploratory study on enhancing autonomy through playful design for people with dementia.
-
Using design probes to facilitate deeper group dialogue within addiction treatment contexts.
-
Co-creating a game to stimulate social participation among children growing up in poverty.
-
Designing a game to support social play in children with autism and severe learning disabilities using ethnographic design methodologies.
​I am seeking to contribute to design projects as a participatory designer or user researcher, using behavioural insights and participatory research to develop meaningful products for vulnerable people.
Profesional identity
Background
Throughout my studies, I discovered my passion for the human mind and its interaction with the environment. It inspired me to promote mental health by pragmatizing it through design.
​
My studies began with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, majoring in Cognitive and Neurobiological Psychology at the University of Utrecht. Liberal Arts and Sciences adopts a multidisciplinary approach to research by integrating various disciplines. Studying various disciplines and building bridges between and within them has enabled me to develop a comprehensive understanding of complex topics. This later influenced my workflow as a designer by fostering an appreciation for diverse epistemologies. Design itself can be seen as a multidisciplinary field, combining various disciplines within a single design project. As a result, my bachelor's degree enabled me to carefully select design methodologies originating from a specific discipline that suit the chosen design context. This provides a holistic view of design itself, the design approach, and the influence of the methodology on the project.
The psychology major resulted in strengths in understanding individuals who struggle with mental health issues, the psychological theories behind their situations, and communicating effectively with them and their practitioners. These skills are further developed in the master’s by focusing on a variety of different user groups with mental health issues.
Master's
Through the master's, I worked on incorporating my skills in multidisciplinary and psychology into the practice of design. This led to the development of different design methodologies, like empathic design for addiction treatment, design thinking for children growing up in poverty, and ethnographic design for children with autism. Here, I bridge the gap between my previous skills and industrial design by addressing mental health issues for those in need and selecting suitable methodologies that fit the specific design context.
​
Another activity during the master's program was to focus on improving my weaknesses in design realization caused by my different background. My previous education has always followed a more passive learning process, through lectures and exams. However, in design, a more active workflow is necessary. Naturally, I have always been a big dreamer, and the master’s program has taught me how to turn my dreams into action. It has taught me various design theories, how to make quick decisions, and how to realize designs.
​
Later during the master's program, shifting focus between various user groups with mental health challenges resulted in a clearer specialization in designing for the mental well-being of children with developmental vulnerabilities.
​
Working with different groups struggling with mental health issues helped me develop a specialization in Creativity and Aesthetics, as well as User and Society through the Research Design and Development track in various ways. By deeply involving users in the design process, I match design aesthetics with the target user group by creating a design aesthetic that aligns with the user’s preferences. Additionally, I specialize in playful design to provide children with developmental vulnerabilities the care they need. Here, I developed playful interaction and playful design skills to match the specific qualities and challenges of the targeted group.
Future career
In terms of my future career path, I would likely join the research, design, and development department of a social design company that focuses on designing for children with developmental vulnerabilities. Here, I see opportunities to collaborate with (mental) health institutions such as Rode Kruis and GGZ to address their challenges through playful design. This will enable me to develop products that promote the well-being of children in need and help them achieve the development and a happy life they deserve.