Introducing Myself

In the coming weeks I will blog about EYE-D Designed Innovation's activities, about Design, about Innovation, about past- present and future projects and about myself.

Blog 1) Today I will start with introducing myself: How does a dreamer end up being a design innovator?

I grew up in a nice village in the centre of Holland. My parent had their own removal company and as the youngest of four kids I really had a wonderful youth. With my older brothers being active in motorcycles I wrenched on my first bike engine at the age of 9. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family meant I had to help out often and enjoyed it. Creatively I was formed on the preliminary school of education reformer Kees Boeke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kees_Boeke) Here I learned to be creative, express myself and played on the huge compound in Bilthoven. (Un) fortunately it never was discovered I was a visual dyslectic and so continued on high school in a technical direction (LTS), working with my hands as fine mechanical tool maker. For a while I loved working with my hands until I did a summer job as a fine mechanical tool maker and got bored in 2 days. I decided to crawl up the ladder using my brains (MTS and HTS) in mechanical- and fine mechanical directions. In the meantime I volunteered as youth worker organising camps for kids and really turned into a dead-end street with my technical studies. At the age of 21 I took a sabbatical from studies and went to Israel to volunteer in a hospital working with terminal patients, playing volleyball, travel in the region and enjoy normal life in a special country. When I returned to Holland I took up my studies and decided technology was not my goal but using technology to design useful things for people was and I started to study Industrial Design. Early 1995 I graduated on my own product idea and already was working as freelance designer for various companies. During the last years of my study I discovered being a visual dyslectic and learned it is of great help in my work being able to visualise complex or visionary things into simple designs or graphics that is easy to understand.


As designer with technical background and practical experience in machining and tool making I started in designing mass manufactured plastic -products and -housings for electronics as freelancer. My real career started as employee in a design agency specialising in designing bicycles ( http://www.vanderveerdesigners.nl/ )

later I followed my real passion to work on innovative electronic products and not only design good looking boxes but also work with developers of technology to set new standards in innovation, functionality and design. I also continued my passion to come up with new ideas, mostly ignited by peoples behaviour or by the (Internet) technology revolution in the late 90-s. After 3 years as entrepreneur working as industrial designer I was asked to become Innovation Manager for an unique Dutch Technology Company http://www.scantech-id.com/ (one of my clients). Scantech ID was a worldwide operating company in retail technology with various specialists in different fields working in R&D.

Just before I joined Scantech ID I launched one of my conceptual ideas “the corner shop experience” late 1999 an idea that really changed my direction from product oriented designer to conceptual designer and innovator. From that point on I focused on the context of the product in relation with user behaviour. I also entered the virtual world of mobile-, internet- and services. Ok, in the end there was a product that needed nice looks but then it was designed out of a conceptual approach.



















I launched “The Cornershop Experience” by writing scenarios of how innovative technology -pattern recognition software for camera devices that scanned barcodes- could be used in all sorts of e-commerce, m-commerce and multi-channel services. This all was built on the ease of use of a barcode scanner for consumers as user interface, connecting barcodes to mobile content or connecting the vistrual world to a location. With this I initiated the foundation of 3 technology- and mobile service companies. First Scantech ID and Gavitec from Germany started working together on the Lava project that later resulted in the Lavasphere technology of Gavitec http://www.mobiledigit.de/prod_lavasphere.html . When this technology was nearing a launch on the Nokia 3650 I realised as important as the technology was the real killer would be a mobile service and co-initiated OP3 http://www.op3.com/. Where both Gavitec and OP3 where (too?) early they are still an important learning experience that eventually resulted in being co-founder and shareholder of Mbarc http://www.mbarc.nl/. With Mbarc I do not design products, I do not design and innovate new conceptual services, now I design a company, a market, a strategy, a unique marketing campaign with simple graphics, the products and work with partners on realising innovative services. Mbarc is from idea to company, an exiting episode. What was initiated as a concept in 1999 is now one of the emerging markets that survived the Internet shakedown called: “Physical World Connections” http://theponderingprimate.blogspot.com/ User friendly technology and services that convert interaction on the web to a location and vice versa using a mobile phone as carrier.

Just after quitting as Innovation Manager for Scantech and before starting with Mbarc I worked on a huge project that opened my eyes for the opportunities in Design Innovation. As conceptual designer, project leader and innovation manager I managed the development of the new Self-service Concept on Schiphol Airport. A project involving KLM Airlines, Schiphol Airport, IBM, Vanderlande Industries, design bureau MMID and other companies. The task was simple, design a user friendly Self-service Drop off (SSDOP) Machine for checking in travellers and dropping off luggage. The project started with a technological mindset and I had to rethink the methododology to design an Airport Self-service Experience leading to a simple, problem free and fast check-in process including luggage labelling.

The lessons learned in this project, the experiences from 15 years innovating myself from designer into design innovator working on complex concepts involving people, strategy, innovation, creativity and every day life has resulted into the start of EYE-D Designed Innovation. At this moment I work as Consultant on projects in Design Innovation and work as New Business Developer for Mbarc.

Innovation starts with an EYE is the payoff from my activities, critical observation and always being curious “why people do things the way they do it” is the core of my work and the EYE is my most important tool to do it.

Pew that’s a long introduction. In the coming weeks I will blog about EYE-D Designed Innovation's activities, about Design, about Innovation, about past- present and about future projects.