Every 3 minutes, someone dies in a domestic fire accident. The Comics for Safety Foundation aims to improve worldwide fire safety with the help of entertainment. In this thesis, the effectiveness of the communication strategy Entertainment Education is tested for the use of fire safety. 
A qualitative research was performed on Dutch children between 12 and 15 years old to determine their values and needs during their entertainment consumption. The results included a strong need for self identification in entertainment and the need to share their entertainment with friends and be able to enjoy it together.
A quantitative research was performed on the same target audience to measure how know-ledge, attitude and behaviour are affected by comparing education provided in comic book form versus education provided in plain-text form. It was found that children who read the comic book significantly learned and remembered more knowledge after two weeks compared to the group that received the education in plain-text form.
To create a successful campaign, elements were designed to reinforce the strength of the comic books. An app was designed that functions as a digital reading environment were children can enjoy the comic books together with their classmates, using AR features to enhance the reading experience. The education will be provided via secondary schools on a thematic fire safety day.
The goal for the next five years is to successfully implement the campaign and improve fire safety by reaching 200.000 children in at least two countries.

At the beginning of this thesis work, an initial exploration identified two main problems that impede the proper application of the strategy stage, part of Unispace Global methodology, in the Italian studio. On the one hand, a need for simplification and adaption emerged. The current strategy offering is too complicated to be taken as is and used by the Italian team, as no guidance on the use and application of such phase was provided. The strategy package needs to be redesigned for an easy application into an already running workflow. On the other hand, a second problem lies in the communication of such strategic offering. In fact, the addition of a new project phase needs to be properly communicated to ensure a successful integration. Unispace employees need to be educated on the values of workplace strategy and guided through its structure to learn applying it themselves. The thesis goal was therefore articulated as follow: (01) Simplify a framework of strategic tools, (02) adapt it to the company market, and (03) design a communication strategy to illustrate the value of such strategic offering. A deeper analysis was developed and highlighted what directions the final design could follow to reach the aforementioned final objectives. It emerged that (a) a greater engagement of the clients during the strategy phase had to be provided, as only technical activities were performed in the studio. This enables the projects to lose its foreign character and it supports Unispace in building a relationship with the client, enhancing the chance of being entrusted for the next project phases. For acting as a leader, Unispace team needs to have a clear understanding on the strategy steps to follow, as a confused guidance does not express confidence. Therefore, (b) the structure had to be implemented, separating the phase of strategy and design, which currently largely overlap. Also, the final design had to (c) support Unispace playing offence, anticipating clients’ needs, offering adequate support and acting as a project leader. Having identified the problems, set the thesis goals and identified the design objectives, the final design was developed. This resulted in multiple tools for Unispace Italy to successfully perform strategy as an independent stage: An easy to understand and simplified strategy offering, with clear explanation on the value of workplace strategy and a set of cards to organize and perform all the strategy tools offered to clients by Unispace. Also, InDesign and Illustrator template files are given to the company to have the basic materials to perform the strategy tools. These serve as a beginner guide for any Unispace Italy employees approaching to strategy. It is an internal communication tool for making Unispace Italy employees aware of the possibility of design strategy applied to workplace projects. Based on Unispace Italy clients analysis and scholar research on Roger’s innovation adoption categories, a new tool is designed. This helps to identify the client’s approach to innovation, understand if it is worth investing strategy in the project and, where necessary, it suggests the correct strategy package to offer. Also,a new service blueprint is outlined. These enable Unispace Italy to play offence, anticipating client’ needs and confidentially leading the project. At this point, Unispace Italy has all the tools to successfully integrate and perform the strategy phase into the current workflow.

For an incredibly long time, what exactly happens between the legs of female-sex people has been a great mystery. It‘s not common to talk about our vulvas and how we feel about them in detailed and specific terms - and yes it‘s vulva and not vagina, the vulva is the entire external genital area, the vagina is merely the internal muscle canal. It‘s so unusual that many women lack the vocabulary to describe their genitals and the education that‘s practised in the school system is sporadic and often only focused on reproduction. And the vagina is by no means the star of the show and definitely not the female equivalent of the penis. This is the clitoris, which is by no means just a little (apparently difficult to find) knob above the vaginal opening, but is a large and complex organ located beneath the skin‘s surface. A more or less fun fact, for example, is that it was not until 1998 that the complete anatomy of the clitoris was revealed in a study by the Australian urologist Helen O‘Connell (Fyfe, 2018). In fact, most anatomical books don‘t even show the clitoris and therefore not depicting the vulva correctly. Let that sink in. Conversations about sexuality, well-being or pleasure find no place and lead to misconceptions, rumours and often leave people wondering „Am I normal?“. This thesis aims to answer the question “How might a concept car look like for Yoni” as means of process and deliverable exploration for The Young. In essence this thesis is about the world and future of vulvas and which role Yoni could play to ultimately facilitate positive change in people’s lives. To explore this notion the method of developing a “concept car” was used to deliver a tangible representation of this future brand scenario. And because the social climate is changing and brands are increasingly acting as amplifiers of cultural trends and the introduction of questions and topics into the mainstream of society. At this point Yoni joins the conversation. Yoni has been offering organic 100% cotton period products since 2015 after the founder found that the products recommended to her by her gynaecologist were not only unavailable to the majority of consumers but regular period products did not list their ingredients and were full of synthetic fibres. That‘s why Yoni made it its mission to offer better products, products one would trust to touch their most intimate body part. Yoni wanted to change the market for more transparency and a higher standard of menstrual products and has achieved this, especially in recent years. Big brands are now also offering organic alternatives, explaining the ingredients of their products on the packaging or at least online and other brands have followed Yoni‘s lead. But with the constant fulfilment of the initial mission, it is time to find a new drive, a new vision. And the time is ripe to do so, people are excited and ready to overcome their inhibitions and have meaningful conversations about their vulvas, and are eager for opportunities to learn. And the market is not yet oversaturated with offerings. To answer the question of what exactly happens in the world of the vulva, this work started with in-depth research both in an interview study and in extensive literature and media research. It was about exploring the behaviour, feelings, culture, history and economy regarding vulvas and menstruation. The market, consumer and context research resulted in four distinct directions Yoni could follow in the future to have a positive impact on their users‘ lives. These directions were about pushing the menstruation conversation in society further, for more social justice, to build strong communities of people with vulvas to overcome gaps of knowledge and wisdom, to unlock knowledge about hormonal cycles beyond the binary view of period on-period off and finally to discover how to bring vulva care to the forefront of people’s attention to share knowledge, facilitate experiences and overcome bodily shame. In close collaboration with Yoni one direction was chosen as the means for Yoni to facilitate meaningful positive impact in the lives of their users and subsequently use this direction as a vehicle for organisational transformation and future vision. This direction is called “vulva care” and targets the redefinition of what true vulva care might mean on a time axis of 1 to 5 years. At the end of this axis stands the concept product of vulvovaginal microbiome testing and personalised vulvar care products which acts as a beacon for creative brand development. To make this concept product more accessible from an organisational point of view, the product was contextualised in a three step roadmap showcasing three distinct steps on how the company might develop for their current offering and structure towards a focus on vulvovaginal care using digital and care products infused with science and technology to ultimately future-proof a brand with incredible potential. At the final pages of the report you will find the translation of this concept product into a website and digital product prototype illustrating how Yoni’s brand future might look like.

This thesis explores the application of a new participation grading method to online discussions. The goal of this project was to deliver FeedbackFruits a design of a concept that integrates a unique form of participation grading. This concept was paired with an implementation strategy to effectively encourage teachers to apply this novel grading method.

This Master thesis is written to finish the Master program Strategic Product Design in collaboration with ARS Traffic and Transport Technology (ARS T&TT). The main objective is to create a product and marketing strategy for the data warehouse department of ARS T&TT. The design process the project went through is the fuzzy front end shown in Figure 1. In the beginning the direction was fuzzy, but in the end it was a clear direction. ARS T&TT is operating in the market of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), it is building smart solutions to improve the traffic flow. The department of Data Warehousing & Sensoring (DW&S) is responsible for the data coming from stationary sensors along the road side. Currently, the market of traffic data is changing, because of the emergence of in-car data such as floating car data. Next to that, there is no established approach for development of innovative products that will meet the requirements of the evolving ITS market. Further, there exists no insightful business modelling and marketing strategy such that the corporate can unlock all the business potential of the products. DW&S started developing a data visualiser to be more pro-active and invest in the business. The product is called a Traffic Data Warehouse Cockpit (TDWC). This viewer is the starting point of this project.To create solutions in this moving market a thorough market analysis is done. The analysis focusses on the company itself, the competitors, the context in which the problem is occurring and the customers. Three future directions emerged from the analysis. The directions are: market growth for ARS T&TT, the emergence of sustainable cities and the development of the technology around autonomous vehicles. Those directions are plotted into a strategic roadmap from now till 2030. This roadmap presents the technological developments in this time period, the market trends are plotted and the product developments of ARS T&TT are presented and aligned with the market and technical developments.Two product lines were presented in the strategic roadmap and next to that also the business models fitting these product lines are created. Future scenarios are made to do an in depth business modelling analysis for the future product portfolio of the data warehouse department of ARS T&TT. Business model solutions are presented for those scenarios and also a path to change the current business model into the future models is created. In the end of the project the marketing strategy for ARS T&TT is designed. This strategy includes the marketing goals, brand positioning, brand strategy and paths to reach the goals. Figure 2 shows those marketing building blocks in a visual. The Marketing activities are visible for external parties, but the other building blocks are under the surface. The final advice how ARS T&TT should set up their marketing activities is presented in three paths to reach the marketing goals. The first pathway is to increase the visibility for the potential foreign partners by seeking for new channels. The second pathway will make ARS T&TT not only being a supplier, but next to this also an advisor to its customers (the road operators). This will build trust and the customer get to know ARS T&TT better. The third pathway is improving the focus of the communication. The current communication is focusing on the features ARS T&TT is selling, but it should change to a benefit-focused communication to attract the attention of the customers. The final advice to the ARS T&TT are written in a strategic product road map and a marketing strategy to prepare ARS T&TT for the moving mobility market in the future.

In 2011, the world watched in amazement how IBM’s AI named Watson won at Jeopardy!. Right afterwards, IBM decided to use this power to revolutionize the healthcare system. AI doctors would change everyone’s lives. Sadly, Watson did not revolutionize healthcare. It did not prove to be as useful in reality as was anticipated. How could this happen? In short, IBM started with a very specific use case, then invented a super high-tech solution for it, and then started wondering how it could actually be useful. This example actually illustrates the problem that CrossGuard has. Luckily, CrossGuard’s problem is multiple orders of magnitude smaller than it was for IBM. CrossGuard is a company that has developed a protective glove for so-called Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), or medieval sword fighting. The glove is called the ProGauntlet. It has been designed to withstand high-impact blows from steel swords repeatedly, to protect the users’ hands from virtually any type of impact during HEMA. Not only do they protect very well, they also let the user move their hands naturally, without restricting the freedom of movement. It is the ultimate HEMA glove, but as the HEMA market is relatively small, CrossGuard wants to make the ProGauntlet useful for other purposes, too. Therefore the aim of this project has been to find the next market for the ProGauntlet. This is where IBM’s example comes in. Just like Watson, the ProGauntlet is a technological solution that is looking for a problem to solve. The initial aim of this project was precisely this: finding another market for the ProGauntlet. The research method consisted of a product analysis, literature research and user research, mainly in the form of interviews. The most promising markets were researched in-depth: ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, kendo, Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) and motorcycle riding. Of these, the only people that would benefit from the ProGauntlet (besides HEMA) is a certain niche of the FMA. This group consists of about only 500 people, so this is a nice addition to the total market for the ProGauntlet, but it definitely isn’t a sustainable market for CrossGuard. Since there is no viable future market for the ProGauntlet, the main focus of this project has become to determine the most interesting market in which to introduce a redesigned protective glove. Based on the research, this appears to be field hockey. Therefore, a strategy for entering the field hockey market is proposed. The most important quality of a field hockey glove should be that it does not restrain the user in any way. The suggested positioning for the field hockey market is therefore: unrestrained protection. A great advantage of this positioning is that it could also work for the ProGauntlet and simultaneously opens a clear path to future innovations for CrossGuard. Real-world implications Partially due to this research, CrossGuard has started developing a glove for field hockey.

This thesis studies the strategic motivations for large firms to engage in partnerships with young ventures, and aims to design a service model for an intermediary that puts the needs of the large firm at the core. This project was commissioned by, and executed in collaboration with Venture IQ, an innovation scouting company founded in August 2015. Venture IQ develops a software platform (named Catalist) to collect data on companies and share the results of their search efforts with their corporate clients. For every search project Venture IQ carries out the same approach, that spans three phases: Kick-off, Search, and Deep Dive. This approach does not embed client needs or provide structure to its team of analysts.  With the goal of this assignment to redesign Venture IQ’s service model with a focus on client needs, the assignment was formulated as follows: To develop a service proposition for an open innovation intermediary to aid large firms in the early stages of their search for strategic partnerships with young ventures. Through phase of discovery including review of literature, explorative interviews with industry experts, analysis of the context and Venture IQ itself, two main research questions are formulated. 1. How can Venture IQ’s service model be designed to better serve individual projects? 2. What role can Catalist fulfill in the future of Venture IQ’s services? The discovery phase provided insights into a variety of strategic motives that large firms have for searching for an innovation partner. To better understand the differences between individual projects and find answers to the research questions a conceptual typology of three search project types is constructed: Market search projects - The large firm intends to gain access to new or adjacent markets to leverage their current technologies, products or services Technology search projects - The large firm intends to gain access to novel technologies that can increase value of the firm’s current market Explorative search projects - The large firm intends to gain access to, or knowledge about unfamiliar markets and the technologies, products or services that are shaping them The research questions and the conceptual typology form the foundation for the next phase of in-depth research, during which nine search projects carried out by Venture IQ are investigated through case studies. The data for the case studies was collected through observations of client meetings and discussions, and analysis of correspondence and presentation documents. The nine case study projects were augmented with a survey among the analysts working on those projects to document their experiences.  Follow-up interviews were held with analysts to clarify responses where needed.  In addition to the goal of obtaining insights into Venture IQ’s process and client needs, the case studies form a method to learn about how the software platform is currently being used and how it can add more value to the search process. As a result from the case studies three platform user types were defined: Analysts: Venture IQ analysts that execute searches provide clients with results, Client lead users: people at the client firm who lead search projects and have experience in the field of corporate venture capital, and Project-based users: employees at client firms that are involved in specific searches because of their expertise in the field.  The insights derived from the qualitative data are summarized into five clusters, that each form opportunities for design. The design opportunities are collected in the design brief that states the vision for the future of  the software platform: The vision is for Catalist to become the go-to platform for initiating and organizing corporate venture capital searches, and accelerate these with Venture IQ’s data-driven services. The insight clusters are formulated into design challenges that, together with the design vision, parameters and requirements form the design brief, the foundation for the ideation phase.  Three concepts were composed from ideas that arose during team brainstorms. After detailing these concepts were tested along the requirements stated in the design brief and one concept was selected.  The selected concept describes a procedure where clients can initiate new search projects within Catalist whenever they desire to do so. This intake procedure consists of a series of questions that cover all the information that analysts need to start a search. Additionally, project information is captured in a format that allows collaborators (client lead users, project-based users and analysts) to review the project characteristics at all times and make alterations when necessary.  Two iterations of prototype testing with clients have  illustrated the value of a structured intake procedure. Despite the low fidelity of the prototypes valuable information was uncovered by asking for specific types of project attributes and motivations. Test users, who were client lead users, acknowledged the value of the procedure. Not only to improve the effectiveness of the search process but also to individually assess the underlying reasons for a new project.  A challenge for the future arose during the prototype tests of the intake questions, as some questions and definitions can still be misinterpreted. It is therefor recommended that the intake procedure is thoroughly tested to smoothen out the ambiguity that some elements might cause.  The most important design features are two elements that are strongly connected: a new experience for the client to start their search for a strategic partner, and a service model that is a guide for the intermediary performing the appropriate search actions.  The final design illustrates an innovative process for client users to interact with each other and with analysts, via Catalist. Aside from the intake procedure, a series of features is designed to make Catalist a central place to collaboratively search for potential partners and share ideas about future projects.  Although Catalist must undergo changes before the final design is realized, the new service model can be put into operation immediately. A simple online survey or intake document can be sent to clients that want to start a new project. From this intake survey analysts can select the appropriate actions and start the search process. 

STRIK is a well-known bakery in Nijmegen and surroundings, with currently 3 pastry shops, 2 chocolate/ice-cream shops and 1 central bakery for storing and production. CEO van Geenen possesses a passion and talent for entrepreneurship and an expertise in pastry-making, but little affinity for- nor experience with sustainability. With the upcoming laws and regulations, governments are pushing companies to move from a linear towards a circular economy. However, a lot of companies, especially those smaller and medium-sized enterprises, struggle with implementing sustainable innovations. Guided by the Revamped Double Diamond model, this project tries to find an answer to the research question being: “How should STRIK patisserie contribute to a Circular Economy, while at the same time creating additional economic value?”, while sliding through phases of discovering, defining, developing and delivering. In the first discovering & defining phase, the project finds areas of opportunity for economic, environmental and social value creating using the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC). Within these steps, amongst others, the company ecosystem is determined, just as a carbon footprint analysis was conducted to understand which are the most impactful categories in terms of greenhouse gas emission. Moreover, a company analysis leads to a list of implementation criteria in terms of ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘could’, and ‘won’t’ criteria. The conclusions from the TLBMC and criteria were used to define the design challenge of: “How can we make STRIK’s food waste stream 100% circular while gaining economic and social benefits?”. In the developing & delivering phase, ideas were generated and evaluated, leading to three selected concepts of 1) an educational web-page about food waste; 2) a new product line made from wasted parts ; and 3) a partnership for anaerobic processing of food waste. These concepts are turned into ‘minimum viable products’ for testing the key metrics of desirability and viability. From the results can be implied that there is a high desirability and viability for concept 2, while concept 3 can assure 100% circularity, concluding a recommended perseverance of concept 2 (new product line from wasted parts) as a first step and concept 3 (partnership for anaerobic processing) as a future step. The focus is on rapidly bringing concept 2 to the market, so further detailing is done on concept 2 only, looking into the product, packaging, price and promotion. In a final ‘present & validate’ phase, the solutions for helping STRIK contribute to a circular economy are presented. The first and most important step towards circularity is making new products from wasted parts and promoting these in a qualitatively, tasteful and story-telling way. The validation phase concludes that, in addition to the earlier tested desirability and viability, that the solution hits the innovation sweet spot, as it is considered feasible, viable and desirable. The thesis ends with a ‘discussion, conclusion & reflection’ chapter.

Heineken wants to become more popular under generations Y and Z. Therefore, the Heineken Design and Sustainability team want to create the Heineken Innovation Lab. The HLab aims to be a playground for co-creation, a mix between a bar and design space. However, co-creating means sharing unfinished ideas, innovations, and opinions with people outside the company. Heineken is a legacy brand and has a strict brand policy to ensure the brand's premium quality is maintained. Poorly executed creations or prototypes might water down the Heineken brand. It is difficult for Heineken to relinquish their strict brand principles because they fear damaging or hurting the brand. However, these strict principles can overshadow creative space when working on the disruptive innovation the HLab wants. This thesis aims to solve the following Research Question: How to set up a design and innovation process that balances creative freedom with a legacy brand and aims to create novel prototypes in the Innovation Lab of a multinational organisation? The double diamond method is used in this thesis as a base for the process, which cuts the project into four distinguished phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. This method provides the necessary structure for organising diverging and converging phases. This research uses literature and interviews to gain insights into how to co-create without damaging a brand and what elements of Innovation methods the HLab should use. Furthermore, this thesis collaborates with the HLab team and external agencies during two workshops and several meetings. The workshops are used to realign the parties involved in the HLab and create a common ground and theme on which GenYZ can connect with Heineken. The research found that there is no readymade method that the HLab can use to innovate with GenYZ. Rather, this thesis shows that combining elements of popular methods already proven to work within other Innovation Labs is a better option. This thesis finally proposes a specially crafted Innovation Flowchart for the HLab. This Flowchart satisfies most requirements that were determined in the Discover and Develop phases. The Flowchart is based on Design Thinking, Lean and Open-Innovation methodologies. Moreover, this thesis also found that Heineken and GenYZ have enough common ground to connect. The design of the Theme and Exploration Roadmap shows just one of the many possibilities to engage GenYZ with the Heineken brand effectively. The thesis concludes by advising Heineken on how to start the process. The HLab should start by giving more authority to GenYZ and choosing believable external creatives who can be affiliated with Heineken. To protect the Heineken brand, the HLab should carefully pick communities or groups of like-minded GenYZ collaborators for co-creation and could use a sub-brand for outward communication.

The production of denim harms the environment, and given the industry’s size, the negative impact is significant. Therefore, denim must be produced more sustainably. In order to bring about change in the industry, an increase in demand for eco-friendly jeans is necessary to incentivise investments in sustainable production methods. Here, low-cost clothing brands and retailers can play a crucial role. With their substantial share in the denim industry and their connection to consumers, they have the ability to grow demand through effective Sustainability Communication. Unfortunately, their efforts currently overwhelm and confuse consumers, consequently damaging consumers’ green buying intentions. Therefore, this thesis, in collaboration with House of Denim, a non-profit striving for a more sustainable denim industry, investigates how low-cost brands and retailers can adapt their Sustainability Communication to ultimately increase the popularity of sustainable jeans. To find a solution, this thesis examines the inter-organisational relations in the current system for SC, the brand's and retailers’ experience of the system and future notions by means of interviews and a literature study. The investigation of the current system uncovered the multifaceted complexity that causes the SC shortcomings of low-budget brands and retailers. The inter-organisational challenges that contribute to this complexity are the indefinite and incomplete means of authorities that fall short in offering the industry constructive guidance. In addition, internal challenges from brands and retailers contribute to the complexity as their commercial strategy is in conflict with sustainability efforts; they operate individually and end up discouraged. On top of that, the competitive nature of the fashion industry, driven by seasonality, and fast-changing trends on low price points makes it challenging for low-cost brands and retailers to prioritise sustainable efforts. Nevertheless, upcoming European legislation and showcasing eco-efforts to consumers are the predominant motivators for these businesses to invest in sustainable practices. To overcome the complexity, brands and retailers must collaborate to level the playing field for SC towards consumers. Therefore, the final design is a proposal for a Dutch Denim Coalition. It presents the vision in a storytelling poster, suggests a strategy to build the coalition and offers dialogue starters. The coalition unites brands and retailers and connects them with knowledge and experts. The goal is to encourage managers from brands and retailers to adopt the same principles for sustainable denim and collectively work on improving the current system for SC. This thesis highlights the fundamental issues that hinder the change of these low-cost clothing brands and retailers. It emphasises the significance of involving non-sustainable brands and retailers in sustainability discussions, as they represent a large part of the denim market and cannot be ignored. Hence, the design suggests a new direction for House of Denim which revives and enlarges the impact of their resources with a more inclusive view of the denim industry. Ultimately, it brings them one step closer to their vision; a Brighter Blue.

The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, mostly due to the many ways fashion is polluting the environment (Fischer, 2015). First of all by the CO2 emission produced in manufacturing and logistics, second the massive amounts of water used in dyeing processes and production of natural resources, third the pollution of groundwater and rivers by pesticides and dyes and last but not least the enormous amount of waste created by fast fashion items that are only worn once. One of the most impactful garments in this industry is something most of us wear every day: a pair of jeans. The production of a single pair uses on average 8000 litres of water (Water Footprint Network, 2016). Besides water, toxic and corrosive chemicals are used to dye and ‘wash’ the jeans to its desired style. Every year, more than 2 billion pairs of jeans are produced worldwide, adding to its yet existing footprint (Greenpeace, 2016). Some brands in the industry are already putting a lot of effort into the production of sustainable denim. However, reducing the impact of the denim industry is not just up to denim brands and manufacturers anymore: consumers have to play their part as well. To raise awareness and higher the demand for sustainable jeans amongst consumers, this graduation project for House of Denim focusses on solving the following challenge: how might we help consumers buy better jeans? To raise the demand for sustainable jeans, the impact of a jeans has to become more transparent and understandable for consumers. In an attempt to achieve this, a jungle of certifications has popped up in the fashion and jeans industry, resulting in more confusion than transparency; many consumers are not familiar with any of these existing certifications. Besides awareness, understanding what a certification stands for demands quite some knowledge of materials or manufacturing from consumers. To make it easier for consumers to make a positive choice, Brighter Blue, a product rating tool, was developed in cooperation with denim experts and consumers. To accomplish this, the project used an inside- out approach to research the impact of a pair of jeans, to see what factors contribute most to this impact and to explore how this impact could be minimised. Afterwards, a case study was used as a parallel perspective, to see and learn how indices in other industries help change behaviour. Qualitative interviews with eight denim experts and a literature study on green consumer behaviour defined the most important challenges and design guidelines for Brighter Blue. These guidelines were further developed into a first minimum lovable prototype of the rating: the impact index. From this moment and outside-in approached was used to develop this concept using lean methodology. Through three design interventions with important industry stakeholders and (expert) consumers, the rating was developed into the final concept Brighter Blue. Brighter Blue is a positive and easy indicator of the best jeans out there: accessible on various levels to serve as many consumers as possible. By means of a hangtag and Google extension, the ratings are communicated to consumers, so they can look good and feel confident that they have made the right choice. An overarching platform conveys the message that sustainable choices do not have to be that hard or complicated: everyone can vote with their money. Brighter Blue helps consumers regain their power to decide and gives a little push to young conscious consumers that want to make better choices but not always know how. This thesis presents the development and final concept of Brighter Blue, including the rating methodology, working mechanism, benchmarks, prototypes of the various consumer tools, and a detailed plan for further implementation and market launch.

Background: GFI was a global financial institution. An innovation methodology, DTLSA, was created for GFI through the integration of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile/Scrum software development. Signs of a low-level adoption for DTLSA were witnessed internally, despite ongoing promotion efforts. Objective: This project aimed at improving the DTLSA adoption at GFI through empirical research and design intervention (directions). First, an investigation was needed to validate the potentially low-level adoption of DTLSA and to analyse different aspects of the DTLSA adoption status quo. Then, barriers and enablers for DTLSA adoption were sought out in pursuit of a better understanding of DTLSA adoption. Furthermore, the contextual information gathered in empirical research was used to inspire the design process for potential improvement concept directions. Research methods: A mix of different research methods were used to achieve a holistic understanding of the topic: literature and existing knowledge study, group session, interview, and survey. Research results: The low level of DTLSA adoption was confirmed, despite the positive aspects of DTLSA adoption such as sufficient understanding, and high motivation at GFI. A variety of barriers and enablers were found, the majority of which were related to 2 significant factors: team autonomy, and team engagement. 3 growth stages for DTLSA adoption were identified regarding the different levels of these 2 factors. Team autonomy at risk caused by multiple barriers was considered the most pressing issue that led to the low level of adoption. Design: The design problem was defined as empowering the ambassador figures who emerged in teams during the DTLSA adoption. A storyboard of a possible current situation and an imaginative narrative of an ideal situation was created. 3 concept directions were proposed.

Background: There is an increasing need for structured methods that encourage effective knowledge sharing and collaborations at the working floor to implement innovation strategies, especially in case of employer - employee relationships. Objective: This research (master thesis) focused on knowledge sharing on the work floor during interprofessional collaborations to achieve durable innovation in hierarchical organisations using Communities of Practice. An integrative practical and theoretical study has been conducted. Research results: Communities of Practice managers can facilitate knowledge sharing in hierarchical organisations by actively fulfilling the connecting role between the innovation strategy managers and the executive professionals at the working floor. The COP managers can facilitate knowledge sharing by integrating the three levels (strategic, tactical and operational) using the Community Builder Program. Therefore, three steps need to be taken: 1) Develop close connections between the innovation strategists and themselves to align the organisation’s innovation strategy with their communities of practices’ raison d’être. 2) Design a COP strategy (using the Collaboration Analyser) aligned with the innovation strategy and simultaneously should all COP managers’ personal perspectives be aligned prior to the execution of the COP strategy. 3) Facilitate knowledge sharing and open communication in the design of the collaboration between COP members and their employers they are working with to share the gathered COP knowledge and put into practice. Use the C-Booster. Deliverables: The research resulted in three parts: 1) Collaboration Analyser: A conceptual collaboration model that supports in knowledge sharing and helps COP managers to analyse the collaborations between COP members. 2) C-Booster: A tool that facilitates creative and collaborative thinking and open communication during the ‘fuzzy front design stage’ of the collaboration between two professionals at the working floor. 3) Community Builder Program: A program that facilitates COP management in the alignment with the innovation strategy with the collaborations at the work floor, using the model and tool.

As we live in a competitive world, companies need to update their value proposition constantly. When it comes to consultancies, they need to be innovative and improve their service in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and wow-factor in order to be chosen by clients. The service can be innovated in different ways, such as improving the service concept, the client interface, internal processes or the delivery system.This is the case of Opinno, a global innovation consultancy headquartered in Madrid who wants to focus its office in Barcelona on Pharma clients and become a key player in the field. Pharma is an industry with a lot of regulations and barriers, so consultancies that solve challenges in this industry need to be prepared for it.This project is born with the aim of improving the Business Design value proposition of Opinno, regarding its process, management or approach. Since the challenge is really broad, this project will first focus on defining a direction informed by the appropriate research. Based on literature, analysis of Opinno Business Design practices and interviews with Opinno consultants & external experts in the fields of Pharma & Business Design, this project focused on tackling two issues to improve the value proposition of the department.Firstly, misalignment was found in terms of Business Design, and a Business Design definition was created in the form of a Playbook. Content was created from literature, trends and current practices inside Opinno.Secondly, the core of the project focused on knowledge management. Research showed that the best practices and knowledge generated during projects were not stored and transferred in a structured way and some of it was lost. A process to capture, store and access knowledge was designed to solve this issue. Its backbone, a digital platform, was designed, prototyped and tested. This platform uses AI to provide all the existing resources when a consultant types the challenge; knowledge related to the industry, clients, processes or contact people will be displayed so consultants can use it during the proposal creation or project execution.This set of solutions will help Opinno to keep the knowledge once an employee leaves, save time, improve projects and proposals and support their journey towards Pharma verticalization. In the end, it will create a reference site where employees can go when they feel lost with the methodology or they have industry knowledge gaps when executing projects.

The aim of this thesis is to discover the benefits and risks of lean branding for an early stage start-up. Lean branding proposes to apply the theories and methods of the lean startup methodology on branding. These aspects are analysed through a case study of PuurBezorgd. This start-up was in need of a brand identity, making it a viable for this thesis. In addition, the researcher has been actively participating in the case study as one of the active founders. Because of this, action research and autoethnography are used as methodologies. This research project has the following outcomes: Concerning the value of lean branding for an early stage start-up; - The case study reveals many disadvantages to using lean branding for an early stage start-up. Conclusions are made on the (dis)advantages of lean branding and recommendations given concerning using the lean startup method, outside-in branding and branding a start-up that is still defining its value proposition. - An alignment model is proposed to evaluate the fit between product, market, brand and strategic vision to discuss the potential of transforming the start-up into a sustainable business. - An extra step to add to the build-measure-learn model is proposed: reflect. During this phase, it is proposed to use the alignment model and autoethnography to reflect both on the process as the content of the brand development. Concerning the development of PuurBezorgd’s brand identity; - During the three iterations of the brand identity a few invalidations were noticed, concerning the product-market fit. Two pivots are made, a new name is proposed, and brand manifestations are developed. This brand identity will continue to be developed and validated until a fit is found between the product, market, brand and strategic vision of the company.

In the last decade, European citizens had to overcome multiple severe disruptive events like Covid-19, extreme weather and war at the EU-boarder. With ongoing climate change and political instability, more crises are expected to arise. To deal with these crises an increased resilience of individuals, organisations and society is needed. One organisation eager to contribute to building resilience in Hamburg (Germany) is Cociety. The name is a contraction of a collaborative society. To create resilience, multi-stakeholder knowledge and an interdisciplinary approach is needed, to be able to deal with the high interdependencies of the system within society. Cociety has the potential to collect and generate this diverse knowledge, as it is an umbrella organisation of over eight non-profit foundations, founded by Dr. Otto, that contribute to diverse aspects of social and environmental sustainability in Hamburg. However, Cociety is in the start-up phase of an organisation. It still needs to develop a clear strategy to unlock the potential it has. This project clearly defines the potential of and strategy for Cociety, using systemic design and social innovation as theoretical background. Desk and field research, including interviews and a co-creative workshop, formed the basis for a gigamap, showing the system of Cociety and its perspectives. The rest of the project focuses on the internal perspective of Cociety, meaning the collaboration between the foundations and their employees. A Social network analysis (SNA) shows the interconnections and collaboration levels in the current network. From the insights generated in the SNA, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis discovers the leveragepoints to design for the improvement of Cociety’s internal network. The final design of this project is a strategy. An overall vision and a vision for the internal network of Cociety are formulated. A roadmap outlines the key actions need to achieve the vision, supported by three interventions to make the first steps, including an organigram to visualise and access the knowledge available in the network, a meeting format to share the knowledge with the network and an onboarding guide to keep the network active and alive.

During the 1980s the ‘experiential view’ of a consumers buying process was proposed in literature. Since then, the experience a consumer has when interacting with a brand (Brand Experience) has been a frequently discussed topic in research and practise. Different disciplines propose measurement scales to capture this brand experience (BE). However literature does not agree on one generally accepted method. The marketing practise extensively utilises simple evaluative surveys such as the NetPromotorScore (NPS) and CustomerSatisfaction (CSat) to evaluate the BE of a consumer. As the world is becoming more and more digital oriented, consumers leave digital behavioural traces. This brings new measurement possibilities. Accordingly, this thesis proposes a data- driven method for measuring BE. The method is manifested through the design of a digital tool. This resulted in the MerkMonitor, a digital dashboard which analyses the experiences consumers have when interacting with a brand. Originating back to psychology, literature identifies that this brand experience consists of Sensorial, Affective, Cognitive and Behavioural responses. Literature shows a call for new types of measurement to capture these dimensions. The design process proposes a set of variables (measurements) to give insight in the four dimensions. Each dimension is made up of three attributes, which can be measured either with observant variables or surveying variables. Measurements are mostly done at digital touch points, such as social media, the website of the brand or through surveys via for example e-mails. As different attributes are valuable for different clients of GP, a selection toolkit is made. When a selection of fitting variables is decided upon, they form the metrics of the dashboard together. The thesis proposes a dashboard containing ten variables as starting point. When the dashboard is implemented and used right, both GP and the client will be able to analyse the BE and anticipate on this analysis. The launch of the dashboard will make GP able to monitor BE through real-time measurement. This contributes to GP being an expert in BE. Finally, the Merk Monitor was evaluated through six sessions with Strategists, Technology experts and clients. Also a MVP was developed and a prototype was explored to ensure feasibility. This led to recommendations for futher developping and implementations of the product.

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a research project focused on developing a comprehensive strategy for commercial smallholder farmers in urban and semi-urban areas of Kumasi, Ghana. The objective was to co-create a strategy that addresses the specific needs and challenges of farmers in the region. The research involved extensive field visits, interviews, and collaboration with farmers, stakeholders, and relevant institutions. The study identified three design challenges: developing a B2B strategy for farmers, enhancing farmers' brand awareness through marketing, and improving communication between market queens and farmers. In-depth interviews concluded that prioritizing the B2B strategy would be most beneficial due to demand from restaurants and hotels. Based on the chosen design challenge, strategic and tactical roadmaps were developed, drawing from literature research and coded interview transcripts. The roadmap consists of three horizons. The first horizon focuses on enhancing cooperation among farmers within a farmer organization to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their produce sales. This involves building a brand identity and establishing a strong sales structure. The second horizon centers around raising awareness among farmer organizations through various advertising channels, with a particular emphasis on packaging. Packaging plays a crucial role in extending shelf life, developing a strong brand identity, and enabling traceability. Efforts at the farmer level aim to increase brand awareness and drive customer demand for the farmer organization's produce. Students will also be involved in understanding brand development and designing effective marketing materials. The third and final horizon focuses on securing storage and cooling facilities that can be collectively utilized by farmer associations. These facilities, provided by the government, are contingent upon farmers' progress and achievements. Additionally, an educational component is proposed, targeting students at Kwadaso Agricultural College through workshops that highlight the importance of advertising, storage and cooling spaces, and collaborative efforts among farmers.

This project lives in the intersection between marketing and entrepreneurship. The client company is Athlete Development, an early stage start-up that creates digital strength & conditioning training plans for team sports athletes. They sought external expertise in the field of branding and the commercialization of their product. As a start-up using bootstrapping as their method of financing, they face many challenges related to managing limited resources. Thus, the minimal means they have cannot facilitate the application of established go-to-market strategies. This project aims to explore how a start-up like Athlete Development can design a go-to-market strategy, using principles from experimental learning while only operating with internal financial resources.

Personal sales and after-sales video is currently applied mainly in the automotive industry. This report investigates the benefits from this type of videos and searches for new applications in new markets through a creative approach. An application in physiotherapy, where personal videos are used to motivate and support an active revalidation is found to hold opportunities and a pilot is performed.