This graduation project aims to reframe migration by exploring the domain of “the relationship between European society and immigration, 2040.” Using the Vision in Product Design (ViP) method, the project envisions possible futures of this domain and proposes design interventions within a context shaped by two dynamics: the use of public inertia as a political strategy to address immigration, and emotional detachment as the prevailing social atmosphere in European society. In recent decades, Europe has experienced an influx of displaced people from non-European countries, placing migration at the center of public and political discourse. European politics initially framed this influx as an emergency, and later as a crisis, reviving historical patterns of “othering” and “national traditions.” This framing has fostered exclusionary and politicized thinking while denying migration as part of a broader global transformation. Current migration policies, focused on restricting asylum systems and strengthening border controls, have proven ineffective, overlooking migration’s potential value. Yet, policy strongly shapes how citizens interpret reality. Reframing migration within the policy sphere can therefore positively influence how European society engages with this phenomenon. This project structures a future vision around two major forces. The first is “treating immigration with public inertia”, expressed through three political strategies: a utilitarian framing of immigration, processing a fluid reality through rigid schemas, and preventing public influence. The second is an “emotionally detached society: high contact, avoiding dialogue”, manifested at three levels of society: the macro-level (loud rhetoric fueling polarization), the meso-level (dehumanization and othering shaping collective fear), and the micro-level (tensions and misalignments in everyday transformations). When these two forces intersect, they generate nine future situations. These situations form the basis of nine design interventions, each unraveling a future meaning. The interventions aim to foster a more constructive relationship between European society and immigration by encouraging citizens to think critically and act responsibly, equipping them with tools to navigate uncertainties brought by societal challenges. The main outcomes of this project are: 1. A framework that maps how this future context may unfold and makes sense of its complexity. 2. Nine design ideas that, collectively, represent a perspective shift capable of enabling meaningful change. 3. The development of one concept, “The Civic Trial,” as a concrete example of designing for this envisioned future. 4. A methodological reflection on the design process. The Civic Trial concept stems from the idea of educating citizens in dialogue. It envisions a pluralistic space for meaningful exchange, where people’s needs can be expressed and translated into inputs for policymaking. The concept takes the form of an agonistic democracy embedded in a legal trial setting. Based on inclusion and citizen representation, it is designed to inform European Commission policy initiation, bypassing polarized politics that often feel distant from citizens. Ultimately, this project demonstrates how design can add value to policymaking by equipping citizens with meaningful tools to navigate uncertainty and by fostering more constructive engagement with migration.

This master thesis explores the future of wayfinding in 2035, using the Louvre Museum as a design context. Conducted at Mijksenaar, a design studio specialized in wayfinding, and following the Vision in Product Design (ViP) methodology. The project investigates how people may orient, navigate, and experience places in a world where technology increasingly provides the way for us.

Wayfinding today is often framed as a problem to be solved with clarity and efficiency. Digital tools, signage systems, and pre-planned routes ensure that the shortest path is always within reach. Yet this convenience also reduces the role of our intrinsic wayfinding skills, and with it, opportunities for exploration, discovery, and agency. This project starts from the belief that finding one’s way should not only be about reaching a destination, but about how we experience movement, space, and place along the way.

The thesis is structured in a step-by-step approach. The process combined literature research, expert interviews, and future context exploration to identify 150 context factors that will shape wayfinding in 2035. These were clustered into eleven patterns and organized into a 3x3 future framework, structured along two dimensions: sense-making of space (intrinsic, social, systemic) and authenticity of place (physical, cognitive, emotional) This framework describes nine typologies of wayfinding behavior and spatial guidance, each highlighting a differet mode of orientation in 2035. From this, a vision was developed for the Louvre: rather than directions to find your way, visitors should choose how to navigate, orient and experience the museum, and view the collection through an intentional lens.


The outcome of the project is the framework as route for the future way. The proposed wayfinding experiences in the Louvre Museum, are used as example of applying the framework in a context. The research outcomes consist of 150 context factors identified through literature study and expert interviews. Then, a future framework for wayfinding envisions how spatial guidance helps people to make sense of space and find authenticity in place in 2035. Finally, nine speculative design interventions were developed for the Louvre Museum and integrated together into one adaptive wayfinding system, with the Pathways concept. Pathways highlights how different parallel experiences can be brought together in one museum, supported by an innovative personalization technology.

For Mijksenaar, the work provides:
A strategic tool for spatial guidance.
A vision-driven method for aligning contexts with human experience.
A proof-of-concept (Pathways) that demonstrates the potential of personalized and meaningful navigation in public space.

In conclusion, this thesis aims to inspire both designers and non-designers to reconsider the role of wayfinding in our lives. In a world where the way is increasingly found for us, we can still choose to find our way differently and embrace the richness of movement, discovery, and getting lost.

Society is becoming increasingly digital and as a result, digital means of payment are rising in importance. Faster, more efficient, and increasingly accessible payments in the Netherlands have caused a decline in the use of cash, as many consumers and merchants choose private payment methods over central bank money (Betaalvereniging, 2024). As the use of cash dwindles, the key values associated with central bank money such as inclusivity, privacy, resilience, or usability across Europe might no longer be secured.

In response, the euro system, consisting of 20 central banks of the euro area including the European Central Bank and the Dutch Central Bank, is working on the introduction of the Digital Euro: a new form of central bank money designed to address these challenges (European Central Bank, 2024). While the policy level vision for the digital euro is strong, improving resilience of the European payment infrastructure, vision about the value on an individual level should be deepened and translated to the design of the Digital Euro. In order to achieve this policy level vision it is important that consumers and merchants adopt the payment method as a result of the value it brings them.

This thesis investigates how society interacts with payments today, anticipates how these interactions are likely to evolve, and identifies how DNB and other stakeholders in the Netherlands’ payment infrastructure should intervene through the design of the digital euro.

The study is approached using the Vision in Product Design methodology, to create a design vision for the Digital Euro based on the emerging challenges from the investigated likely future vision. It explores the evolving relationship between society and payments, with a focus on the interplay between agency and trust: The digitization of payments has shifted the power dynamic, often positioning users as either the product or the consumer in financial transactions. In this opaque digital system, individuals must rely on trust. However, identifying who or what to trust remains challenging for many. Three key challenges for payments in general arise based on three trust attitudes identified in the re-framing.

Rather than a conclusion, the outcomes from this thesis serve as a starting point for DNB to address the challenges emerging from the changing relationship between society and payment, through the digital euro or otherwise.

This report presents the process of defining a future vision and concept for NS train stations in 2030. This graduation project, in partnership with NS, seeks to explore the future context of NS train stations, taking into account various factors, including societal themes. The ViP method (Hekkert and Van Dijk, 2011) guided the process of exploring the future of NS train stations and shaping a vision on it.

The basis of this exploration phase where 133 context factors: stable and changing building blocks of the future context. They formed a set of clusters, from which a framework was created. This framework has resulted in 12 vision statements, all design challenges for the NS train stations in 2030.

From these 12 vision statements, strategic decision-making in collaboration with NS has led to the following design direction: To let travellers at the station relate to each other more as part of a community, than as separate, individual travellers. This design direction answers to the foreseen rising difficulties people will encounter when interacting with digital assets in the station environment. A simultaneous trend of rising individualism and flattened social connections, will lead to (increasing) social barriers in the station environment. These social barriers will hinder interactions between travellers and, more specifically, hinder travellers finding each other for asking and offering support. Connecting
travellers by enhancing the community spirit on train stations, aims to counter rising individualism and the social barriers that rise with it.
A focus on unmanned train stations is decided upon, since the design direction is projected to be most needed here as people are more dependent on each other.

Ideation has led to 4 ideas, all based on the following social concept derived from a food cabin analogy: connecting people while maintaining (the possibility of) anonymity. An evaluation of the ideas by testing, has led to the focus on
one of the ideas: Beleef de streek (Experience the region). This idea facilitates people to share their best tips for the environment surrounding the station and others to use these tips to discover this area.

The chosen idea is developed into a concept called Ontdek ‘n plek (Discover a place). The concept is supported by a definition and theory of sense of community (McMillan and Chavis, 1986), as it addresses the four elements outlined in this definition.
Decisions regarding the concept’s implementation, design, and materials are made to align with the following qualities: low-threshold, inviting, and valuable. The concept is envisioned to be placed in the glass waiting areas on unmanned train station platforms.

A hypothesis is set for the enhancement of the different elements of sense of community. The accuracy of the hypothesis is verified through a 0 and 1 measurement at the train station located in Hoorn. The addition of the concept to the station has shown a positive impact on travellers’ experiences and their sense of community. Questions about its value persist, but the potential of a social initiative for enhancing a sense of community is evident and remains vital for NS train stations in 2030.