A.G.C. van Boeijen | TU Delft Repository

Easing the wall

A workshop to support the identity development of bicultural children

Master thesis (2024) - R.F.H. Tsai (author) , M.A. Gielen (mentor) , Annemiek van van Boeijen (graduation committee member)

This project focuses on supporting bicultural children, ages 9-12, in navigating the early stages of cultural identity development. The goal is to help them preserve cultural pride and ease the experience of the "first wall," a critical phase where children begin to question thei ...

Acknowledge

A strategy to break the silence, to learn from our history

Master thesis (2023) - I.B. Diercks (author) , Annemiek van van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , W. Brouwer (mentor) , Nick Ceton (graduation committee member)

In the six years I have been walking around in this faculty, I have gained theoretical
knowledge, but foremost gained practical handholds to design strategically. For this last stretch, I have defined a project brief with personal attachment, one that presents a complex probl ...

In the six years I have been walking around in this faculty, I have gained theoretical
knowledge, but foremost gained practical handholds to design strategically. For this last stretch, I have defined a project brief with personal attachment, one that presents a complex problem that I wanted to find a solution for.

In collaboration with the Nationaal
Archief, I have enriched the current visitor journey of the ‘Centraal Archief Bijzondere
Rechtspleging’ (CABR) - an archive containing files of the more than 300.000 people who were accused of collaborating with the German occupiers, of joining the German’s armed forces, of treason or of membership of the NSB after the Second World War.

Specific chapters of Dutch national history have remained a sensitive topic. It has taken 150 years for our parliament and monarchy to apologize and ask for forgiveness for their role in the colonial past. It took the monarchy 75 years and two generations to speak about its role in the Second World War. To apologize, one needs to acknowledge something went
wrong. To acknowledge, one needs to know about what has happened and process this.

As I am a firm believer in that we can learn and grow from our diverse cultures and
historical backgrounds, I wanted to contribute to the perceived significance of history. To be able to acknowledge a part of one’s past, one needs to gain knowledge of what has happened, interpret, and process this. I have been driven to apply strategic design thinking and its principles into this historical context, to show and understand the added value.

The knowledge and experience I gained throughout my studies, enabled me to structurally analyze and enrich the visitor journey and create interventions that aim to support people in the exploration of their familial history. To support them to understand their ancestor’s role within the historical context, to give them support to process this information, and to give them handholds on how to share their insights with the generations that have come
after them.

Remaining silent is never the solution. Now, I place the ball in your court.

Werkkaart

Towards symmetrical conversations about work between newcomers and municipal officers with learnings from the informal sector

Master thesis (2023) - M.J. van Rijs (author) , M. Van Der Bijl-Brouwer (mentor) , Annemiek G.C. van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Patrick van der Hijden (coach)

Finding work is essential in the formal integration and the new Civic Integration Act, for which the municipality is now responsible (Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, 2022a). A publication from CBS found that 41% of the asylum holders who came to the Netherlands in 2014 ...

Finding work is essential in the formal integration and the new Civic Integration Act, for which the municipality is now responsible (Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, 2022a). A publication from CBS found that 41% of the asylum holders who came to the Netherlands in 2014 had a job after five and a half years. In addition, newcomers, more than non-newcomers, have a temporary contract or work part-time (2021b). Although there is a shortage in the labour market (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2022a), newcomers do not always seem to profit there.

OpenEmbassy, the client for this thesis, researched the subject in Rotterdam and found several insights contributing to the problem. For instance, newcomers perceive informal work as more accessible than formal work (2021). Moreover, a significant driver is the minimal financial difference between a formal job and the social assistance benefit (OpenEmbassy, 2021).

The problem of the non-accessible labour market for newcomers can be described as complex (Snowden & Boone, 2007). This project explores the complexity of the labour and integration system while focussing on the individual needs of newcomers and municipal civil servants. The approach is a combination of the double diamond approach (Design Council, 2019), combined with elements of Vision in Design (Hekkert & van Dijk, 2011), the use of an interaction vision (Pasman et al., 2011) and various mapping explorations.

The research consists of OpenEmbassy’s analysis, including insights from twelve interviews. Furthermore, additional literature research, seven in-depth interviews and thirteen street interviews contributed to the insights. A deeper analysis resulted in journey maps and thirteen driving forces from clustering interview quotes, supported by the literature research and synthesised in three frames or design directions. Directly discussing informal work with someone from the municipality can cause trouble. The newcomer may get a fine or be seen as a fraudster, or the municipal officer is summoned because of not reporting it and not thus not following the legislation.

Thus, the design direction resulted in the following design statement:

The design intervention wants to make talking about the underlying reasons for informal work more accessible by creating a more symmetrical and trusted relationship between municipal officers and newcomers.

The design statement resulted in Werkkaart, a card set municipal officers can use with newcomers. The intervention has as its primary goal to make the conversation more symmetrical and to create shared ownership, starting from the game’s main rule. Both players choose cards to shape the conversation, during meetings at the municipality. Werkkaart does not tackle informal work directly but purposely indirectly. The design consists of 45 cards, categorised into eight themes, an appointment booklet with an opportunity card, a manual and a gameboard. The cards’ content comes from different inputs, of which the framework of OpenEmbassy (2019) based on Strang et al. (2019) forms the base. Fifteen participants evaluated Werkkaart and noted, among other insights, that the physicality of the cards supports ownership in the conversation.

Exploring an understanding for the person committing domestic violence

Master thesis (2023) - I.A.R. van Klingeren (author) , N. Tromp (mentor) , Annemiek G.C. van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Janneke Vosse (coach)

Domestic violence is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm” (2013). Blijf Groep is one of the organizations in the Netherlands that concerns itself with the subject of dom ...

Domestic violence is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm” (2013). Blijf Groep is one of the organizations in the Netherlands that concerns itself with the subject of domestic violence.

Whilst social, environmental, family, and individual influences play a role in the creation of unintentional partner violence. In particular, gender inequality, experiencing stress, or touching upon vulnerable feelings can trigger starting domestic violence. The dynamic that develops can lead to a vicious cycle that perpetuates violence. Because domestic violence is an interaction between two people and often there is no clear identification of a victim or a perpetrator, this thesis refers to those involved as ‘the person who experiences domestic violence’ and ‘the person who commits domestic violence’. When one of the people involved reaches out to Blijf Groep, the social workers mainly focus on them because they are seen as the one who has experienced the most severe violence. The needs of the person who committed domestic violence are not considered as much. The social workers have little understanding of them, and therefore, they are not included in the counseling process.

The central aim of this research has been to explore an understanding of the person who commits domestic violence since, for a lasting solution to domestic violence, they have to be included in the counseling process.

This research was divided into a theoretical study, qualitative context research, and an exploratory study with methods including interviews, quick prototyping, and user tests. In addition, the course of a violent relationship and the counseling process at Blijf Groep were mapped. This research led to the insight that the initial phone call between the residential social worker and the person who committed domestic violence can be an entrance. The phone call takes place at a vulnerable time in which both involved are most open to receiving help and can be the starting point for the rest of the counseling process.

Based on the insights of this research, a workshop for social workers was designed which consists of a workbook and twelve theme cards. The purpose of the workbook is to allow social workers to reflect on themselves and their work so they become aware of the origins of incomprehension for the person who committed domestic violence and how these affect their involvement in counseling. For support during the counseling process, the theme cards contribute to solution-focused work by providing knowledge about the background of the person who committed domestic violence, with accompanying questions that can create an entry point for conversations. Besides, it helps social workers to chart the origins and persistence of violence.

Finally, the workshop has been evaluated with social workers. The design succeeded in creating an understanding during the first phone call. Therefore, it is proposed that the workshop should be included in mandatory training at Blijf Groep so the social workers learn how to work systemically from the start.

Establishing a healthy financial climate for people in debt with a different cultural background in the Randstad

Strategy and intervention for Coeo that helps employees to attune their interactions with clients to cross cultural chasms

Master thesis (2023) - M. Lin (author) , Annemiek G.C. van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , N. van den Brink (mentor) , Mark Spierenburg (mentor)

This master's thesis investigates the demand for human empathy and understanding across cultures in Coeo, a technology-driven collection company. Debtors express a desire for a more personalized and respectful debt collection process in the Netherlands. Focusing on the challenges ...

An enjoyable stay for Ukrainian guests and Dutch hosts

Master thesis (2023) - J.K. Jansen (author) , Nynke Tromp (mentor) , Annemiek van van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , E. Verhaar (coach)

This graduation project is conducted in collaboration with the Dutch Council for Refugees. It is a foundation that stands up for the refugees’ interests and helps them to build a new life in the Netherlands. ...

This graduation project is conducted in collaboration with the Dutch Council for Refugees. It is a foundation that stands up for the refugees’ interests and helps them to build a new life in the Netherlands. In this project, it is researched how private housing (with a matching agency) can be better facilitated in the future.

♦ Project objective ♦

Focus on private housing with a matching agency for Ukrainian guests and Dutch hosts
24 February 2022 is the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion caused a big crisis, with around 12 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and 7 million people being internally displaced.From the 86.850 Ukrainian displaced people in the Netherlands, 12.000Ukrainians joined private housing without a matching and only 3.000 Ukrainians joined private housing with RefugeeHomeNL (a matching agency). Although many Ukrainian people joined private housing without a matching agency, it is preferable to facilitate hosting arrangements that are visible as it offers the possibility to humanitarian organisations to provide help to the guests and hosts.

Guests and hosts have difficulties expressing their expectations, needs and irritations
Based on research on the experiences of Ukrainian guests and Dutch hosts on private housing, it is found that they have difficulties expressing their expectations, needs and irritations when living together. This is understandable as they do not want to be a burden to each other. However, it is valuable to deal with conflicting interests instead of ignoring them. By acknowledging their needs and expectations, they have the possibility to discuss and align them to enjoy living together.

Value of acknowledging clashes due to different lifestyles
To protect the mental wellbeing of the guests and hosts, it is essential that they reflect on what they need and value when living together. Their needs and expectations could be different or similar. They should understand that their differences and similarities could cause conflicts when living together. It is okay to have a conflict. What matters, is the way to manage it. The first step in managing, is being aware of their different or similar practices. At the societal level, it could help us to feel confident to discuss serious topics instead of avoiding them. Only by acknowledging the differences and similarities, we can find a way to deal with it.

♦ Design concept Form: a welcome package ♦
Form is a welcome package and a conversation tool for guests and hosts that live together to support them in setting social living agreements together by sharing their expectations about different situations with the use of emotions. This way, they communicate how they prefer to interact with each other at the beginning of living together.

Introducing Form at the matching conversation
Before living together, guests and hosts go to a matching conversation to get to know each other before living together. During this conversation, the matchmaker will introduce the purpose of the welcome package: their different lifestyles could cause conflicts, but is okay to have a conflict. They should be prepared on how to manage the conflict. The welcome package will help them to do that.

Interacting with Form when living together
In the first week of living together, a welcome package will be sent to the guests and hosts. Guests and hosts are presented with situations that are known to be possible incentives for conflicts. They should choose one trigger card and describe the situation.Then, they are asked to choose two emotion tokens that they relate to their experience with the situation, explain why and discuss. For example, they like to cook together but get a bit annoyed when the kitchen counter is not cleaned after cooking. Choosing two emotion helps them to focus on both positive and negative aspects. Based on their conversation, they set social living agreements. By already expressing how they would prefer to deal with uncomfortable moments, they are prepared and feel more comfortable to communicate their concerns in the future.

♦ Future of Form ♦

Form for guests and hosts with various cultural backgrounds
It is proposed that Form will not only be used by Ukrainian guests and Dutch hosts, but also by people from various cultural backgrounds. The welcome package will be offered to them by a matching agency.The goal of Form is in line with their vision (providing a safe temporary home)as well: Form helps guests and hosts to give a voice and protect their mental wellbeing when living together. It helps guests and hosts to manage conflicts which means that the concerned matching agency could invest less time and energy to mediate with possible conflicts. Furthermore, Form offers something to hold onto for the matchmakers that evaluate the hosting arrangements.

Impact on the amount of hosting arrangements
Currently, there are almost double the amount of guests than hosts in the database of RefugeeHomeNL and Takecarebnb. It would be desirable to equalize this. Evaluating Form on the long-term would provide insights in whether more hosts would register for private housing if Form would be implemented on a larger scale. More positive housing arrangements could result in more registrations by hosts. And, more hosting arrangements help us to embrace cultural diversity.

Impact on the mindset of the Netherlands
Form helps to advertise the notion that we should discuss differences and similarities. Discussing uncomfortable moment might be unpleasant, but eventually it helps us to create positive impact for those serious topics.

Cultural variations and design guidelines to attune health programs from Spain to the Netherlands

Attuning the TAS program to Dutch classrooms

Master thesis (2022) - L. Julian Villena (author) , Valentijn Visch (mentor) , AGC Boeijen (graduation committee member)

This master thesis report is the result of a six-month-long graduation project for the Design for Interaction master at TU Delft. The report describes the development of the design guidelines to attune the TAS program to the Netherlands.
The main goals that guided the project ...

This master thesis report is the result of a six-month-long graduation project for the Design for Interaction master at TU Delft. The report describes the development of the design guidelines to attune the TAS program to the Netherlands.
The main goals that guided the project were three: identify which aspects of a healthy habit program (TAS program) can be adapted to the Netherlands; understand how to design for it by creating a set of design guidelines; and how to apply the guidelines to attune the program to the Netherlands..
Healthy habit programs targeted to teenagers are crucial since it is the period in which bodies develop and finish forming. The early understanding of healthy habits is key to helping teenagers to acquire lasting healthy behaviors and classrooms provide a great context that supports the knowledge building experience.
The TAS program was evaluated in 103 Spanish classrooms, in different autonomous regions, and proved to increase healthy behaviors among teenagers, such as improving nutritional habits (increase of fruit and vegetable intake and decrease of fried food) or increasing physical activity. Therefore, the opportunity to adapt a successful healthy habit program to another European country was identified.
The research phase of the project consisted mainly of sensitizing activities and literature research to get to know the context and domain of the project; and interviews with Dutch and Spanish parents and teenagers to understand the reality and daily life habits by comparison.
The opportunity to design a set of guidelines based on the research outcomes was identified, a set of 10 guidelines grouped in four groups: medium, content, communication and engagement. The guidelines were applied to one of the workshops of the TAS program with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of the guidelines and the workshop itself.
The concept was evaluated with Spanish and Dutch secondary teachers and Dutch experts in the field of health programs in order to assess the validity of the concept and identify to what extent the implemented changes were culture specific.
The project was approached from a cultural framework, in which socio-cultural dimensions served as a way to find a direction for the project but also as a tool to compare and identify cultural variables between Spain and the Netherlands.

I Love You, I Love You Not

Enhancing Female-Specific Mate Selection in Online Dating

Master thesis (2022) - J. Kurbanova (author) , AGC van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Giulia Calabretta (mentor) , M.P. van der Woude (mentor)

Nat King Cole once sang “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return” in the song “Nature Boy” written in 1947. Four years prior to its release, the psychologist Abraham Maslow published his book “A Theory of Human Motivation” in which the hierarch ...

Nat King Cole once sang “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return” in the song “Nature Boy” written in 1947. Four years prior to its release, the psychologist Abraham Maslow published his book “A Theory of Human Motivation” in which the hierarchy of needs is explored (Clark, 2010). Above our physical needs and below the esoteric lies our need for love and belonging- the need to love and be loved in return (Robinson, 2021).

The search and devotion for romance is an agonizingly difficult experience from which a few of us have been spared. Online dating services aim to address the excruciatingly tedious process of finding a mate by offering a space-less platform in which a date can be planned in a matter of minutes (and from the comfort of one’s toilet seat if one wishes). In such services, however, drastic differences in activities between their cisgendered male and female users have been identified. In fact, the female demographic has a relatively high dislike-rate of profiles, often leading to the question: why are women so picky?

Mate selection is a gender-specific decision making process, where males and females showcase different parameters for assessing and selecting a potential partner. Instead of questioning the level of selectivity of female users, this research acted as a probe for exploring the extent to which online dating services address the female mate selection needs online through their digital translations of offline mate assessment factors. With this said, the following research question was formulated: How can needs for an offline interaction be met online to encourage Breeze’s young urban professional female users to like profiles?

A culturally-sensitive approach was used to uncover the archeological state of the female scope and their relationship to this modern mode of love pursuit. Breeze, an online dating app, was used as a case for the investigation as the service similarly faces the aforementioned problem of gender-imbalanced like-rate activity. The goal of the research was therefore to propose a design that would enhance the female online dating experience on Breeze, ultimately increasing their like-rate.

As Breeze offers an online mate assessment experience for an offline interaction, the research revealed that the content of the gap between the current and the desired female online activity consisted of behavioral factors as mate selection needs that were best digested through a visual language. As a result, four concepts for Breeze were created and positioned on a scale of present to future implementation. Each prototype provided behavioral information through different degrees of visual-orientation, exemplified by the proposed visual languages. The concepts are a response to the internal and external research, allowing for Breeze to stay future-proof and congruent with behavioral change in both the online and offline domains. The concepts were assessed and evaluated by the female scope and the Breeze company, leading to suggestions for design iterations and recommendations for future research.

Delft Inclusive Design: A platform to grow awareness and provide resources for IDE faculty in order to promote an inclusive design perspective

Master thesis (2022) - M.I. Jimenez Lluva (author) , G.W. Kortuem (mentor) , M.L. Lupetti (mentor) , A.G.C. van Boeijen (graduation committee member)

Today many products exclude users from different sociodemographic groups such as ethnicity and race. Examples of these in physical products are automatic soap dispensers and airport body scanners. The digital era has appeared and there are still digital products excluding users o ...

Today many products exclude users from different sociodemographic groups such as ethnicity and race. Examples of these in physical products are automatic soap dispensers and airport body scanners. The digital era has appeared and there are still digital products excluding users of different ethnicities and race, for example, dating apps and algorithms used to find racism and discrimination on social media. Therefore, both physical and digital products continue to cause exclusion among users, mainly caused by the designer’s implicit biases. Yet, the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) at TU Delft has a scarcity of resources and courses available to integrate an inclusive design perspective for its students and staff. This project aims to raise awareness for inclusivity and set an example for the type of tools needed to carry out an inclusive design perspective in the IDE faculty.

The Delft Inclusive Design (DID) platform was designed to bring together inclusivity resources available in the IDE faculty. To learn how to carry out an inclusive design approach, the DID platform offers resources and guidelines created by the IDE faculty members. These resources focus on creating awareness about inclusivity and how personal experiences shape our designs and guidelines, to carry out inclusive design practices. With a questionnaire among 13 students and interviews with 2 staff members, the DID platform proved the significance of the topic and contents of the DID platform. It also proved the student and staff interest in the topic of inclusivity, the effectiveness of the platform and its envisioned content, and the willingness of students and staff to contribute to the platform. As part of the DID platform, an awareness activity was designed for students to reflect on the influence of implicit biases in their design work. This awareness activity was tested in 3 sessions to grasp the knowledge acquired in short-term, medium-term, and long-term effect. Each session was carried out by 6 student participants and took place every 2 weeks. The outcomes show that a 3-session process is essential when creating awareness as session 1 creates new knowledge that students need to grasp, session 2 ‘reminds’ students of their learnings and by session 3 students are able to recall the information learned in session 1. Additionally, a guideline to inclusive imagery was created to aid students and staff when selecting inclusive imagery. These guidelines proved useful and provided knowledge to all 6 student participants and 4 staff participants. The awareness activity and image guideline set an example to how these can take form, in order to promote inclusive design perspectives at the IDE faculty.

Rake Praat

Designing for the political participation of mbo-students

Master thesis (2022) - M.G. van Steen (author) , Annemiek G.C. Boeijen (graduation committee member) , T.S. Wallner (mentor)

Political participation of a group representative of society is essential for the legitimacy of a democratic system. But adolescents are not heard sufficiently and receive too little attention in contemporary democracy. Their political participation is very low and not representa ...

Political participation of a group representative of society is essential for the legitimacy of a democratic system. But adolescents are not heard sufficiently and receive too little attention in contemporary democracy. Their political participation is very low and not representative for their age group, as politically engaged adolescents often enjoy formal education, do not come from vulnerable groups and have positive role models at home or at school. In the participatory society, which has become the Dutch norm, participation has become vital. Differences in level of participation can result in inequalities for groups who do not sufficiently bring up their concerns. The corona crisis has exposed this is the case for mbo-students.
Involving this group of underrepresented, under-involved and not-heard mbo-students is imperative to achieve the equality necessary for a legitimate democratic system. Increasing their participation will contribute to more social justice. Despite efforts by the government, the political participation of mbo-students does not appear to be increasing.
The lack of participation of mbo-students is a complex problem with many causes. Mbo-students are incredibly diverse in age, ethnicity, interests, and so on, and ‘the’ mbo-student does not exists. There is a gap between politicians and mbo-students, and the current participation system does not fit students’ needs. Furthermore, they have difficulties formulating opinions autonomously and do not know how to translate these into action.
The proposed design intervention is the concept Rake Praat. The process of Participatory Budgeting (where a municipality allocates a section of the annual budget to be spent by citizens) has been altered to more accurately facilitate the needs and wishes of mbo-students. Their experiences form the foundation for the process. With the use of integrated Creative Problem-Solving techniques, students and politicians define potential projects together.
With four co-creation sessions, each with its own focus, mbo-students and politicians navigate together from problem to solution. A session plan can be designed by the municipality and schools with the use of the Activity Cards. These describe different types of (creative) activities, allowing the participants to go through the different stages of the creative process: diverging, reverging, and converging. The activities are shaped so that the creative facilitation does not require experts, allowing students and politicians to go through the process autonomously.
The design makes creative problem-solving more accessible to non-designers, providing policymakers and politicians with the means to shape contacts with mbo-students. Simultaneously, the toolkit gives students the opportunity to express their views directly to people who can make a difference. This is necessary for both groups to understand each other better.

PREQUEL

A tangible storytelling tool for building a family culture

Master thesis (2021) - J. Mooij (author) , Annemiek van van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , M.A. Gielen (mentor)

This report describes the development of the tool PREQUEL, a tangible storytelling tool to build a family culture. The tool is intended to support meaningful conversations between two parents. Through conversation and storytelling, the tool encourages them to explore the world of ...

Forenet: A Context-sensitive Tool To Measure Social Wellbeing At The Workplace

Master thesis (2021) - Z. Chen (author) , AGC van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , S.E. Colenberg (mentor)

Social wellbeing at work by definition incorporates the feeling of belongingness, having satisfying social interactions and relationships with others (Fisher, 2014). During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has raised our awareness that positive social interaction with col ...

Social wellbeing at work by definition incorporates the feeling of belongingness, having satisfying social interactions and relationships with others (Fisher, 2014). During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has raised our awareness that positive social interaction with colleagues or peers is crucial to our wellbeing and the lack of it might lead to negative effects like exhaustion (Meyer et al., 2021). It has been researched that positive social wellbeing at the workplace can boost mood, increase productivity and performance (Dutton and Heaphy, 2003). Thus there is a need to measure and monitor the social wellbeing of employees at work for organisations like TU Delft. Supervised by Annemiek van Boeijen and initiated by Susanne Colenberg, this project aims to develop a tool that measures social wellbeing at the workplace. Recognizing the fact that the tool design could face challenges including different contextual influences and diverse needs and values of stakeholders, a design challenge was formulated to design a context-sensitive tool that can enable adaptation to different local contexts in order to meet different needs. The focus was put on the measurement form design instead of the content like what to measure. To tackle the challenge, this project followed a design process using the model of Double Diamond(Design Council, 2019) and Basic Design Circle (van Boeijen et al., 2020). To explore, methods of literature study and participatory research were combined to understand existing measurement tools and investigate stakeholders’ experiences. By synthesizing insights from the research, main problems were identified and a design vision was formulated. To inform the concept development, a list of design requirements were developed based on the theoretical architecture of the approach, Context Variation by Design (Kersten, 2020). Guided by the design vision and the design requirement, concept development was conducted starting by defining a basic framework of a continuous system. During the development, two rounds of ideation were executed both with reflections and idea convergence in the end. With the first ideation, possibilities were explored and a design direction was selected. The second ideation was used to design a more concrete concept that aimed to create a supportive network. With the clear concept, a final design was created and introduced, the app Forenet. With the app, employees could help improve social wellbeing at the workplace by sharing anonymous opinions. HR officers can use this app to customize how employees provide those opinion data and collect and track data about their social wellbeing over time. The final prototype was developed through Figma and stimulated into animation for design evaluation. With evaluations with employees and HR officers, what could be opportunities, challenges and drivers for its implementation were identified. Strategies to implement the design at TU delft context and a using manual for HR officers were proposed. In the end, recommendations for future development were also suggested.

Playful learning through designing toys

Developing a design education toolkit for a non-profit organisation in rural Kenya

Master thesis (2021) - M.B. Westerhof (author) , Annemiek van van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , M.A. Gielen (mentor)

Sustainable Rural Initiatives (SRI) is a non-profit organisation in Okana, a rural community in West Kenya. SRI provides the community members of Okana with opportunities to develop practical skills such as carpentry and tailoring. SRI also works with international partners with ...

Sustainable Rural Initiatives (SRI) is a non-profit organisation in Okana, a rural community in West Kenya. SRI provides the community members of Okana with opportunities to develop practical skills such as carpentry and tailoring. SRI also works with international partners with specific expertise to give local community members opportunities to develop skills they would otherwise not have had. In all these efforts, there is a strong focus on reflecting the culture, surroundings, and values of the community. Play is an important aspect of how children develop and make sense of their surroundings. Toys are tools through which play is facilitated, but making toys itself is a common form of play too. The literature on play suggests that by providing kids with joyful, engaging, iterative and socially interactive play experiences, adults can guide children’s play to help children develop skills directly involved with that play experience, but also more general learning-to-learn skills. My project had two goals; the first was to give children the opportunity to develop design skills in a fun and playful way. Design is an exciting medium for kids to develop several valuable design skills, that are broadly applicable. The second was to give SRI the tools and practical knowledge to provide children with design activities through which they can develop those skills, both now and in the future. To reach these goals I designed a toolkit, consisting of a manual and several videos, that allows SRI to organise playful design workshops for kids to help the children develop these design skills. In the workshops, the children design toys from materials such as clay and wood, that are available around SRI’s community centre. In the workshops the design process is structured in three phases. In the first phase, a topic is introduced through a video, that then poses several questions to help the kids discuss that topic. These discussions help them to make their goal concrete, as they practise working together. In the second phase they build and test their idea. The kids first gather materials, and then use those materials to prototype their toy. They practise making their ideas tangible and learn from making mistakes. Finally they present their designs to each other, allowing the others to ask questions and give feedback. In doing so, they practise their communication skills and their capacity to reflect. From the third workshop onward, the facilitator has to introduce the topic and questions to the children himself, replacing the video. The facilitator can find suggestions for topics and stories in the manual to help him come up with other challenges for the kids. This toolkit gives children in Okana a fun pastime through which they are introduced to the design process, and can develop valuable design skills. This toolkit has given SRI the knowledge and tools to host those workshops. It has also given SRI a model they can use to effectively transfer knowledge from external partners to the local community.

Zachte Wacht

A concept promoting long-term social support for CSN parents

Master thesis (2021) - I.S. Kingma (author) , Pieter J. Stappers (mentor) , Annemiek van Boeijen (graduation committee member)

When a child with special needs is born, the lives of all family members radically change, and so does their family culture. For the well-being of their parents, it is crucial that they feel connected with the people in their surroundings, for fulfilling their fundamental human n ...

When a child with special needs is born, the lives of all family members radically change, and so does their family culture. For the well-being of their parents, it is crucial that they feel connected with the people in their surroundings, for fulfilling their fundamental human needs, for maintaining their connection with their surrounding culture, and to get support in the many challenges they encounter. Therefore, the first aim of this graduation project is to provide the designers of Ontzorghuis with an overview of information that contributes to their understanding of the bigger picture regarding the relationship between CSN parents and the people in their surroundings. Insights from literature research, interviews with experts, and contextmapping research with 6 highly educated CSN parents with Dutch heritage, have resulted in 3 overviews of information. The Opportunity Framework lays out the different levels in capacities that CSN parents desire from people in their social surroundings, going from a vague acquaintance to a close friend. The Framework of Values illustrates 3 influential values of CSN parents, to better understand what is important to them and how their coping strategies are affected. The Practical Learnings and Attitudes offers designers an understanding on a more practical level. It offers insight into the psychological challenges CSN parents can face, navigating their own and other people’s expectations and attitudes. Secondly, this project proposes a design intervention that supports CSN parents in awaking a feeling of ownership among a few people in their social surroundings. The final design is a DIY-booklet with the following key aspects: it invites CSN parents to be soft with themselves, it promotes the common recognition and acceptance of long-term social support, and it inspires CSN parents to make it a positive event to ask for long-term support. The main message incorporated in the booklet is: it is important to be kind to yourself and it is okay to need support. First, the booklet introduces them to the novel concept of ‘zachte wacht’ or soft guard, a long-term social support circle for CSN parents. Secondly, it encourages them to reflect on what they expect of themselves, what they need to stay on their feet in the long term, and what they can expect of people in their surroundings. Thirdly, it guides CSN parents through the steps of setting up their own support circle, the final step being a small ceremony to seal their supporters' commitment. Although there is still room for iteration, the evaluations of 6 CSN parents demonstrated that the design is desirable for the target group. Everyone that expressed their opinion of the zachte wacht, CSN parents as well as experts, considered it to be a beautiful concept. The design capabilities, understanding of the target group, and network needed to implement the booklet and other aspects of the concept are a perfect fit with the unique strengths of Ontzorghuis. The concept has the potential to appeal to a large and growing target group. Moreover, promising opportunities for collaborations, funding, and subsidies are awaiting.

Refashioning Communication

Master thesis (2020) - H.M. Klunder (author) , H. Kuipers (mentor) , Annemiek van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Mart Veeken (coach)

This project was commissioned by Labl Fashion Group B.V. (Labl), a company which focuses on helping small fashion brands gain access to a social and sustainable supply chain, by connecting these brands to their (future) private factory in Kenya. During the first pilots Labl perfo ...

One size fits some

Gender bias in design, and how to address it in design education

Master thesis (2020) - E.N. van Proosdij (author) , B.F. van Eekelen (mentor) , AGC van Boeijen (graduation committee member)

This thesis discusses the role of gender bias indesign and explores how attention to genderand sex in design can be addressed in designeducation, specifically in the first semester of thenew bachelor of Industrial Design Engineeringat the TU Delft that will start in 2021. As will ...

This thesis discusses the role of gender bias indesign and explores how attention to genderand sex in design can be addressed in designeducation, specifically in the first semester of thenew bachelor of Industrial Design Engineeringat the TU Delft that will start in 2021. As willbe discussed in this report, not consideringgender and sex in design can result in productsor services that unintentionally exclude part ofa target group. Considering gender and sexin the design process can help to identify newopportunities and make a product work betterfor a wider range of users. The aim of thisproject was to increase students’ awarenessof the role of gender and sex in design, andto offer them guidance on how to approachconsideration of gender and sex in their work.This thesis explored the influence of genderbias in design, the context of the first semester,existing tools to educate about gender bias, andthe perspective of the design students on thetopic. This was done through literature review,semi-structured interviews, desk research,creative sessions, and concept testing.Gender bias is the term used to describeassumptions and prejudices on the basis ofgender and sex.Sex refers to biological characteristics such asheight, weight, and physiology. Gender impliessociocultural attitudes and behaviours thatshape women’s and men’s behaviour, products,technologies, environments and knowledge.(Schiebinger, Klinge, Sánchez de Madariaga,Paik, Schraudner, & Stefanick, 2011-2018).When products exclude users based ondifferences in gender or sex, these productsrepresent a gender bias. As a result of different(ideas about) bodies, roles and obligations,women and men often lead different lives andhave different experiences. When a designeraims to design for women and men, therefore,both should be involved in research and testing.Through the collection and analysis of examplesof gender biased designs it was found thatthey can be summarised in three categories.In most examples, gender biased design wascaused by the use of standards that were notrepresentative for all users. In some cases, itwas caused by the associations of the designerwith what is male or female, that were reflectedin the final product. Lastly, gender biased designwas caused by not considering the differencein behaviour between women or men in thetarget group. The three themes can serve as aguide on how to analyse gender biased designand can be used to identify what to look out forwhen aiming to design in a gender considerateway.The result of this project is the “becomeaverage” advertising campaign, that consists ofprovocative posters that criticize gender biases,and a website that gives more information. Theposters are distributed throughout the facultyto attract the attention of design students. Theposters guide students to the webside via aQR code. On the website, more informationabout the campaign can be found, as well asan introduction to the topic of gender bias indesign, and advice for gender consideratedesign. In this way, students are introduced tothe topic of gender bias and receive means toexplore the topic further.

Playfully Cracking Cultures

Master thesis (2019) - L.C. de Jong (author) , AGC Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Valentijn Visch (mentor)

Cultural differences in the business world are often met with surprise and irritation. The aim of this graduation project was to create a persuasive game design that teaches managers in an international context how to work with cultural differences. For this, the game makes use o ...

Creating better product communication by using Storytelling and Cultura

Master thesis (2019) - T.D. Fij (author) , Jan-Carel Diehl (mentor) , Annemiek G.C. van Boeijen (graduation committee member) , Nick van der Velde (coach)

The central goal of this master thesis is to improve the product communication of local SMEs in low-wage markets, by improving the advisory support given to these SMEs by BoP Innovation Center (BoPInc). BoPInc provides two-day trainings to support the SMEs on innovating their mar ...

The central goal of this master thesis is to improve the product communication of local SMEs in low-wage markets, by improving the advisory support given to these SMEs by BoP Innovation Center (BoPInc). BoPInc provides two-day trainings to support the SMEs on innovating their marketing and distribution. Currently, the SMEs are challenged by the implementation process of the training outcomes. The goal of this assignment was to improve the process of implementing the training outcomes.First, the current advisory support process and the training tools of BoPInc were analysed to identify the main changes that need to be made within the process. Two solution spaces were identified for which additional literature has been found. This literature address these solution spaces. To include more explicit insights into the training, the Cultura wheel (Hao, van Boeijen, & Jan Stappers, 2017) has been used. To create more practical outcomes of the training, Storytelling has been included. Both theories were reviewed, and together with the BoPInc knowledge taken towards the next phase of this project.During a Case study, this knowledge was combined and used to design a communication plan for an Ugandan SME that designs, produces and markets clean cooking stoves. During a three week full immersion, the cultural context, end user, current usage and current interactions were explored. These insights were structured and formed the desired interaction. Finally, a communication plan was designed. This communication plan targets low income peri-urban women during their community group meetings.The communication materials were designed with the use of Storytelling, while the insights were included in this design by using the Cultura wheel. Reflecting on the overall process, this thesis resulted in starting point of advice for BoPInc on the improvement of its current trainings. Two canvases were designed, a Cultura Canvas and a Storytelling Canvas. Together they create more practical outcomes of the trainings, while including insights of the cultural context.