HOW I WAS INFLUENCED BY ACADEMIC, ARTISTIC AND SOCIETAL PRACTICES

The project started with a collective brainstorm about my topic of interest and that immediately rooted the influence of different practices. I started exploring my own ideas as well as the given recommendations: art projects, news articles, a list of academic papers I could possibly use, going to a related exhibition and multiple research directions I could dive into. I think this start of the project gave me the freedom to let different disciplines influence the project. From there on I found my way through the project, specifically by sticking to a context of hustle culture; the workplace. It kept my feet on the ground and gave me the feeling that I could still explore other aspects as long as I would make or finish something with the collection of workplace photos. And eventually, especially while preparing for the presentation, I noticed how I could actually link all my findings from literature, lectures and conversations to the Labouratory, the name I attached to the project. Therefore, I tried to really communicate this story in the final presentation.

HOW I HAVE BEEN LEARNING FROM, AND COMBINING SCIENTIFIC, EMBODIED AND/OR VISUAL KNOWLEDGES

I learned how a conceptual/artistic goal can be the guiding theme of a project. How an extensive observation can lead to a better understanding of a context and how you can translate that to a story. During my studies, I am used to make things quite explicit when communicating a message, while now I experienced how something visual, more implicitly still raises awareness, provokes, leads to a dialogue or simply entertains because of the irony. How something funny at the same time can also have meaning.

At the Industrial Design faculty we almost always design for a client, a company or an organisation. Of course I still use my own vision and method of designing but in the end, you always have to think for someone else too. Now within this project, the client was myself, since I came up with the topic and had full authority about where the project would go to. On one side this felt scary and intimidating, but on the other side it also gave me confidence because I noticed I could actually do it and in quite a natural way.

HOW I EXPERIENCED THE TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

During my project I did not directly collaborate with external partners. However, I did reach out to other people in a more indirect or informal way. Those connections were partially only going in one way, for example by reading a book, following a philosophy course and going to a lecture in the theatre. And partially informal; a friend finishing her Bachelor in Psychology, a friend brainstorming with me on the storyline of the Labouratory video and a friend of my parents who is a yoga teacher with whom a conversation had really stayed with me. Next to this, I searched for as many people as possible to send in a photo of their workplace, which is not a form of collaboration but is a way of collecting data from people.

Looking back, in terms of external collaborators, I can conclude that I actually stayed in my comfort zone. I could have reached out to other external partners more pro-actively. In this way, I could have perhaps deepened the story further or get more perspectives.

HOW I COLLABORATED WITH MY FELLOW STUDENTS, TUTORS AND SOCIETAL PARTNERS

The collaboration within my research group felt very natural. Our motivation was exactly on the same level and our roles felt in place quickly after we started working together. It was pleasant to notice that once we stopped only 'talking' about our individual projects and started ‘doing’ something together (on our thematic session), our relation became informal and therefore efficient and fun. In the beginning of our Voyage project, I was unsure what my role would be, compared to the others whose task quickly became clear based on their expertise. One then asked if I could tell and show what kind of projects I make at my studies. After doing this, I got the feeling that we got a better understanding of each other and it became clear what I could add to the group project.

Often before the weekly tutor meeting, I had the feeling of not doing enough, being insecure about what I had done or feeling chaotic. The tutor meeting almost always gave me inspiration and advice on which directions I could go to, but perhaps even more importantly it gave me confidence. Therefore I learned to trust more on (the quality of) my own ideas and my process. To judge when something is good enough.

HOW I HOPE TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY IN THE FUTURE WITH MY DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE EXPERTISE

After part I my answer was the following:

By being in a position in which I can make the world a tiny little better. To be able to solve (social, practical, technical) problems by looking at it from all perspectives. To be able to design in a meaningful and inclusive way.

What I can add to that now is that I have learned more about what a transdisciplinary approach contains, by experiencing it more individually but also exploring it on a meta-level; reading papers on transdisciplinarity, recognizing examples of transdisciplinary projects, learning about ‘dissolving’ methods, storytelling, etc. I will take this way of thinking with me in future (design) projects.

In addition, I got a better understanding of the lexicon, methods and interest of other disciplines and understands its strength. It showed me what the 'truth' of the arts can bring forth and how it can transcend all propositions.

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