Tell us a bit about yourself as a designer – what’s your background?
I trained at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, specializing in Man and Identity, and graduated in 1997. Even as a child I  liked exploring materials − nothing in our house was safe! Everything interesting I see around me can be a source of inspiration.

I joined Philips in 1999 as a Visual Trends Analyst in the Personal Care area. I started to concentrate on materials and finishing and in 2006 moved to Domestic Appliances, where I was part of the design team creating a range of products from kitchen appliances to vacuum cleaners. In October 2011 I moved to Lighting where I want to introduce a fresh mindset with lots of new material and finish implementations. Lighting is a fast moving, very competitive sector – every aspect of design can help to differentiate products.

What designers have influenced you the most?
I am triggered by everything around me, no matter what the design or designer. I instinctively ’dismantle’ a product on all sensorial levels  and at the same time imagine different contextual usages or possible adaptations. My ideal approach is to design around a material or production process, constantly questioning and reconsidering with all stakeholders. Even starting with a given form and needing to clad a material around it offers many possibilities −  just imagine and dare to do! The emotion a material brings, the aesthetics, semantics, how it would behave and engage, all together will influence or determine a final selection. In the end it should be what the people think it is, and even beyond.

Which of your designs are you most proud of?
When working on shavers we introduced some ground-breaking new materials and finishes, including magnetic lacquering  and a 3D-shaped foil as decoration. The foil is now standard across the ranges and is still becoming more advanced and refined.

 
In Appliances I am especially proud of the Senseo Viva Café Eco, which has won an iF 2012 Materials Award. It’s a long time since we have won in this category.  It was a real team effort from marketing, development and design. We all worked well together to reach our objectives, and within the given boundaries and restrictions of sustainable design we managed to achieve something extraordinary which has the opportunity to become a standard for more products in the future.

Senseo Viva Café Eco – what were the challenges on working on this product?
One of the key elements of the Philips Ecovision5 strategy is ‘closing the materials loop’, which means using more recycled materials in products and ensuring that as much of a product can be recycled at the end of its life as possible. In this case we wanted to produce a sustainable Senseo that didn’t compromise on product design or coffee quality. With a lot of team work and collaboration with external suppliers we achieved a stylish Senseo made with more than 50% recycled plastics. The textured lid for example is made from waste from DVD and CD production, while the drip cover is made out of old used Philips appliances, 100% recycled plastic content, all for the first time used in a coffee machine. In addition, more than 90% of the product is recyclable – the other end of the materials loop.

This product is a real achievement, even though it may not seem that special. We struggled with various challenges regarding logistics, business models, molds and the quality and appearance of the materials.  We worked with recyclers and compounders to reach our targets and have produced a product that I’m very proud of. It was nice to hear recently that Apple has been enquiring how we did it.

What do you enjoy most about your work? What do you like about working as a designer in Philips?
I like to work in a team with other stakeholders from across the business. I like to bring all the disciplines together and challenge them, wanting to move things forward all the time. Even though sometimes it’s only small steps, I always keep a helicopter view − a long-term vision with my feet on the ground.

Within Philips it’s wonderful to have the chance to work globally and across different areas – you can leverage and learn a lot. Not only about aspects of design, but about different ways of working, different cultures, different people or just different materials. I am passionate about my work and eager to learn and explore. This job is never boring.

February 14, 2012