About Me – Michael de Boer

I am

Michael de Boer

I make the digital tangible & the physical magical. Not just to wow, rather to add value to people’s lives.

A product designer who specialises in the connection between physical products & digital technology and services. I like to approach problems and opportunities with a ‘phygital’ holistic view, to find the best and most effective solutions and ideas. User-centered design is at the core of my approach to develop successful products.

I flourish in the process from concept generation until demonstrator prototypes; validating the technology, usability/UX, and value proposition. My knowledge and experience with design & engineering for mass-production ensures the feasibility of my developed concepts.

My ambition is to become a creative leader of a multidisciplinary team, that works on innovative ‘phygital’ products / services. My way of getting there is to experience these disciplines hands-on and discover broad insight. I am able to connect with specialists and build bridges between them, to achieve a holistic end-product that users love and is feasible & viable.

I graduated cum laude in (Industrial) Product Design [B.Sc.] and followed up with a Master in Digital (Technology) Design [M.Sc.], both at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

I am

Michael de Boer

I make the digital tangible & the physical magical. Not just to wow, rather to add value to people’s lives.

I graduated cum laude in (Industrial) Product Design [B.Sc.] and followed up with a Master in Digital (Technology) Design [M.Sc.], both at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Download my Resume/CV

My Design Practice

What I'm passionate about

Creating physical products

I love the tactile and multi-sensory experience of physical products. I believe this is the true power of physicality. It makes often abstract and complex subjects, concepts or problems explicit, so we can understand them better. Physicality is what makes us believe something is real.

I have a serious craving for feeling the texture, smelling the material, tasting it with an unabashed lick, staring at the beauty, and hearing the sounds of my interactions.

Using (digital) technology to create magical experiences

To both get overly excited about what we as humans are capable of, and at the same time, use it for something bigger than my own excitement.

Creating meaningful products for people & our planet

Because the appreciation I get in return for caring about others, is my greatest source of happiness and motivation. It gives meaning to my life.

My Design Practice

What I like & am good at

Human/User-Centered Design

(multi-disciplinary) Teamwork

Product-service-systems

I believe a modern (technology) designer should always think from: People, Business, Technology, and Information (data). With the possibilities and opportunities of today’s technology, this often results in complex product-service-systems, while users still experience these products/parts as one thing. Managing these complex systems, so the connections are seemless and ensure a holistic product exprience is key.

Always considering the bigger picture

Complex/wicked design challenges

Often with many different stakeholders involved and using participatory design to work together with people from a variety of fields/disciplines to find a solution that best fits all.

Seeking opportunities to prevent problems, apart from finding problems to solve

Sustainability & Long-term vision

For me, sustainability and long-term vision is a lifestyle and norm. I feel like it is my duty/responsibility to make sustainable design choices for the whole product-life-cycle, to ultimately support a circular (& donut) economy and create sustainable impact on society and the planet. I believe it is only with a dedicated long-term vision, that big challenges like this can be overcome.

Structural thinking, decision making, planning, and process management

Design Ethics

Combining phsycial products with digital technologies can add a lot of value and possibilities, but before I get too excited, I always try to consider “why?”. After all, because we can, does not mean we should. And power comes with responsibility.

Critical Optimism

Digital Technology

Digital technologies can really do magical things. But to utilise this, I always carefully consider if, where and how they can add value.
I have practical experience with IoT, VR, AR, and with more tangible technologies like Sensors, Actuators, and Interactive Surfaces. As well as Digital Manufacturing (like 3D-printing and other CNC processes).
Apart from practical experience, I continuously develop my knowledge/skills to keep up with new/important digital technologies to make good, ethical and strategic choices for the future. Examples are: AI & Machine Learning, Big Data, Blockchain, Facial Recognition & Computer Vision.

Calm Technology

I try to cling to ‘Calm Technology’ principles in my everyday design practice, of which three are most important to me: “Technology should work even when it fails”, “Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention”, and “Technology should make use of the periphery”.

Prototyping

Prototyping early on and throughout my whole design process is what inspires me and sparks my creativity. It allows me to (user) test many iterations and fail/learn a lot. It also forces me to make choices and don’t get stuck in a time-wasting tunnelvision.

Physical Computing

Physical computing allows me to prototype with sensors, actuators, IoT, and related technologies early on in the design process, to make holistic design choices for the whole product-service-system, instead of simply “smacking some sensors on the product, because we can”.

Using playful interaction (serious gaming)

To both create more engaging and appealing experiences, as well as keeping it fun and exciting, instead of making it feel like yet another task we have to complete.

(Phygital) Interaction Design

My Design Practice

What I'm critical about

The phenomenon of surrendering our agency to technology

Do we really want to live in a ‘stupid’ society which is entirely dependent on technology? Do we want technology to decide for us? What is the role of our bright, educated minds in the future?

I think we should keep in mind that a person’s task should not be computing, but being human.

Companies who don’t take responsibility for their impact on society & our planet

Trendy, so called "smart" products

Simply adding the newest trendy technology to a product that already fulfils its core purpose perfectly, rather makes the product a useless gadget that we convince each other we somehow need.

To me, smart technology should be about adding positive, meaningful value to people’s lives and society.

Ignoring the fact that design/technology is not always the solution

I believe a designer should always consider the fact that design/technology is not the (best) solution for everything. The moment we realise there are more suitable solutions out there, we should accept and promote this. Although a design project might be cut short, I think designers can still play an important role in making these, often social or ecological, solutions work.

My Design Practice

Changes I want to contribute to

Making a fully Circular (& Doughnut) Economy a reality and thrive

I believe it is my duty to be part of the development of a circular economy and support the establishment of global non-negotiable sustainability values; to design products in which both people and our planet are centred, and thrive. In a time where the human population on earth is vastly growing, the weight of our ecological footprint is becoming hard to carry – not even so much for our planet, but ironically more so for ourselves. In an arms race for natural (exhaustible) resources (e.g. oil, rare metals, fresh water, meat, and many more), polluting fabrication, a society where short-term (over)consumerism is the norm, and waste is either piling up, floating around, hidden or desperately burned – we ourselves, are the ultimate victim. Because without healthy ecosystems on earth, our demands will outpace our resources, threaten our health, and damage our wealth.

Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations

I am actually past the ‘choosing to believe’ and rather know for a fact that there is no other option than shifting towards a more sustainable future, urgently. To live in balance with nature, once again. Like David Attenborough says/shows in his ‘witness statement’ documentary “David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet”. If we continue the way we do today, there will be 11 billion people on earth, an extreme food crisis, little to no wildlife left, and critical biodiversity levels. In other words, everything that makes our world beautiful, habitable and has ensured stable ecosystems for 10.000 years, will be as good as gone by 2100. A 6th mass-extinction is well on the way.

That may sound dystopian for some, but as a critical optimist, I believe we can steer humanity back on the right track by contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. Personally, I try to focus on the following goals:

5 Gender Equality
7 Affordable and Clean Energy
9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12 Responsible Consumption and Production
13 Climate Action
14 Life below Water
15 Life on Land