Hi, my name is Daan, and I love creating designs that help people flourish
Currently, I am a Design for Interaction master student at the TU Delft. Here, I am developing my skills in designing the interactions people have with products and each other. At the moment I am looking for a job in the Gothenburg area.
What I love to do
I like to immerse myself in contexts and try to see how they can be improved for people. Learning from them and their experiences, gives me a lot of energy and insights. I find it a great challenge to afterwards try and untangle those complex insights to their core. From there on, the goal is to transfer the resulting framework to tangible concepts that are iterated on by testing them in the real context.
Why I am a designer
I like designing for a (future) world in which I want people and society to flourish, to thrive. Changing people’s everyday interactions to improve their well-being and try to satisfy their fundamental needs. Working towards a better world, for everybody in it. I am therefore also a value driven designer. I want to believe in the projects that I am doing, guided by my personal values.
AbOUT ME
I love
to immerse myself in things, being out in nature, doing sports, talking to people, bringing down complexity to its core
Skills
User-centred design, User Experience design, Contextmapping, User research, Usability, Vision in Product Design (ViP), Creative Facilitation
Rapid prototyping, Arduino, Figma, Solidworks, Adobe suit, Microsoft Office, Maple,
I would like to become better at
Contextmapping, User Experience design, creative facilitation
I am
playful, competitive, possibility-driven, laid back, holistic, curious
Languages
Fluent in:
Dutch & English
Advanced in:
Swedish
Conversational in:
German
Triathlon, that other part of me
Next to being a designer, I have also been a triathlete for a big part of my life, and it is something that I love to do. Being outside a lot, mastering 3 different disciplines and working towards being my very best gives me a lot of satisfaction.
Since 2014 I have been competing triathlon at a national level, with some international races as well. Since 2017 I have been racing for Rogelli-TriMates in the Dutch premier league.
WORK Experience
Project Manager
(GU Project Accelerator AB)
January 2021 – Present
Doing user-research on the needs, wishes and dreams of students that combine their studies with sports at an elite level. Aiming to co-create a tool to improve their experience. Designing for a context I am very passionate about, and developing my design skills in a real-world context.
Outdoor instructor
(Break Out Evenementen)
November 2015 – Present
Facilitating outdoor activities for a diverse group of people, who all want a delightful event. The customers range from schoolkids to adults, and from kids with (light) disorders to family events. We have to organise, execute and evaluate an experience for our guests. Furthermore, I learned to search for practical solutions to quickly solve problems, and be flexible in my thinking.
Video commission
(Study association ID)
October 2017 – August 2018
Telling a story or giving information via video. Creating, setting up, filming and executing a movie.
Swim coach to youth
(Roersoppers)
October 2015 – August 2017
Dealing with the challenge to provide an attractive practice both for the kids with performance goals and for those who just want to have fun. Give clear and precise instructions, while keeping the attention focused.
EDUCTIONAL Experience
Design for Interaction
Master TU Delft (Netherlands)
2019 – Present
Industrial Design / Industrieel Ontwerpen
Bachelor TU Delft (Netherlands)
2016 – 2019
Industrial Design
Erasmus exchange Elisava (Spain)
Fall 2018
Qualifying Studies in Swedish
Malmö Universitet (Sweden)
2020 – 2021
Let’s create something wonderful together.
Daan Gehlen 