Andy studied Product Design at the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam. He followed the minor Co-Design Studio at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (HU) and did an internship with Fundamentals Agency. He supported several Fundamentals-projects during his internship, like providing training to KLM-trainees and designing education in Co-Design methods at the HU.
Fundamentals feels more like a group of friends rather than a company with colleagues. They are good at celebrating successes and there is always time for a treat. Jens Gijbels is the one who makes Fundamentals. He is a hyperactive, positive and optimistic bloke, very good at talking and encouraging you. He asked me the right questions and had the right tone of voice, so it became clear to me what I wanted. I turned from student to professional.
Design Thinking is human-centred. The great thing about it is that it helps you to work on complex, persistent social problems while involving the underlying cultural context and emotions of the target group and stakeholders as well. It is a method to get down complex problems to essentials, so everybody is able to understand all the information and all stakeholders can be involved. Fundamentals learned me to open my mind and not to just rely on my own assumptions. The end user should be in the lead during the design process, not me as a designer.
As an intern I assisted in developing a Design Thinking-training for KLM-trainees from management, IT and finance. Usually a training involves lectures and training material. But Jens goes for the interaction, so you can search for a solution together. Everyone walks around the problem 360 degrees in order to observe it from all angles. The result is that you discover the solution could be very different from what you expected.
