Portfolio Arjan Helmer Feb 2011

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PORTFOLIO arjan helmer // design for interaction

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTACT ADVISOR msc graduation project............................ 4

MATCH winner ikea innovation contest 2008.................................... 6

NELSON interactive pet in the shape of a ball................................. 8

BP HOME blood pressure monitor.................................................. 10

PHILIPS FUTURE design strategy tool...................................... 12

DONOR REGISTER registration experience............................. 14

TAG ACCESSORIES ecommerce website.................................. 16

KNOWYOURHISTORY ecommerce website........................... 18

MACHEO BENEFIT ticket sales website .................................. 20


CONTACT ADVISOR MSc Graduation projectCreation of application concepts that shows the potential of combining social networking and communication that can help business professionals in their work.

How can information from social networks aid a business professional in the process of initiating a communication session?

RESEARCHA creative session was held to obtain more insights into the professional usergroup, their wishes, needs and views on communication in their professions. It was found that professional social software communication tools are often not flexible enough, missing up to date information and are only adopted by a small part of the company.

DESIGNA final concept called ‘Alcatel-Lucent Contact Advisor’ was developed. Instead of letting a user declare its own relations to people, as in a social network application as LinkedIn, the calling logs and email traffic is used to build a social graph automatically. This social graph and his current context is used by the application to act smarter. Three design-concepts were developed and presented in a demonstration movie:

- The contacts in a shown contactlists are related to the tasks you are performing at this moment in time and shows the people relevant to the user at this moment in time. It can also give suggestions of people in the organization that could also be helpfull to this current task.

- When someone calls or a call is received, the information and options that are shown in the interface depend on your relationship to the person (e.g. close colleague, stranger, etc).

- Tag contacts with information and include at which time or event you want to be reminded of this.

watch the demonstration movie at:

www.arjanhelmer.nl/alcatellucent

Explorative user research

Creation of personas

Concept generation

Final demonstration movie of concepts

Rough usertesting of paper prototypes

Design concept proposals

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“just in the office”

“just in the office”

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MATCH winner IKEA innovation competition 2008Develop a solution to provide IKEA consumers a pleasant shopping experience 10 years from now.

IKEA Innovation Competition 2008 || Team Tangerine

IKEA 2018

Direct Matching

The matching process can work on a very direct level, where the input for the database is a picture of a prod-uct. Imagine a customer being very attached to his old couch, but in the need of a new one. He can take a pic-ture of his old couch and let IKEA find a similar one. The customer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product like this one”. IKEA would function as a re-placer for products.

Shape Matching

In another scenario, the customer is searching for furni-ture matching the present furniture. Imagine a cus-tomer being very attached to a lamp. He wants a new couch, and wants the couch to match with his lamp. He takes a picture of the lamp and makes IKEA suggest a matching couch. The customer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product that suits this one”. IKEA is functioning as an additive.

Atmosphere Matching

The matching process could work on a very indirect level, where the input is a picture of ‘a feeling’. Imag-ine a customer having a very relaxed feeling when he is experiencing a beautiful sunset on some Ca-ribbean beach. He enjoys this feeling so much that he whishes he could have this feeling back home. He takes a picture of the sunset and makes IKEA find a matching product. The customer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product that makes me feel like this”. IKEA is new and surprising.

A. C.B.

Problem DefinitionAs the World is increasingly changed by e-commerce, many com-panies face the problem of (re)positioning themselves in this digi-tal world. People buy online and do not ‘waste’ their time on visit-ing real stores. We consider IKEA to be a company that has to pay special attention to this tendency. Namely, one of IKEA’s main strengths is the accessibility and the tangibility of its products in the stores. But in the growing online world, nothing is tangible anymore. This brings us to our core problem: how to remain tan-gible in increasing e-commerce?

DirectionThat IKEA currently focuses on this tangibility is no surprise. Making the products tangible in the shop-experience evokes a feeling of trust, followed by engagement with the brand, and fi-nally increasing sales. A quick view in an IKEA store gives a clear impression: everywhere people are touching, tapping and petting products that catch their slightest interest. Customers feel free to imagine implementation of IKEA’s products in their lives.

The formula has proven to work, but only for customers inside the IKEA store. Since the future customer takes less and less effort to visit real stores and increasingly makes its purchases online, IKEA has to find a way to communi-cate its tangibility and accessibility outside the boundar-ies of the store. IKEA already has its free and ‘tangible’ catalogue, that customers love to browse through, but for future days IKEA should go much further.

IKEA has to keep itself interesting to the future consumer. Making their products more accessible by taking the tan-gibility outside the store into everyday life is our pro-posed direction. IKEA should look for a way wherein the point of purchase remains inside the store, but the inter-est for the products is raised outside the store via an ‘out-of-store IKEA experience’. This out-of-store IKEA ex-perience will lead to people already knowing what to look for when arriving at the blue box.

The World is an IKEA ExperienceEverything that people see in the World is to some extent of inspirational value for their personal interior design. But how often would you feel inspired and tend to forget the inspiring image? Here IKEA can jump in by implementing a direct inter-active system that will make the whole World the shopping-window of IKEA products. A system that will allow people to search for products the moment they feel inspired. It is not the IKEA products that become tangible, but the experience that is related to the IKEA product. This makes the world one big IKEA Experience.

With this vision in mind Team Tangerine came up with a new catalogue concept: IKEA Match. IKEA gives product-suggestions based on pictures out of the daily life of the con-sumer. There are three ways to use this concept (A,B,C).

This concept lets people experience the values of IKEA outside of the store and triggers them to get into the store; it creates the tangible out-of-store Ikea Experience. By appealing to a variety of target-groups, this concept is able to reach the many people. On the one hand it strengthens the relationship with their fan-base, because IKEA provides them a new way of getting in touch with their products; on the other hand the concept appeals to the non-IKEA buyers by providing an inviting and interesting interac-tion and lets them experience the values of IKEA. The concept provides inspiring suggestions for prod-ucts the users would never have thought of.

But the concept functions not solely as a trigger. By providing extra information, for example the avail-ability of products in a store nearby and the location of the product in the store, this concept enhances the overall shopping experience.Secondly, the concept increases accessibility. At the moment of inspiration, IKEA can be asked for infor-mation (direct feedback). IKEA selects only the products the customer wants (personal information). This direct feedback and the personal information make the products very accessible; more acces-sible than in an online catalogue. Thirdly, the concept is very personal. On all three matching levels, the experience that is related to the IKEA product is very tangible and very personal. Namely, the customer has been there to experience it himself. Whether it is the couch, the lamp or the sunset, the customer was there to see and feel it. To-gether with the tangibility, also the personal engagement with the IKEA products will increase. IKEA can so approach the many people in a personal way.

Social trends- ‘Individualism’.- ‘I want it now’. If people get interested or inspired by a product, they don’t want to keep it in mind till they have the opportunity at home to see what it is. People want to access appropriate information right away anywhere they are at any moment.- ‘Time is a valuable good’. People don’t take the time any-more to really prepare themselves to think about what they want. This concept will help them make a selection of products before they enter the store.- More aging population that make more use of new de-vices and ways of communication in a globalized world. - ‘Information overload’. People like to have guidance in making their choices and like to be inspired, but on the other hand want to keep in control of their choices in life.- ‘Simplicity of life’. Applications that make life easier and give less stress are highly appreciated.

Technological trends- Increasing use of the internet and networking technolo-gies in general and on mobile devices in particular. - Trends in image recognition and processing technology indicate that the recognition of product aspects as shape and color and comparing them to a database will cer-tainly be feasible within the ten-year scope of this project.- The implementation of photo or video cameras in mobile devices is not likely to cease in the upcoming years and it is very likely that overall quality of this func-tion will dramatically improve.

RequirementsProducts need to be available as CAD-modelsApplication must be hosted on the servers of IKEA,People don’t need to download the software, but just go to an internet website of IKEA with their smartphone.

ImplementationThe Concept can work aside the current distribution and logistics; IKEA does not have to change the trademarked IKEA Concept. She only has to set up a department for categorizing IKEA products for the online database. Plus she has to develop the internet service providing access to the database.

Link to IKEA’s mission statementCreateing a better everyday life for the many people.

Benefits for IKEA- Enhance the top of mind position of the Brand and the products with customers.- Get more people into the store: lower the boundar-ies by giving information and pushing them

Keeping it tangible

IKEA Match

The many peopleTrendsApplication

The concept our team created is called IKEA Match. IKEA gives product suggestions based on pictures out of the daily life of the consumer.

There are three ways to use this concept:

A. Direct Matching:The matching process can work on a very direct level, where the input for the database is a picture of a product. A consumer can take a picture of his old couch and let IKEA find a similar one. The customer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product like this one”.

B. Shape MatchingA consumer wants a new couch, and wants the couch to match with his lamp. He takes a picture of the lamp and makes IKEA suggest a matching couch. The consumer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product that suits this one”.

C. Atmosphere MatchingThe matching process could work on a very indirect level, where the input is a picture of ‘a feeling’. Imagine a consumer having a very relaxed feeling when he is experiencing a beautiful sunset on some Caribbean beach. He whishes he could have this feeling back home. He takes a picture of the sunset and makes IKEA find a matching product. The customer experience would be the kind of: “I want a product that makes me feel like this”.

This concept lets people experience the values of IKEA outside of the store and triggers them to create bonds or associations with IKEA products. It creates the tangible out-of-store Ikea Experience. The concept enhances the overall shopping experience, the products become very accessible and IKEA can approach consumers in a more personal way.

Our concept won the competition and our team was invited to the IKEA head-offices in Sweden. A video demonstration can be viewed on:

www.arjanhelmer.nl/ikea


NELSON interactive pet in the shape of a ball

Here is our overview of the ‘insides’ of Nelson.

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milkwhite semi-tranparant semi-soft ballinternal transparant hard ballthree colour LEDshock sensorarduino bluetooth kitFM radio receiverspeakerbatteryaccelerometercylinder which contains the electronicsbluetooth sender/receiver (dongle)FM transmitter

HI! i’m NELSON!HI! i’m NELSON!

bluetooth

bluetoothfm

shocks amount of move-ment of the ball height

shocksensor accelerometer wizzard of oz:keypress

speaker 3 color LEDs

sounds lights

max/msp

keyboard

input

output

USERTESTSPrototypes were built and tested in different development stages by a group of young girls. Two low-fidelity prototypes (a video and a sound-only prototype) were built and tested to obtain insights into the value of the concept and to adjust the design. In the end a final prototype was built to demonstrate the concept.

Creation of a new concept and working prototype that encourages girls to play and learn football for TNO Nederland.

THE FINAL PROTOTYPEThe final prototype consisted of an air-filled semitransparant ball with a core containing an Arduino circuitboard, accelerometer, shock-sensor, bluetooth transmitter, audio speaker and LED lights.

The sensor data from inside the ball was sent wireless to a computer application in MAX/MSP on a laptop. The laptop processed the sensor data and instantly sent a response back to the ball to make the ball respond with light and soundeffects to the users actions.

NELSONNekson is an interactive pet in the shape of a ball: Nelson likes to perform football movements like going up, being balanced and quick repetitions of tricks. This should stimulate girls to play football and acquire panna football skills.


BP HOME CONCEPT:Microlife is a world wide manufacturer of health-care products and has created a new product called the ‘BP home’. This blood-pressuremeter is given out by a doctor to a patient to measure their blood pressure at regular times during one week to get a week profile of their blood pressure. At the end of the week the patient returns the device to the doctor.

USER TESTING AND REDESIGN PROCESSThe existing blood-pressure monitor and software was tested and a research report was written with recommendations for a redesign.

Out of these recommendations a new design of the device and the accompanying software was created. The new design was again tested with participants from the target-group. The redesign was experienced as easier to use and led to less incorrect measurements by incorrect use of the product.

The recommendations and design ideas were picked up by Microlife and implemented in a new version of the product.

BP HOME bloodpressure monitorUser testing and Redesign of the existing BP Home bloodpressure monitor and accompanied software for the Microlife company.


It has been a few years now since Royal Philips Electronics has launched its Sense & Simplicity positioning. In current evaluations, Philips found two things: ‘simplicity’ is not perceived as intended; innovation can work as a strong purchase driver.

After research our team concluded that the Sense and Simplicity brand promise is very valuable and true, but there is a gap between promise and delivery. Even some new products are putting to much effort on Simplicity instead of Sense.There is a need for more innovative, people-centered and meaningfull products.

In order to tackle this problem our team created a workshop and a tool that provides a method to create more innovative, user-centered thinking.

In the workshop, an ideal future in line with Philips strategic values is constructed in the shape of personas*: personal stories of users containing future needs, problems and values.

The tool is based on the principle of envisioning a desired future vision for products, and deriving a path from that future to now. By taking this future, and draw back from this future to the current time, one will set out a path to get from the future to now. This technique is called back-casting, as the opposite of fore-casting. ‘

*Personas provide research based yet fictive information about a ‘person’,using media as photos, drawings and text.

The tool provides two things:Every solution that is created with this tool, will be in line to work towards the set-out future, thereby bringing Philips closer to this future every time. ‘Simplicity’ is added by Philips visionairs, innovation is added by introducing a ‘future product’in current time.Second is engagement of the designers. The future build around so-called personas, helps designers empathize with the user and also to keep the future targetgroup of the product in mind.

The project was celebrated by Philips; our results have been presented to Philips’ Strategic headquarters in London. A video demonstration can be viewed at:

www.arjanhelmer.nl/philips

PHILIPS FUTURE design strategy toolFind a way to ‘marry’ simplicity and innovation to strengthen the brand of Royal Philips Electronics.


DONOR REGISTER registration experience

Home assignments for participants send and returned daily as postcards by mail.

Generative session with excercises and a group discussion to uncover deeper feelings.

Analyse and conceptualise human-product interactions in relation to the physical, cultural, technological, and societal contexts in which the organ donation registration process is experienced by teens.

In The Netherlands, all teens who turn 18 are sent a registration form from the Dutch organ donation register, at the moment, only one third of the forms is sent back.

RESEARCHFirst, qualitative research was conducted into the experiences of teens with the subject of organ donor registration and the current registration process. The research data was made into a mapping and conclusions were drawn. An ‘interaction vision’ was constructed which was used as a basis to create design concepts. The product should: • Communicate the specialness & importance of

registration.• Be inviting & evoke curiosity.• Feel objective.

DESIGN

The final concept consisted of a package with a key that can be inserted in the usb slot of a computer. This opens a website in the browser.

In the website different stories can be listened to of teens who talk about the decision they made, or receivers of organs. There is a possibility to interact with other peers who have the usb key inserted in their computer and discuss about which option to choose.

To make the registration, the key can be turned, which opens the registration decision form. After finishing the registration, the key can then be kept as a reminder and used as a secure usb stick.

The findings of the research and the design concepts were presented to the Dutch donor register authority.


TAG ACCESSORIES ecommerce website

TAG is a new fashionable brand for fair fashion and living accessories. Tag accessories are trendy, unique and made by underprivileged, but very talented people in India and Kenya. TAG cooperates with several NGOs in developing countries. They all combine the production of accessories with development of underprivileged people.

The company website includes general information about the company a webstore, and a newsletter service. Customers can order products directly from the website and use the popular iDEAL functionality to pay for their orders.

TAG can update and manage all the content, images, orders from clients and settings through a secure content management system. Google Analytics has been used to provide TAG with detailed information about the visitors and clients behavior on the website,

www.tag-accessories.com

Design of a corporate identity and an online store for fashion- and accessory label TAG Accessories.


KNOWYOURHISTORY ecommerce website

T-shirt prints are often funny but meaningless. The Dutch company KnowYourHistory tries to bring history under the attention through t-shirts and accessories with designs related to historic events.

The company website was developed, including a webstore and a newsletter service. The client can add, remove and change all of the website content and products through a Content Management System.

Google Analytics provides detailed feedback on the visitors and their behavior on the website. Visitors can order products directly from the website and use the popular iDEAL functionality to pay for their orders.

www.knowyourhistory.nl

Design of a corporate identity, website and online store for fashion label Know Your History.


MACHEO benefit event 2008

In March 2008 the Macheo Children’s Center benefit concert took place in the Desmet Studio’s Amsterdam. For this event, a flyer / poster and website was designed. The website provided information on the concert and offered the possibility to directly buy tickets or make a donation by using the iDEAL online payment method.

Ordering ticketsVisitors could buy a certain amount of tickets and determine themselves how much they wanted to pay for the tickets. After the payment was finalized, the user would receive a confirmation email with an e-ticket with a reservation number for the concert. The ordering-system closed itself, after the maximum amount of available tickets was sold out.

The back-end of the website provided the organization an overview of the sold tickets and the possibility to export this list to MS Excell. This list was used as a guestlist at the door of the event.

Design of flyer / poster and donation website for the Macheo Children’s Center 2008 ben-efit concert in the Desmet Studio’s Amsterdam.


Personal details

Objective

Personal Characteristics

Resume Arjan Helmer MSc.

Arjan Maarten Helmer4th August 1983 // Deventer, The NetherlandsBos en Lommerweg 110 III, 1055ED, Amsterdam, The [email protected] // +31626040116www.arjanhelmer.nl

As MSc Interaction Designer, I am looking for a position as Interaction Designer, where I can further develop my knowledge and experience in User-Experience design and research, to become a Senior Interaction Designer within a leading innovation firm.

MSc. Graduation Thesis Alcatel-Lucent, Paris, FR Research and development of an intelligent social networking communication concept for business professionals.

Co-founder and photographer Afstudeerfoto.nl, Delft, NL Photograpy & print services for graduating students.

MSc, Design for Interaction University of Technology Delft, NL

MSc. Exchange Semester Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial, Rio de Janeiro, BR

BSc, Industrial Design Engineering University of Technology Delft, NL

Atheneum (pre-university education) SG de Waerdenborch, Holten, NL

Founder, graphic- and website designer Helmer Design, Delft, NL Development of internet applications, corporate identities and marketing material.

Website designer Remotion BV, Amsterdam, NL Design of website concepts and translation of concepts into websites.

Co-founder and website designer Arma Webdesign, Holten, NL Website design services for small businesses.

Responsible, Team-player, Creative, Curious, Open-minded, Entrepeneur.

Full name

Date and Place of Birth

Address

Contact

Portfolio

02/2010 – 09/2010

05/2007 – 12/2009

12/2005 – 02/2006

01/2000 – 09/2002

09/2008 – Present

09/2007 – 09/2010

02/2009 – 08/2009

09/2003 – 07/2007

09/1996 – 05/2002

09/2008 – 11/2008

09/2005 – 12/2005

Languages

Computer

01/2007 – Present

Extra curricular activities

Skills

Personal Interests

Making music (guitar and drums), photography, cooking and travelling (among others in 2002/2003 a 9 month trip to Australia, New Zealand and Asia).

January 2011

Dutch (mother tongue), English (fluent), Portuguese (advanced), French (intermediate), German (beginner).

Adobe Creative Suite CS5 (Ps, Ai, Id, Fl, Fw, Pr), Microsoft Office & Visio, Max MSP.Knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and Actionscript.

Ambassador Macheo Childeren’s Centre Foundation, Kenia

First place in the IKEA Innovation Contest 2008 Design of a solution to provide IKEA store visitors a pleasant shopping experience 10 years from now.

Yearbook committee member, Student Association Sanctus Virgilius, Delft Responsibilities: art direction, fundraising (€10.000), communication with publishers.

Experience

Education

Portfolio Arjan Helmer Feb 2011

Documents

nim sam fuga

flyer poster

makes ikea

order products

feeling back

store ikea

arjan helmer

marketing