B302

Project Overview

During the spring of 2023 I interned as a U/X designer and researcher in the Netherlands with a design advertising agency called B302 while taking an intensive study abroad course in JavaScript and Arduino. B302 works with clients in the Netherlands and surrounding countries to provide digital media design, development, audio/visual, and security services. My experience included working with international clients alongside team members from many of the European Union countries. 

The Challenge

B302 works primarily with small clients who are looking for cutting edge design work for a reasonable price. My challenge was to integrate with an existing team and collaborate with the team members to make meaningful contributions to the client deliverables. To be successful, I also needed to adapt to working in a new country with different cultural norms, languages, and approaches to design compared to the experiences I’d had with my US clients and colleagues. 

The Solution

My design approach varied based on the client’s needs and the nature of the project. For the Innovatiehub project, I focused on providing users with more filtering options when searching for potential internships. For the employee dashboard project, my goal was to simplify and streamline the user interface. On the 48-hour film challenge, I endeavored to support the team in any way possible, including stepping out of my comfort zone into audio engineering. 

Projects

Innovatiehub Wireframes

Innovatiehub is a company that uses its website to promote internships to students around the Netherlands. I analyzed their website and recommended methods to improve it. The team presented these proposals to the client as low-fidelity wireframes. 

Employee Dashboard

B302 uses an online system to track important employee information such as project budgets, current employees, and current clients. I worked with the development team to redesign their tracking system so that it was easier to navigate the site. Additionally I incorporate a variety of new features into my design proposal. I presented the proposal to the development team for feedback, updated the design to incorporate the feedback, and delivered the final proposal to the team for implementation. ,

48 Hour Film Challenge

Kamer 8

The 48 hour film challenge is an event held annually for professional design teams to create a short film in under 48 hours. The teams select a genre for their film by randomly drawing slips of paper from a basket. Teams must incorporate three pre-determined elements into their film, including a character, a prop, and a specific line. Our elements were: 

  • Character: Sam Spijkers, a jeweler
  • Prop: A snowglobe
  • Line: “That looks good.”

Teams then had 48 hours to plan, film, and edit their movies. Our team consisted of script writers, artists, camera operators, and audio technicians. 

Kamer 8 tells the story of a young woman who lives in a euphoric reality. Every day the jeweler, Sam Spijkers, visits her to check on her special bracelet. Over time, the young woman starts to suspect that something is wrong. Her reality comes crashing down when her snowglobe shatters, revealing that her euphoric reality isn’t real. The woman is actually a patient in a psychiatric facility under the illusion she is living a perfect life. The movie concludes by showing the woman’s fear and confusion, however, Sam Spijkers quickly remedies the situation by replacing the snow globe in her cell which restores her previous joy and contentment. 

My role in the development of the film was to assist with the audio. I traveled with our team to various filming locations and ensured that the sound levels were within a specified range. I also recorded and listened to the live audio to verify the quality of the sound. 

Films were screened for the public and reviewed by a panel of judges. Out of 15 teams, the B302 team was honored to receive the third place award, an especially significant accomplishment since they were the only student team and were competing against independent film studios and full-time filmmakers.

 

Takeaways

By working outside the US, I learned to incorporate different cultural views and norms into my design approach. I also gained experience collaborating with colleagues in different disciplines such as programming and video editing. Because the agency had a large development team, I continued to adapt my approach to be flexible and understanding of their needs as well as those of the users I was supporting. It was a great experience and I am a stronger designer as a result.