Master Design – Reflection Semester
Following my return from a period of absence, I held several one-on-one reflection meetings with teachers to realign with my design research process and ensure my project’s direction remained focused and relevant. These sessions offered not only feedback but critical input that reshaped both the theoretical framing and practical output of my work.
Moniek Driesse — Clarifying Context and Transferability
My session with Moniek Driesse was essential in refining the narrative structure of my Living Atlas. Her feedback pushed me to better articulate the social context in which my design work is situated, and to reflect on the deeper implications of the experiments, interviews, and informal conversations I had conducted.
A central theme in this reflection was identifying what knowledge was being produced, and more importantly, what aspects of that knowledge are transferable to future iterations. Moniek challenged me to make explicit how visualisations function in my work—not just as aesthetic or illustrative devices, but as tools for thinking, communicating, and engaging others in the research.
We also discussed the importance of positioning myself as a critical practitioner—one who understands how questions of equality and power are embedded in design decisions. This aligns with ethical design practices as described by Harbers, who emphasizes the importance of human-centered decision-making in digital development (Harbers, 2021). I was encouraged to deepen my reflection on questions such as:
- What questions am I asking, and why?
- What actions do I take as a designer, and what outcomes do I hope for?
- What knowledge is emerging, and how can I use it meaningfully?
David McCallum — Enhancing Game Design through Critical Immersion
In my consultation with David McCallum, we focused on the design and development of my serious board game, particularly because earlier project iterations predated his involvement in the program. David helped me critically reflect on how to intensify player immersion and make the gameplay align more strongly with my research goals—namely, evoking the lived experience of illiteracy.
He introduced me to examples such as Call of Cthulhu, a role-playing game in which mental health mechanics affect the players’ progress. This concept resonated with my idea of representing cognitive and emotional strain in gameplay. Another reference was Wierding Woods, a narrative-based game that highlights world-building and the layering of challenges and symbols. These suggestions opened up new pathways for developing empathy-driven mechanics that could engage users on a deeper emotional level.
One pivotal idea that emerged was to use audio guidance instead of textual instructions—aligning with my intent to simulate the challenges faced by people who cannot read. At the same time, we considered incorporating a graphic guide as a supportive feature, maintaining accessibility without relying on literacy. This dual-mode experience echoes the principle of inclusive design discussed by Manzini, where design becomes a tool for social transformation by recognizing diverse ways of engaging with the world (Manzini, 2015).
Michelle Kasprzak — Focusing Research through an Advocacy Lens
In my meeting with Michelle Kasprzak, we reviewed my overall research trajectory and evaluated the decisions and actions I had taken so far. Her input was especially valuable in helping me position my work more clearly from an advocacy perspective on illiteracy.
Michelle’s feedback helped me focus my design research on feasible yet meaningful interventions, particularly through the serious game I was developing. The game emerged not only as an output but also as a research method—an experience-based tool to critique and expose systemic barriers. This reflection mirrors the idea proposed by Mostert (2019), who argues that educators—and by extension, designer-researchers—should access their “inner designer” to generate new pedagogies and tools that break traditional patterns (Mostert, 2019).
Harma Staal — Progressing through New Practices
The final consultation was with Harma Staal, and although it was brief due to timing near the end of the term, it focused on my new design practices and how these are evolving through network expansion and co-creation. I presented outcomes from engaging both experts and participants in my iterative process, showing how these collaborations are shaping not just the form but the direction and ethics of my project.
Conclusion
Each consultation helped clarify different layers of my design research—from the socio-ethical implications (Driesse), to game mechanics and experience design (McCallum), to the broader arc of advocacy (Kasprzak), and practice-based evolution (Staal). Collectively, these dialogues reinforced the importance of being critically reflective, theoretically grounded, and ethically committed in the pursuit of socially engaged design.
These insights are now embedded in my design practice moving forward—not only in the output I create but in how I frame questions, evaluate outcomes, and collaborate with others.
References
Ozkaramanli, D., Smits, M., Harbers, M., Ferri, G., Nagenborg,M. Poel,I., van de, Navigating ethics-informed methods at the intersection of design and philosophy of technology, Knowledge Centre Creating010, (2024).
Manzini, E., Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation, MIT Press, (2015).
Mostert, M., Hey Teacher, Find Your Inner Designer, January 2019.
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