Ivo Koolen

Research Group: Situated Art, Design and Technology

‘Who benefits?’

Ivo Koolen was a researcher within the Situated Art and Design research group from 2018 until 2019. He is also a tutor at the Communication & Multimedia Design programme at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Den Bosch.

Ivo Koolen graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2005 and subsequently worked as a designer of jewellery and small products. In 2009 he started as a spatial designer at a company in Madrid that designs and produces lighting. Here he was part of a small design team that designed technical and decorative lighting and lighting plans for a diverse range of clients.

Ivo has been teaching prototyping and physical computing at the Communication & Multimedia Design programme since 2016. In addition to his work as a teacher, Ivo works on various projects in the field of creative technology.

I.koolen1@avans.nl

The Design of Everyday Smart Things (2018 – 2019)

This research project focuses on design methodologies for designing smart products.

Research Group: Situated Art, Design and Technology

The research group Situated Art, Design and Technology (SADT) focuses on the societal embedding and embodiment of knowledge production that art and design research enables. The conducted research contributes to a deeper understanding of technological developments and their impact on people, society, and the environment, and to the development of situated approaches in the creative sector and beyond. In doing so, it advances a wider acknowledgement of artistic and design research as a mode of knowledge production, one that is grounded in creativity and critical imagination as a way of generating insight into, and intervening in, societal transitions driven by technology.

‘People are the product of their relationships with their environment. It’s important to understand how technological developments influence these relationships.’

Michel van Dartel

‘‘Understanding how creativity and imagination emerge from interactions with our environment will lead to improved innovation processes, tools and technologies.’’

Alwin de Rooij

‘My practice explores how technology participates in relational embodied systems - how bodies, sensors, and materials co-compose stories of attention and response.’

Mark Meeuwenoord

‘Beauty lies in connecting different parties and creating equal opportunities. I believe in the power of kinship, collectiveness and critical thinking. ’

Eva van den Boogaard

‘My practice is situated in between different actors, in this shape-shifting middle many things can happen.’

Tara Karpinski

‘Imagination is the key to a strong inclusive society. Artistic work and situated design can contribute to a better understanding of the other.’

Jenny van den Broeke

‘Investigating the potential of sensory augmentation to bridge the sensory gap between deaf and hearing.’

Michel Witter

‘Through an interplay of design and research, the apt questions and necessary tools can be discovered and applied to each research project.’

Antal Ruhl

‘Humans are atmospheric beings, particles, dust, in intimate cycles of exchange, actors with an incredible force.’

Annemarie Piscaer

‘Could experimental sensory translation of art works improve their accessibility for sensory diverse exhibition audiences?’

Eva Fotiadi

‘The tacit and embodied knowledge of practitioners about the complex reality of design can provide an important resource to innovate how we learn and teach’