‘Getting comfortable with ambiguity enables designers to absorb feedback and use it to make better design choices.’
Gabri Heinrichs 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.
Gabri Heinrichs received an BA and MA in Digital Media Design at the University of the Arts in Utrecht and an MA in Philosophy at Tilburg University. He worked as an independent designer and editor for VPRO 3voor12 and EKKO, among others. He was also a tutor at Utrecht School of the Arts and Fontys Hogeschool ICT. Gabri currently works as a tutor at the Communication & Multimedia Design programme in Den Bosch.
Within the Situated Art and Design research group, Gabri researched the function of internships within the curricula of HBO design programmes. Internships are a form of ‘situated learning’. Students do internships at all kinds of companies with real colleagues and work on existing assignments. This is largely done out of sight and away from the influence of the programme. That is why this raises questions about the learning objectives formulated by programmes, in terms of content, measurability and assessability. Gabri examines the suitability and measurability of students’ ‘epistemic beliefs’ to better measure the learning effects of internships.
PhD research
In 2019, Gabri transitioned to a research position at the Sustainable Working and Organising research group at Avans University of Applied Sciences, where he developed a PhD proposal that was recently awarded a PhD grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Gabri will start his PhD research in February 2021 within the Avans research group Sustainable Working and Organising and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen.
(2019 – 2018) Practice-Based Learning for Design Students
This research is about the role of epistemic beliefs in the assessment of internships carried out by Communication & Multimedia Design students.
Research Group: Situated Art and Design
Living in cities developed around data and acting within the inscrutable structure of our techno-society demands art and design that can help understand how we relate to these rapidly changing surroundings and to reflect on that relationship. The research group Situated Art and Design responds to this exigency by fostering a situated turn in art and design through a diverse portfolio of interdisciplinary research projects in partnership with academic and cultural partners, as well as with government and industry.
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‘People are the product of their relationships with their environment. It’s important to understand how technological developments influence these relationships.’
Michel van Dartel 
‘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
‘‘Understanding how creativity and imagination emerge from interactions with our environment will lead to improved innovation processes, tools and technologies.’’
Alwin de Rooij
‘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
‘I’m interested in how we can implement situated learning within design education.’
Sarah Lugthart
‘How can the notion of the ‘script’ be used in a situated design practice? ’
Ollie Palmer
‘The ultimate goal is to provide people with the information, skills and tools that enable them to improve the quality of their daily lives.’
Simone van den Broek
‘For me, the iterative design-research process is an exciting journey towards designs that can transform human consciousness.’
Danielle Roberts
‘The essence of the situated, cinematic experience of dance lies in the mental interaction where the public becomes co-author.’
Noud Heerkens
‘Who benefits?’
Ivo Koolen
‘I look at the ways in which citizens can play an active role in shaping their cities, and how new media and technology can contribute to this.’
Barbara Asselbergs
‘Power, control and chance play an important role in every creative process. I explore this complicated correlation.’
Michiel van Opstal
‘Attention during interaction is personal, not a given fact.’
Misha Croes