Introduction

My name is Rob Grijseels, I am dutch, 26 years old. I graduated from Sintlucas in Boxtel (The Netherlands) with an MBO in Interior & Exterior. After Sintlucas I decided to do something even more challenging; move to another country to get my bachelor. I did the Product Design degree at the University of Lincoln (UK), which I successfully finished in 2008. Not only did I learn more about design and the industry, I also improved my English and became more familiar with the English culture. Now I have all the skills needed to start working in the industry and build up more experience.

Experience

I have worked as a trainee at a company that designed office equipment (shredders, binders, etc.). There I experienced what it is like to create a new product, and later have the physical, fully functional product in your hands. This motivates me to create more, better and more innovative products. At my work placement and of course at the universities I have improved and developed my technical skills. For example I have mastered computer programs like AutoCAD, 3D Studio MAX, Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Flash and Sketchup. I also learned computer languages such as HTML, XHTML, XML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript and HTC.

Design

During my studies I discovered that my real passion lies in creating functional objects. In my designs, applicability and functionality stand first, but with an eye for aesthetic quality. When the concept and the functionality are created, a part of the aesthetics is already created for you. Form follows function. The Phillip Starks juicer is a good example of this. Every shape in that design has a function. If you would remove any part, it will not function. It looks really simple and it is, but that's what makes it perfect. The simplest ideas are the best.