Where my vision concludes with design to challenge the world around us, my identity starts from a curiosity to do exactly that. I have always been drawn not only to how things work, but more strongly to how they could, or perhaps should work. Therefore, being driven by a desire to help people, my curiosity manifests in the design process not through a focus on isolated problems, but by instinctively zooming out to understand the bigger picture.

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This highlights my systemic approach, where my strength lies in how I naturally think in connections (evidently shown in the large amount of mind maps I make to structure and communicate ideas). ). It allows me to see a bigger picture in complexity by recognizing patterns, relationships and dynamics. And where I experience the challenge of not getting stuck in the sheer complexity of societal challenges, I navigate this by utilizing visualisation and making to move between abstract and concrete thinking. This supports an open, dynamic, and iterative design process that explores multiple perspectives, scales, and lenses through design and research activities.

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As such, I aim at gaining a deep understanding of societal challenges, transitions, and their underlying values. In this, I specifically emphasize the involvement of a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring that also less prominent voices feel seen and heard. Here, I position myself and my designs as facilitators of future-driven and visioning practices. These practices are often seen as the domain of specialists (Candy, 2018), but design approaches like speculative design, design fiction, narratives and visualisation can be utilized to make these practices collectively accessible; enabling stakeholders to actively participate in the shaping of and acting on future visions. Guided by my   sensitivity and empathy, I use deep listening (Moons, et al.) in these methods to go beyond the superficial and undercover the underlying values that might otherwise stay hidden.

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Concluding, in the core of my identity I belief design can enrich and provide new perspectives to our understanding of complex societal challenges and transitions and visions, underlying values, as well as support the development of interconnected interventions to challenge the current context and transition towards envisioned futures. Design thus becomes a way to create meaningful impact within societal challenges by using creative methods to engage with their complexity.