About
Background
I was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1985. In 2004, I moved to The Netherlands, starting my Bachelors in 2005 at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. I graduated Cum Laude in 2009 and started my Masters at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences in September of that year, following the Interface Design course, where I graduated Cum Laude in 2011. Currently I am working as researcher at Creating 010, a research group within the Institute for Research and Innovation at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Work experience
LBi Lost Boys
Based in Amsterdam, LBi Lost Boys is the one of The Netherlands oldest and biggest fullservice agencies. For a period of 4 months I interned as user experience designer, working on various internal and external projects.
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
At the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences I worked as student assistant, giving lectures, workshops and reviewing assignments by undergraduate students of the Interaction Design course. I also joined a research team to develop a Toolkit for Human Centred Design. The toolkit has since been widely used in corporations and universities. It was also presented at the CHI Netherlands Conference in 2009, Amsterdam.
aka-aki networks GmbH
During my Bachelor graduation phase I worked at aka-aki networks GmbH (now liquidated) in Berlin, where I wrote my Bachelor thesis concerning location based matchmaking, combining social science research with interface design. It was graded with a 9/10. In addition to doing my thesis, I worked on various projects, taking the role of User Experience Designer, designing for the iPhone, BlackBerry and J2ME platforms.
Deutsche Telekom Research Laboratories
After starting my Masters in Potsdam, I took a semester off to pursue a more academic direction. This lead me to the Deutsche Telekom Design Research Labs, where I worked as research assistant on a project about the sharing of resources in neighbourhoods with a strong element Participatory Design Research. During this time, I co-authored two publications, available here for download.
Interface Design Lab – FH Potsdam
During my time in Potsdam I worked at the Interface Design Lab, where I setup a project consortium for a Frameworks Program 7 research proposal. Tasks included co-writing the proposal and developing the research theme.
Current Occupation
I am currently involved with the Rotterdam Open Data initiative through my role as researcher at Creating010, where we are researching how local governments can be supported in releasing public sector information for re-use. Additionally, I am involved with the Design Theory program.
Other achievements
One of the by products of this blog has been a very successful ebook: Introduction to Good Usability, having been featured on Smashing Magazine and translated into Spanish. I also recieved the prestigious HSP Scholarship for excellent Dutch Students performing research or studying abroad. This scholarship is offered to about 100 Dutch students each year.
Skills
I am familiar with a large set of research tools and methodologies, thanks to my role as researcher at Knowledge Network in Rotterdam and work at the Deutsche Telekom. Through my role as student assistant I gained experience as educator in Interaction Design tools. My internship at Lost Boys gave me insight on how to do Interaction Design as part of a larger process within a large company. My graduation thesis gave me insights on the more social side of Human Computer Interaction but also translating Social Science findings into user interfaces.
Contact
Get in touch via mail: peterpixel@gmail.com or linkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peterconradie
