I believe design needs to be accessible, inclusive and create value for the people around us. In our ever changing world where digital systems are becoming common sense and computers take an important role in society, it is us designers that need to bring back humanity back in to the processes that have impact on the people around us.
Hello!
I am Jeroen van der Kooij
UX & Service Designer
As a multidisciplinary designer, I aim to leverage design to assist enterprises and organizations in overcoming their challenges, crafting meaningful concepts that positively impact society.
Growing up in the north of the Netherlands, my passion for creating began at a young age. From countless Lego constructions to designing impactful societal concepts, I am continually driven to explore new avenues of creativity to enhance existing solutions or develop innovative new ones.
Tools
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- Figma
- InDesign
- Sketch
- Miro
- Microsoft Suite
- Webflow
- Lightroom Classic
- Slack
- Notion
- HTML/SCSS/
Javascript
Skills
- Teamplayer
- Flexible
- Empathetic
- Communicative
- Feedback
- Tolerance
- Self-motivation
- Openmindedness
- Creative thinking
- Presentation
Education
Traineeship Program
In 2021, I embarked on a two-year traineeship program with the Nationaal Programma Groningen in collaboration with VONK Traineeship. The program aimed to introduce young professionals in Groningen to working within (local) government structures and tackling public sector challenges.
The traineeship was structured into three 8-month segments, each placing me in a different municipality within the Groningen region.
Alongside these assignments, every Friday was dedicated to professional growth through training sessions, coaching opportunities, self-reflection with our coordinator, and discussions with fellow trainees to share observations and insights.
Reflecting on 2023, I can proudly look back on an enriching two years. I completed 32 diverse training sessions covering a wide array of topics, visited numerous organizations, engaged with experts across various fields, and navigated the complexities of the public sector. This experience not only deepened my professional knowledge but also provided personal growth, as I learned from my peers and discovered new facets of myself along the way.Bachelor Interaction Design
During my Bachelor's in Interaction Design at Hanzehogeschool UAS, I was introduced to the field of UX/UI Design. After completing my studies in Graphic Design, I chose to shift my focus towards human-centered design to enhance and develop (complex) functional designs that have an impact on our society.
During my Bachelor's program, I participated in various projects across diverse themes such as agriculture, healthcare, and media. Through these projects, I gained hands-on experience in conducting UX research, applying agile and design-thinking methodologies, conducting user interviews, designing digital products, and evaluating solutions with users. This blend of theory and practice solidified my passion for user-centered design and problem-solving.Minor Interaction Design
As part of my bachelors degree I participated in the Erasmus exchange program. The second project I participated in was '50 Jahren, 50 Ideeën', an interaction design project. The project had the goal to create an app concept with the topic of mobility.
Minor Photography
As part of my bachelors degree I participated in the Erasmus exchange program. The first project was a photography project called 'Leben der Anderen'. During this project I photographed people in the subways of Hamburg to capture local commuter life and stories from the U-bahn.
Graphic Design
In my Graphic Design study I made my first steps into visual design. I learned about tools, different disciplines like web-design, illustration and editorial design and had my first design projects where I mainly focused on visual design, brand creation and web-design.
Work Experience
Junior Service Designer
My second assignment during my 2-year traineeship was at the Municipality of Eemsdelta as a program assistant in the Social Program Delfzijl Noord. This program, run by the Municipality of Eemsdelta, aims to support and guide the residents of Delfzijl Noord through the various developments in the neighborhood resulting from gas extraction in the area.
Responsible for:
- Listening to and observing our target audiences to design solutions
tailored to their needs
- Data visualisation to present project insights.
- Facilitating ideation sessions to support social initiatives and members in the program.
- Supporting social initiatives using methods like design thinking and human-centered design methodology.
- Collaborative work with different disciplines who are related to the program within and outside of the municipality.
- Support the program manager with tasks related to the program as notes, prepare meetings and help translate data into products.
*This employment was part of a two year traineeship program
- Listening to and observing our target audiences to design solutions
Junior UX Designer
During my 2-year traineeship, I conducted a project at the Municipality of Groningen as a junior UX designer within the Strengthening and Renewal program. This program aimed to support and guide residents in the earthquake-affected area north of the city of Groningen.
Responsible for:
- Improving the content and information provided on the website to better serve residents.
- Facilitating design thinking workshops to encourage collaboration and innovation.
- Gathering design requirements to optimize the website’s user experience.
- Presenting design concepts and recommendations for website optimization.
*This employment was part of a two year traineeship program
Junior Front-end Developer
At Qlic Internet Solutions I was responsible for developing websites for clients with PHP/HTML5/CSS3/Javascript and the Wordpress CMS working together with the Senior Front-end developer.
Responsible for:
- Develop custom Wordpress CMS websites using PHP/HTML5/CSS3/Javascript.
- Support the Senior front-end developer with estimating project duration.
- Communicate with the project manager about project updates.
- Presenting progress to clients.
Junior UX Designer
For my thesis during my bachelor degree Interaction Design I worked on a UX design project for NDC Mediagroep's hyper local brand: Sikkom.
I developed a digital app concept that would allow Sikkom to publish articles on their own platform, get insights on the followers of Sikkom and create a better connection with its partners.Responsible for:
- Low / High fidelity design of a digital mobile application.
- Conducting stakeholder and user interviews to gather their needs for a digital mobile application.
- Translating (literature) research into features and designs.
- Conducting user-testing with the aim of identifying issues in a low/high fidelity design.
- Adjusting designs based on evaluation methods.
- Update stakeholders about progress of the project.
Intern Front-end Developer
During my internship at iWink as a front-end developer I worked on the client support team helping them fixing support tickets for client websites, design a narrowcasting-module and be part of the front-end development team programming websites.
Responsible for:
- Programming with HTML/SCSS/Javascript and PHP5
- Helping the support team fixing issues on client websites.
- Designing a narrowcasting module for a new to release service.
Intern Web-developer
During the spring of 2016 I was an intern at Eigen & Wijze marketing bureau in Leeuwarden. As a web-developer I was responsible for supporting the in-house senior developer with programming websites build with the Wordpress CMS.
Responsible for:
- Programming with HTML5/CSS3/Jquery and the Wordpress CMS
- Work on client websites of Eigen & Wijze
- Develop an internal portal for Eigen & Wijze to allow information sharing
Side Activities
Bar Coordinator
As a volunteer at Simplon I am a bar coordinator twice a month (at minimum). Simplon is a local music venue that has at least 3 productions per week and is ran with a large pool of volunteers.
Responsible for:
- Managing the bar during a music production.
- Support my colleagues during the shift ensuring everything is running good.
- Keeping in contact with security and/or shift manager if situations require so.
- Ensuring that guests feel safe and keep an eye out for any disturbing situations.
- Coordinate all tasks from beginning to end of a music
Student Assistent
During the 2nd year of my bachelor Interaction Design I participated in supporting 1st year students as a student assistent.
Responsible for:
- Supporting 1st year students with practical hard skills like Adobe Software.
- Be present during classes to help students with questions they might have
Battle of the Schools Hackaton!
In 2017, I took part in the Groninger local hackathon organized by Let's Gro! During this event, various businesses presented their challenges to assigned teams, giving us 72 hours to develop a prototype. Within my team,
I contributed to the design sprints and the ideation process. As the concept progressed, I designed parts of the project and assisted with the final presentation.
Certificates
German A1.2
During my Erasmus+ exchange I also participated in a weekly German language course at the HAW Hamburg. At the end of this half year I obtained my certificate for A1.2 German level.
German A1.1
After graduating Graphic Design school I participated in a 2 week exchange to Berlin where I participated in a A1.1 German course at Anda Sprachschule.