Decision 01

Pivot from value-mapping to a predefined benchmark

In Week 3, Faraday challenged our initial concept: "Company values are always set — who is this actually for?" That feedback forced a sharper scope. Instead of asking agencies to define their own sustainability values from scratch, we gave them a framework to assess against — predefined, grounded in research, and usable in under 30 minutes.

Trigger: Agency workshop feedback

Decision 02

Narrow to exactly 5 assessment dimensions

A broad audit covering everything would be abandoned in a project kickoff. So we distilled the research to 5 dimensions that together account for 80% of a digital product's environmental impact:

Clean energy, stewardship, avoiding dark patterns, product lifecycle, and operational efficiency — narrow enough to be actionable, broad enough to be meaningful.

Trigger: Research synthesis + adoption barrier

Decision 03

Build an interactive tool, not a PDF

A static checklist would be filed and forgotten. So we built the benchmark as a live tool instead — a Framer one-pager with a scoring interface, deployed on Vercel.

Agencies score a project, see their radar chart instantly, and get specific recommendations. The format mattered as much as the content: friction-free, shareable, built to fit into a project kickoff.

Trigger: Adoption + usability goal

✦ Final Outcome

A fully shipped game experience — and a Public Choice award at Go HvA.

Synthetive launched as a complete, playable game exploring synthetic identity, digital surveillance, and the boundary between authentic self and algorithmic persona. It won the Go HvA Game Changers Public Choice Award 2024 and was shown in multiple public venues.

KABK Graduation Project · Go HvA Game Changers Public Choice Award 2024

00 — Falling in Love with the Problem

AI literacy isn't a training problem. It's a felt experience problem.

In 2023 I watched a documentary about AI-generated newsrooms and felt something I hadn't expected: not fascination, but dread — the dread of a media professional handed a tool they hadn't asked for, with no framework to use it responsibly.

I started paying attention to how colleagues and students in media talked about generative AI: mostly in avoidance or uncritical enthusiasm, rarely in anything resembling ethical literacy.

When NPO, VPRO Medialab, and Beeld & Geluid brought the brief — help media makers co-create with AI responsibly — I noticed the framing was already wrong. The usual response is a training module, a policy document, a slide deck.

But you don't build moral intuition by reading slides. You build it by making decisions under pressure — by feeling the weight of a choice between what's strategically smart and what's editorially right.

That's the problem I fell in love with: how do you teach someone to feel the tension before they face it in real life? Roleplay and simulation are ancient tools — but nobody had applied them with this rigour to the pressures of AI-assisted media making.

The card game format wasn't a gimmick, it was the solution: the physical deck forces presence, the scenario cards force choice, the challenge cards force justification.

The deeper I researched, the more I found Dutch media organisations living in a paradox — audiences increasingly sceptical of AI-generated content, while organisations felt pressure to use AI to cut costs.

Nobody was talking openly about the ethics. Synthetive needed to create a safe space for that conversation — playfully, seriously, and without judgment.

Moral intuition is not built by reading guidelines. It's built by making decisions under pressure — and Synthetive was designed to create that pressure in a room full of people who needed to have this conversation.

0A — Stakeholder Map

A media ecosystem at an inflection point.

The game needed to serve a wide ecology — from the junior journalist uncertain about AI to the broadcaster executive setting editorial policy. Mapping these relationships helped us write scenario cards that felt credible to every level of the room.

0B — User Personas

The media makers I wrote the WHAT IF cards for.

Every scenario card in Synthetive was tested against these three archetypes — not as abstractions, but as the voices I was trying to bring into the room. The game only works if it speaks to all three.

Roos

Broadcast Journalist, NPO

35 · Amsterdam

"I want to use AI to work faster — but I'm terrified of what my audience will think if they find out."

Needs

• A framework for when AI use is editorially acceptable
• Scenarios that reflect real pressures — deadlines, budget cuts, scoops
• Peer conversation without judgment

Frustrations

• Editorial guidelines that ignore practical realities
• Pressure to use AI from above, no support from below
• No shared language with colleagues about ethics

Motivation: Wants to remain a trusted journalist while adapting to the tools her industry is adopting.

Thomas

Head of Digital, VPRO

47 · Hilversum

"We need a policy. But policy documents don't change how people actually behave in the edit suite."

Needs

• Team alignment on AI ethics without enforcing top-down mandates
• A way to open conversations that feel too sensitive in formal settings
• Evidence that his team has developed their own ethical compass

Frustrations

• Training that doesn't land
• The gap between policy intent and daily practice
• Young colleagues making AI decisions without institutional context

Motivation: Wants VPRO to lead rather than react — and to build a culture of responsibility that outlasts any single policy document.

Lena

Recent Graduate, Media Studies

23 · Rotterdam

"AI is just a tool, right? I don't understand why everyone's so stressed about it."

Needs

• A safe space to explore concerns without feeling naive
• Concrete examples that make abstract ethics tangible
• To understand what her media literacy responsibilities actually are

Frustrations

• Abstract lectures about AI and ethics
• Senior colleagues shutting down AI conversations entirely
• Feeling caught between enthusiasm and unease without guidance

Motivation: Wants to use technology fearlessly and responsibly — and build an intuition for the difference.

Synthetive's visual identity was designed to feel deliberately human and chaotic — a counterpoint to the clean sterility of generative AI. The psychedelic, layered face illustration became the project's signature mark, appearing on all game materials, social media, and launch communications.

Scenario prompts designed to spark debate about AI co-creation — from deepfakes to algorithmic bias to creative authorship.

Practical response prompts that push players to think through real production decisions and editorial responsibilities.

Custom-produced boxes distributed to industry partners including NPO Innovatie, VPRO MediaLab, and Beeld en Geluid.

Stakeholder interviews · Empathy mapping · Persona development · How Might We framing

Society 5.0 Festival research booth · Board game + literacy quiz + survey + stickers + video

Prototype refinement based on 50+ participant sessions · Card wording & mechanic testing

Full visual identity · Game box design · Card typography · Social media campaign launch

Distribution to 10+ media stakeholders · Presentation at NPO Innovatie, VPRO & Beeld en Geluid

Creating Inspiration

The game had to spark curiosity and creative confidence — not anxiety about AI. Every card prompt was designed to open possibility, not close it down.

Empowering Makers

The framework was built for media professionals who already know their craft. The design respected that expertise and gave them new tools to interrogate AI, not replace their judgment.

Designing for Joy

Media literacy doesn't have to be dry. The game's playfulness — bold colours, physical cards, competitive debate — made difficult conversations about AI feel engaging and memorable.

User interviews and field testing sessions conducted at public events and media industry festivals.

To NPO Innovatie, VPRO MediaLab, and Beeld en Geluid — now actively used in media literacy workshops.

Public Choice Award — voted best project by the Go HvA community at the annual showcase.

Presented to the Digital Affairs Committee (Jun. 2024) — audience included Barbara Kathmann (Chair) and Ger Baron (CTO, Municipality of Amsterdam).

✦ Final Outcome

A complete design system that gave TripGoGo.ai a single voice.

End-to-end design system delivered — covering tokens, typography, spacing, grid, and a full component library in Figma. The product went from five conflicting blues to one coherent visual language, giving the team a shared source of truth they could build and ship from.

Delivered Nov 2025 – Mar 2026 · TripGoGo.ai · Full design system handoff

00 — Falling in Love with the Problem

A product that couldn't speak for itself.

I was handed a live travel-planning product — TripGoGo.ai — with real users, real ambition, and a design that said nothing consistent.

The first time I opened it, I counted five shades of the same blue across four screens, three different button radii, and three font stacks with no apparent logic. The visual language was shouting different things in every room.

I didn't want to just audit and document what was broken — I wanted to understand why the inconsistency had accumulated. So I spent the first three days not in Figma but in the product, using it as a traveller would.

The friction I felt wasn't just aesthetic — it was cognitive. Every screen created a small moment of doubt: am I still in the same product?

That's when the problem became personal. Design inconsistency isn't just about brand polish — it erodes trust. A traveller trusting a platform with a trip to Lisbon needs the interface to feel as reliable as the service promise.

The visual chaos was quietly undermining the product's credibility. I fell in love with this problem because fixing it wasn't about decoration — it was about restoring confidence in every pixel.

The deeper I went, the more I saw: no shared tokens, no spacing scale, no documented decisions. Every component had been rebuilt from scratch in isolation — developers guessing what designers intended, designers guessing what developers had shipped.

The system had no memory. What was needed wasn't a visual refresh — it was a single source of truth the whole team could speak from.

Design inconsistency is not a cosmetic problem — it is a trust problem. Every mismatched component quietly signals: we don't have this together.

0A — Stakeholder Map

Who lives inside a design system decision.

A design system touches every person in a product organisation — from the founders who set vision to the engineers who implement it and the travellers who ultimately feel it. Mapping this web early shaped every decision about what to standardise and what to leave flexible.

0B — User Personas

Three people I kept in the room.

Every token value, every component variant, every documented decision was filtered through the lens of these three people. When I wasn't sure whether to standardise or leave flexibility, I asked: what does this mean for each of them?

Aarav

Frontend Developer

26 · Amsterdam

"I just want to know what blue to use. Every sprint I'm making up spacing from scratch."

Needs

• A single source of truth for colours & spacing
• Components that are documented with prop tables
• Clear accessibility guidance baked in

Frustrations

• Rebuilding the same button for the third time
• Conflicting specs between Figma and production
• No versioning — things change with no announcement

Motivation: Wants to ship fast and confidently, without wondering if his implementation looks "right".

Sara

Product Manager

31 · Amsterdam

"I keep hearing "we'll fix the design stuff later" — but later never comes and users keep asking why the app feels off."

Needs

• Stakeholder-ready rationale for investing in a design system
• Visible progress on design debt
• A product that feels as premium as the travel experience it sells

Frustrations

• Explaining branding inconsistency to investors
• Feature requests that break existing patterns
• No shared language between design and engineering

Motivation: Wants a product that reflects the ambition of the vision — and a team that can move fast without breaking things.

Nadia

Digital Traveller

34 · Berlin

"I almost didn't trust the payment screen — it looked different from every other screen. I wasn't sure I was still on the same site."

Needs

• A visually coherent experience from landing to checkout
• Clear feedback when actions succeed or fail
• Accessible contrast on all interactive elements

Frustrations

• UI that looks unfinished or inconsistent
• Unclear primary actions — which button do I press?
• Spending cognitive energy on interface rather than trip planning

Motivation: Just wants to plan the perfect trip without friction, confusion, or visual noise.

Audit Outcomes — Changes Implemented

The updated trip planner (left) and accessible date picker (right) — key UI changes informed by the audit findings.

8-Point Scale

12-Column Grid

Button System

Layout

White space min 48px · Hierarchy via size, weight & colour · Left-align text; center only titles/CTAs

Interactions

Skeleton screens for loading · Empty states always include a next action · Micro-interactions 200–300ms

Mobile-First

44×44px touch targets · Primary actions in bottom third · Lazy load & minimal animations on mobile

Dark Mode

#0A3D3D main bg · #1B9999 cards · White headings · WCAG AAA (7:1) contrast

Audit before design

Starting with a UX audit on the live product gave the design system real grounding. Every colour, spacing, and component decision had a reason tied to something broken or missing in the existing interface.

Accessibility is a design decision

The EAA and WCAG gaps found in the audit shaped the colour system from the start — contrast ratios, touch targets, and label structures were baked into the design tokens rather than retrofitted later.

Brand moodboards anchor systems

Having a founder-approved moodboard before building out the component library kept the design system cohesive. Without that reference, UI decisions tend to drift — especially across colour and type pairing.

Systems need stories

The design principles weren't written at the end — they emerged from the moodboard, the audit findings, and the component decisions. Naming them gave the team a shared language for on-brand decisions.

✦ Final Outcome

A 90-second motion film screened live at The Leela Palace, Chennai.

Designed and animated a full motion identity piece for Ramco ERP's annual user conference — rendered at 4608×768px for their ultra-wide LED stage screen. Storyboarded across 30 scenes, animated to a precise timing sheet, and screened in front of a live audience at The Leela Palace.

Ramco ERP User Meet 2025 · The Leela Palace, Chennai · 4608×768px LED · After Effects

00 — Falling in Love with the Problem

Enterprise events open in silence, or they open with intent. Nothing in between.

There's a particular quality to the opening moment of a major corporate conference. The room is full before it begins — 300 enterprise leaders, CIOs, operations directors, seated at The Leela Palace, Chennai, carrying the weight of every meeting they rescheduled to be there.

In that moment, the first visual they see either earns their attention or loses it. Most conferences lose it — a static logo, a presenter apologising for the microphone.

When Ramco Systems brought me the brief for their annual ERP User Meet — "The Next Frontier," centred on Agentic AI — I sat with the concept longer than usual. The theme asked a bold question: what does the frontier of enterprise intelligence actually look like?

Not metaphorically. Visually. In motion. In 60 seconds, on a wide-format LED screen, in front of the most rational, evidence-driven audience there is.

That tension became the problem I fell in love with: how do you make something deeply technical feel genuinely cinematic? ERP is about operational precision — supply chains, resource allocation, process intelligence.

The temptation in enterprise motion design is to render abstract data as abstract shapes and call it "futuristic." But the brief asked for something more honest: transformation an enterprise leader would find credible, not just impressive.

I spent two full days drawing storyboards before touching any software — thirty scenes, hand-sketched.

I needed to understand the emotional arc before I understood the visual vocabulary — what tone opens the room, what moment builds tension, what image makes 300 people feel they're about to step into something that matters.

An enterprise opening sequence is not decoration. It is a trust signal. In 60 seconds, it tells the room: the people who organised this understand what matters to you.

0A — Stakeholder Map

Everyone the 60-second film had to satisfy.

A motion piece for a flagship enterprise event is never just a creative brief — it sits at the intersection of brand reputation, conference production logistics, and the expectations of the most demanding professional audience. Understanding who held each veto shaped every storyboard revision.

0B — User Personas

The three people in the room at 9:00 AM.

The animation needed to do different work for each person who would watch it. These personas shaped the emotional arc — what feeling the piece needed to create in the opening 10 seconds, and what it needed to have earned by second 55.

Prakash

CIO, Manufacturing Group

52 · Chennai

"I've seen fifty 'next frontier' presentations. I'll know in the first 20 seconds if this one is real."

Needs

• Credibility — evidence that Ramco understands enterprise complexity
• A visual metaphor that feels earned, not generic
• To feel that attending this event was worth the schedule disruption

Frustrations

• Corporate motion graphics that feel like stock footage
• Grand claims without operational specificity
• Events that treat CIOs as an audience to impress rather than a room to engage

Motivation: Wants to leave with a clear sense of where intelligent ERP is going — and whether Ramco is the right partner for that journey.

Deepa

VP Marketing, Ramco Systems

44 · Chennai

"The animation is the first thing they see. It needs to say 'Ramco' — confident, intelligent, not just technically capable."

Needs

• A piece that elevates the event from 'conference' to 'experience'
• Clear brand alignment — the Ramco visual language on a cinematic scale
• An opening that makes her proud every time it plays

Frustrations

• Creative that looks impressive in isolation but loses the brand
• Last-minute revisions that compromise animation quality
• Generic enterprise aesthetics that could belong to any tech company

Motivation: Wants the event to set a new standard for Ramco's conference identity — and for the opening film to become a reference point.

Muskan

Motion Designer — Me

· Amsterdam → Chennai

"How do you make 'Agentic AI in ERP' feel as cinematic as a space launch — without lying about what it is?"

Needs

• A visual metaphor for transformation that enterprise leaders find credible
• A 30-scene storyboard that functions as both creative bible and production plan
• A render pipeline that delivers broadcast-quality output on time

Frustrations

• The gap between 'futuristic' aesthetics and meaningful enterprise storytelling
• Compression artefacts on wide-format LED rendering
• The challenge of writing an emotional arc for a product category that resists emotion

Motivation: Wanted to prove that enterprise motion design can carry genuine narrative weight — that craft and commerce don't have to be opposites.

ACT I — Constraint

A glowing blue orb pulses behind a rigid grid. Typewriter text: "Every era of enterprise has been defined by a frontier. A boundary that separates what is from what is possible."

ACT II — Breakthrough

The orb pushes through the frontier line. Grid lines reconfigure into liquid pathways. A living network forms. "Intelligent, Adaptive, Agentic AI. It anticipates, learns and evolves."

ACT III — Ramco Reveal

The circle bursts outward into a glowing horizon. The Ramco mark shines. "Behold, the future of enterprise. Step into the next frontier." End card: 15–16 Sept · The Leela Palace, Chennai.

4608×768px ultra-wide LED screen · Rendered at 25fps · 90-second runtime including extended loop sections for venue playback

Open Sans throughout · Typewriter animation for all text reveals · Letter-spacing adjusted for wide-format legibility at distance

Ramco brand blue · Intersecting grid lines that glitch, bend, and reconfigure · Glowing organic orbs against geometric grids — tension between constraint and freedom

Full 30-scene storyboard approved before animation began · Hand-drawn narrative boards mapped to timing sheet · Final animation produced to exact storyboard specifications

Left: Homepage — "Preserving Digital Heritage at Theo Thijssenhuis" · Right: About Memory Ball — how it works

Left: Memory Timeline grouped by decade · Right: Share Your Memory form — needs a more conversational redesign (noted)

Memory Ball installed at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Master Digital Design · 14–15 April · ThingsCon Generative Things

The working prototype — sphere, plinth with QR code, and web app — was exhibited at ThingsCon Generative Things alongside the MDD Master Digital Design graduation show at HvA. Visitors picked up the sphere, scanned the QR code, explored the Memory Timeline, and contributed their own stories.

The broader vision: wherever a Memory Ball is installed, each location becomes a node in a larger network of human experience. Walking through the Jordaan and hearing stories from residents across decades. Exploring any Amsterdam neighbourhood through the eyes of the people who shaped it.