Jessica den Hartog (24), is a Dutch designer graduated at the art academy of Maastricht, MAFAD in the Netherlands. She focuses on the society as a source of inspiration. Studying many associations and (other) social institutions and reshaping their activities. Letting development take place by providing a new perspective.

As a designer I study the society, which consists of many associations. An association is a group of people that has characteristic behavior and specific activities. The activities can be anything, like a ritual, a production process, disorderly behavior or other general proceedings. By doing research and studying the behavior of associations, visualizations of how I would like to move myself in these associations come into existence.

Activities are often standardized. We carry them out the way we are used to and because everybody caries them out in that way. I want to take care of the development of these activities in such a way that a balance is present between functionality and aesthetics.

During the research, the process is equally as important as the results. By going through the process step by step and experimenting with intuition and Materiality a specific result in attributes is obtained. I see myself as a designer of interconnection; by working together with other disciplines and employing each other’s knowledge and talent, new perspectives can be gained and development can take place.