About Me
hi.
My name is Sebastiaan Pijnappel. Optimist, perfectionist and life lover for 26 years, designer and design researcher for 7 years. Born and schooled in the Netherlands, I later spent time in the U.S. and Australia exploring my passion for design. Most recently I worked with the Exertion Games Lab in Melbourne to find out how interactive technology can playfully support the experience of extreme sports. In another recent endeavor I’m teaming up with artists Danielle Wilde and Romy Achituv to design a performance art piece that uses rice to produce a basketball court-sized painting.
profile
I design innovative interactive experiences. Or more precisely: interactive objects or installations that facilitate certain experiences.
To innovate means to bring truly new meaning to people’s lives, rather than incrementally improving what’s already there.
To design for interaction means to consider what happens between human and object as a dialogue and a process, and to appreciate that every nuance of this dialogue as facilitated by the design affects our experience.
To design for experience means to carefully consider and design for the emotions and states of mind that emerge in human-object interaction, making the experience the focal point of the design rather than an incidental byproduct.
Technology has always been an interest of mine and I speak the language of both designer and engineer. My work capitalizes on the value technology can bring to our lives, but always has humans as its driving force.
education
MSc. Industrial Design (Cum Laude)
Eindhoven University of Technology
2009-2012
BSc. Industrial Design (Cum Laude)
Eindhoven University of Technology
2005-2008
Carnegie Mellon University, School of Design
Semester abroad (Pittsburgh, U.S.)
2010
RMIT University, School of Architecture and Design
Semester abroad (Melbourne, Australia)
2009
vision
I believe a good design allows its users to flourish as human beings. This may sound ambiguous, so let me elaborate with a few principles I use to achieve this.
Supporting playfulness. Although society likes to beat it out of us, I believe play makes happy. My work affords playful interactions, inviting people to use their imagination, be unconstrained, and have a bit of fun.
Supporting social interaction. Interactions with others are infinitely important to our well-being. My designs aim to enable or positively mediate social interaction.
Supporting flow of life. If a product allows for intuitive interactions that aesthetically and semantically blend with their context of use, it will likely help us go about our days smoothly and without frustration or distraction.
Making use of our intricate perceptual and motor skills. If a product capitalizes on these skills by affording rich and expressive interactions and offering equally rich feedback, the interaction experience can be surprisingly satisfying.
A few examples of my work: an installation that supports the skateboarding experience and promotes appreciation of the sport as part of urban culture, a space divider that turns dividing ones space into a nonchalant and playful act, and a night lamp that blends with the going-to-bed ritual and allows children to stay in touch with distant parents.