Meet Design for Play alumnus Marloes Bakker
To start, tell us a little about yourself!
Hey! I'm Marloes Bakker. I'm currently living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Before heading to Denmark to study Design for Play in 2021, I completed my bachelor's degree in Industrial Design Engineering at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
Can you tell us something about your professional journey as a play designer? Where are you currently employed?
During my time with Design for Play at Lego, I found out about Kiss the Frog, a Dutch company that helped design and develop the Lego House. When I was halfway through my thesis, I saw they had an opening for a designer position, so I applied and got the job! Kiss the Frog specializes in designing and developing interactive visitor experiences for museums, science centers, and corporate visitor centers. My job is to design those experiences alongside the lead designer. This means making (a lot of!) storyboards, brainstorming, researching, giving workshops, and testing the final results.
Tell us about the value you bring as a play designer to your workplace.
As a play designer, I’m specifically focused on finding the balance between playfulness and fulfilling specific (educational) goals. What do we have to provide to give visitors the confidence to explore and play? When does it become too open or too restricted? Are we still meeting the goal the museum has set for this exhibition? It's a tricky balance, but I love the challenge!
What are your favourite memories from your time in Kolding, and are there other things you’d like to share?
My time in Kolding was amazing. I loved being around people with similar interests. Since most of us were international, almost everyone lived in Kolding, which made it easy to organize board game nights at the Play Lab, birthday parties at the playground, or just cook dinner together. My favorite Design School Kolding memory is the project I made for the speculative design course. Together with two other students I designed friendship weddings (because why would you only marry your lover?). We got to present it at the Expo and even at the end of the Expo, people were still filling out the forms to wed their friends!
Do you have any advice to give to someone undertaking this educational path?
For new students, I'd say cherish the connections you make! Your classmates can be great contacts later on, even if you're not living in the same area. And always remember to explore and play as much as you can during your projects.
