AnnaMariaCornelia De Gersem (1971, Belgium)

One of the important aspects of being a successful Experience Designer is the willingness to go out into the streets and involve people in your ideas, grow from that exchange and then perfect one’s final designs. Ann has a special knack for finding inspiration and grounding her work in everyday terrains where people are active. From her Obsessive Amateur project with her Accessories for DIY Penance to her Musical House where she developed a domestic musical score for musicians to perform, Ann has always stuck her feet in the earth of the everyday.

Ann throws herself into experiencing first hand existing rituals in order to understand and then learn how to add to them. Ann spent weeks with the chocolate factory in Belgium with the autistic employees in order to understand this complex but intriguing behavior. She took the Lourdes Pilgrimage to find out more about this ritual, and to talk with Nuns and pilgrims along the way. Supporting an existing activity by placing oneself in the shoes of another, then celebrating this activity without diminishing its integrity, Ann’s designs create a bigger platform or awareness where a more contemporary and even international expression takes place. In this way, Ann exudes talent.

Ann also designs with self -sufficiency in mind, where the participant can take control of the circumstance. The blow-up Sanctuary dress exemplifies this, allowing the user to escape instantly when need be. Ann’s Aggressive Points project created an outlet for aggression for participants to take control of their neighbourhoods and empower the citizen. Formulating a strategy that turned the aggression into a successful campaign for "the happiest city", Ann is a designer who converts and creates a following.

Her final thesis "Au(then)tism" is an accumulative effort from all her past projects to create a sustainable and meaningful design and system that empower a group of people who are often hidden. Via research that takes her reader on an unexpected and joyful journey, Ann’s inquisitive mind is present every step of the way. Her research process is honest but quirky, and therefore interesting and relevant. As much as Ann’s work presents an end experience, we know that the journey to get there is just as important. And we are very appy to follow the Pide Piper in this case.

Written by Cynthia Hathaway
(Head Funlab, Design Academy, Eindhoven, The Netherlands)