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Inventor, Designer & Futurist with 15 years of international experience crafting original ideas, next-gen UX, and digital-physical products by driving concepts hands-on and leading teams to innovate for some of the world's biggest brands.
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Welcome to the digital repository of my creative, design and innovation expressions. Although comprehensive, this page is easy to navigate.
Below is a showcase of my career aspirations, achievements, experiences, testimonials, invention insights, services, personal projects, and publications.
Sprinkled throughout are videos and images of my work, most of which have been
Given the discretion required in much of my work, I've created this page with features that
The best place to start is where I want to go. Typically, a medium like this is used to display only past accomplishments and current focus. So why not include future work ambitions? Here are four things I would love to work on one day and feel I've got the expertise to do so.
Design novel interactions and interface design of zero-g and planetary spacesuits (round 2 for me). The more we explore and establish, the bigger the opportunity to rethink our Earth-ly bias when it comes to how we travel, work, and live away from this rock we call home.
Redefine responsive interfaces by incorporating head-tracking and similar technologies to design new experiences. Might be an automotive thing. Speaking of which,
Figure out our emotional two-way communication and other interactions for our inevitable future involving work and home robots.
Introduce a secondary layer of peripheral interfaces and interactions responding to eye movement for the unavoidable AR-enabled products and bio-integrations.
I've had the pleasure to work for and collaborate with top innovation teams across Fortune 100 companies, enabling over 40 patents.
While I can't go into detail on the work for obvious NDA reasons, here's a list of some of the key career accomplishments so far.
Zero-g interactions & wearable interfaces for space and planetary exploration.
Interactive Visual Communication and language for future autonomous vehicles and traffic.
Intuitive interactions and technologies for new Dell & Microsoft computing devices & peripherals.
Intelligent wearable audio products and UX for Logitech.
Novel in-car experiences for current, upcoming and conceptual Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
UX and technology innovations spawning all kinds of mobile products for Oppo (China).
Playful interactions with a brand new digital / physical product for Amazon.
The next wave of smart footwear for Nike.
Computer vision-based smart mirror OS for home workouts.
AI-driven experience for online retail at Nike.
Immersive digital-physical in-store experiences redefining what it means to shop and try-on at Nike.
Here is an overview of the key services to help you invent and bring to life what's next using my 15 years of experience in invention, design, and innovation. These are adaptable in scope and scale, allowing me to collaborate seamlessly with individuals, teams, agencies, startups, scaleups, and corporates. Happy to discuss how I can support defining your future: get in touch.
Inventing, designing and delivering next-gen interactive concepts, products, services, and systems. Always with a future focus in mind. Cost effective solution for your business when looking to tap into design and innovation skillsets and get actionable results.
Generating fresh ideas for the design of digital / physical products, next-gen interactions / UI / UX, and future technology applications. Can be initiated from a near-blank page or detailed brief.
Maturing the best ideas in actionable concepts, outlining key interactions and UX in a storyboard format. Includes technological aspects, design implications, and prototyping suggestions. Balances desirability, viability, and feasibility.
Defining the larger future vision for key concepts and how they can be initiated in the short, medium and long term, evolving towards a (new) North Star. Valuable contribution to empower the practical and timely realization of meaningful innovations.
Building, advancing, and/or leading your (next) design / innovation team to support the ambitions of and create new value for your business. Cost effective solution for your business when looking to create the foundations in order to create what's next.
Understanding the design and/or innovation needs of your business to create the core team and (new) ways of working. Identifying the key discipline expertise for the core team, working with your HR department, and leverage an extensive network to bring in the right talent. Collaborating with the core team and key stakeholders to establish the invention / innovation process tied to your key metrics.
Upskilling / mentoring your multidisciplinary design and innovation team to future-proof their learning and development. Enhancing your invention / innovation process to increase its speed and quality of business value.
Guiding your team on a project or program perspective to inventing, designing, and delivering design and innovation value. Hands on leader and subject matter expert in bringing design disciplines together into one holistic tangible product and next-gen digital / physical interaction design. Facilitates cross-functional collaboration across business, design, and technology disciplines.
Supporting early-stage startups as they transition from idea to scale by embedding strategic design and innovation leadership at critical funding stages. A cost-effective way to build, advance, or lead design functions while ensuring product-market fit, investor confidence, and long-term scalability.
Refining and shaping early concepts into fundable, high-impact propositions. Providing hands-on innovation expertise to craft compelling UX, interactive prototypes, and visionary roadmaps that attract early investors, accelerators, and angel networks.
Helping startups professionalize their design and innovation approach, turning MVPs into scalable products. Establishing design systems, interaction models, and strategic roadmaps that align with business and investment goals.
Strengthening the startup’s design function, innovation process, and leadership capabilities to sustain high-growth phases. Acting as a fractional design leader, upskilling teams, refining product strategies, and ensuring long-term innovation sustainability.
Here's an overview of the key roles and experiences which have made up my career so far. See more detail on my LinkedIn.
Experimenting with various freelance and fractional leadership services. From collaborating with other experts and companies on next-gen products and services to supporting startups and scale-ups with their innovation and product development for today and tomorrow.
Inventing the future at the Nike Technology Innovation Office by leading the global New Concepts team. Developed a tailored innovation process guiding a multidisciplinary team from ideation to delivery while reducing time-to-concept by 30%. Generated 100+ future concepts, including scalable POCs now integrated into Nike's product pipeline, driving measurable business impact.
My own design studio for concept design, new digital / physical product and experience invention. Worked on and with innovation teams on concepts and interface design for Huawei and Lightyear's future vehicles.
Leading by design at The Netherlands' best kept secret product invention lab. Led multidisciplinary teams and bringing a hands-on touch to inventing and building functional next-gen and cutting-edge reference products at an incredible pace. Pioneering new ways of working internally, focusing on untapped areas of interest and creating new future product for our clients: Amazon, Dell, IKEA, Logitech, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Nike and more NDA-sensitive Fortune 100 companies.
Working as a jack of all trades in the disciplines of industrial design, interaction design and visual design, making a difference wherever possible for the global innovation firm at the Milan, Italy studio. Worked on a wide variety of digital - physical products, from airline websites and finance apps to MRI machines and weird physical compasses.
A collective of five designers striving to design and build highly interactive installations and experiences that put a smile on your face.
Inventing and designing using diverse skills to create spectacular innovations made affordable and effective through multidisciplinary design projects. (Translated from Dutch: Ministry of New Things)
And don't take my word for it, here are some recommendations from past clients and colleagues. You can find all 21 on my LinkedIn.
"I had the pleasure of working with Jan during his time as Global Director of New Concepts at Nike's Technology Innovation Office. Jan is a true visionary with a passion for pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
In his role, Jan consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to redefine the creative innovation process within a large corporate environment. He skillfully developed and articulated compelling strategic visions for the future, inspiring his multidisciplinary team to bring bold concepts to life at an impressive pace.
Jan's leadership is marked by his unwavering commitment to excellence, his deep understanding of technological trends, and his ability to foster a collaborative and results-oriented environment. He consistently exceeded expectations, delivering groundbreaking solutions that have had a significant impact on Nike's product pipeline and overall innovation strategy.
Beyond his technical expertise, Jan is a highly effective communicator and a natural team builder. He possesses a unique ability to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and skill sets, aligning them around a shared vision and motivating them to achieve extraordinary results.
I have no doubt that Jan will continue to make significant contributions to the field of technological innovation. He is a true asset to any organization, and I wholeheartedly recommend him for any role that demands creativity, vision, and a passion for pushing the limits of what's possible."
"Jan is visionary, creative, technically deep and people-oriented. He is great at connecting the dots between seemingly disparate insights and opportunities and turning them into a powerful, compelling vision for the future. Jan is emotionally intelligent and very team and results-oriented."
"I had the opportunity to work with Jan in shaping the Technology Innovation team at Nike.
Jan is a visionary and someone who has a sharp perspective on the future. He is able to think big and ideate, whilst carefully balancing this with a clear structure to deliver tangible results fast.
He was able to build a talented, multi disciplinary Concepts team that powered several ideas to scale! Whilst also inspiring many teams and stakeholders along the way. Jan continually pushes boundaries and impressed me immensely with his knowledge and drive to bring Innovation to life."
"Innovation is hard work, but Jan makes it look easy. He has a systemic perspective on technology innovation, build Something from Nothing through his proven innovation process. This allows for the team to dream bigger and bring next generation products and experiences to life at a rapid pace while still focusing on the core objective. It's innovation with a reason, and it's wonderful. The impact on the business is tangible. He's a great leader, thinker and doer."
"Having spent a few years working with, and alongside Jan - initially as a colleague and later on as a friend - it's easy for me to recommend him for any future opportunity that might come his way. Jan is an intelligent, independent and ambitious thinker, driven by his curiosity and passion for great ideas and design, always seeking a creative perspective. He takes responsibility over his own growth and sets the bar for himself. On a personal level I can vouch for a great sense of humor and (Dutch) wit; Jan is always a pleasure to have around. Feel free to reach out to me directly if I can provide further testimony to Jan's abilities and/or personality."
"My dad has a lot of good ideas. I have good ideas too. About funny unicorns. And traffic lights. And chocolate. I like chocolate. And I like my dad."
This is by far the most valuable creative perspective of my career: creating and cultivating methods to generate unique ideas by
I've seen too often where existing work, competitors, market landscape, and other familiar variables have resulted in similar or even superficial ideas. While I strongly believe in informed ideation based on valuable insights, there is a brief yet critical moment to invent outside your bubble.
I trained myself in the art of “temporarily” forgetting known variables to spark novel ideas and have possibly ruined my memory, though that's a story for another time.
You read more about my perspectives on defining delivering what's next shaped during my 15 year innovation career: 6 Perspectives on Advancing Future-Defining Innovation. LinkedIn.com - 3 min
Always happy to get inspired by your perspective on similar thoughts regarding creativity, innovation, and design: get in touch.
In 2019 I finished building my own chopper. I've been inspired by my dad to pursue the joy of motorcycles. Harley Davidsons specifically, ever since he got his. I never had the money so the only logical thing was build one myself. Obvious it's cheaper, right? How hard can it be, really? As turns out: no and very.
This motorcycle and all its sensible parts I crafted myself, from the ground up. I knew nothing of motorcycle construction, maintenance, metal fabrication, welding, you know; the skills needed to get it done. But I wanted this so badly. Countless hours of sweat, blood and burns. The shit you go through to get a new motorcycle tested, approved and registered in The Netherlands. My 1952 Harley Davidson Panhead chopper: 1200cc's of kickstart-only, rip-your-pants-off open belt drive, why-doesn't-it-have-suspension craziness.
But this story is not about the awesomeness of building your own motorcycle. It's a story I often preach for a different reason. Because you see, things are not always as hard as they seem. And no matter the challenge, the rewards are amazing. Too often have I seen someone else's dreams not come to fruition because the challenge felt too steep, the mountain too high, a bridge too far. No skill. No money. No time. But the thing is: if you want it badly enough; you'll find a way. And this is my message to you: follow your dreams and just get started. You might surprise yourself. It may take time, but the journey can be incredible and at some point you get to that previously elusive moment of joy and happiness and it's all worth it. Trust me. I've been there.
Back in 2010 when analog business cards were still a thing I took it upon myself to reinvent one for myself. Strangely enough this has been one of my more successful creations. So, how to create a unique business card reflecting my creativity while making sure it does not compete with other business cards?
In the end the solution was simple: create an item which belongs in someone's wallet, not their business card holder, and manages to stand out (from other business cards). Thus: money. I thought about minting my own coin, which turned out to be too complicated, so paper it was.
I meticulously designed the banknote business card based on the original Dutch 10 Gulden note (our pre-Euro currency). Embedded are countless personal details such as my (since outdated) phone number acting as the serial number, funny hidden messages, watermark, and more.
And it worked out well. The banknote business card often found itself in the section housing all the other banknotes. Using a similar size, feel and styling; the recipient is exposed to the business card on numerous occasions when handling their money. Upon inspecting the business card during these moments, the threshold of actually throwing it away is too high. And also, while regular business cards are eventually stored in another location, this design eludes these moments of relocation while not residing in the conventional compartment for business cards.
While these were in circulation I received a lot of comments on this exact behavior. I look forward to designing another unique item with such a high impact for its investment one day again. More details on the banknote business card design can be found in: my old portfolio. Janvanderasdonk.com/old
Sometimes I end up posting what I put into perspective. Unfortunately these creative thoughts are published on different digital platforms. Here are a few of the more notable ones all in one place for your convenience.
A recent addition summarizing six perspectives focused on
One of the main drivers of how I approach next-gen digital and physical interaction design revolves around
In 2017 I published an article on Medium on the why, what, how, and what's next in my personal crusade against the evil that are Bullshit Buttons: Buttons are Bullshit. Medium.com - 6 min
Throughout my career I'm always figuring out
Prior to this digital repository I used a different portfolio website to house my student and early career work. It's quite outdated, also technically, but the content might still satisfy the curious: my old portfolio. Janvanderasdonk.com/old
You can find my graduation work on how genetically modified bioluminescent bacteria might be used to check for viral infections at home (I still get comments on this work due to COVID), design and branding work for a dairy company, early examples of my chopper build, conceptually encoding your DNA into crystals to create a different type of afterlife artifact, using the fascinating Ferrofluid liquid to create an appealing and functional music player, and way more weirdness.
The concept of the website was to make it feel like a portal into another world behind the glass of your display. To create this effect I used a flatbed scanner to image my hands in various ways, as seen on each of the pages. I even tried scanning my face, but this turned out too creepy to publish.
Even with something as conventional and commoditized as a website there is space for innovation. I've created this page with interactive elements that
Another interaction design tweak relates to the appearance and behavior of links and how they provide feedforward on what will happen when you interact with them. On desktop the links focus on signature underline styles, while on mobile they turn into buttons. There are three types of links.
The first is an index link. These are used at the start of the page and have a less noticeable presence to reflect their internal secondary usage. On desktop, hovering over the link transforms the underline into a downward arrow, indicating how it will bring you to a specific spot further down the page. On mobile the top right has an index-styled icon.
The second is the external link. On desktop, the underline moves to the right, hinting how it will open another website in a new tab. On mobile there is a white arrow. These can also come with a version showing the destination and likely read time. On desktop it appears on hover, while on mobile it's always present: another external link. Website.com - 6 min
The third is the note link These fold out notes work well when providing secondary details or a quote while also incorporating another external link if needed. Perhaps I should actually use it somewhere on the page other than here. LinkedIn.com/... , used to reveal more information. On desktop, the link moves the underline down, expanding its width while revealing a gray box, implying how it will open up. On mobile it shows a rectangular box.
A possible feature I'm toying with is some type of functionality where content is (partially) hidden whenever it is read. I mean, why should you be bothered by anything already consumed? Not sure how to detect this yet, perhaps some type of eye tracking.
And what about using your camera to create a light-dark mode which adapts to the actual environmental light you're getting? Maybe even constantly adjusting all colors to create the best viewing experience relative to the lighting conditions around you and your device? Maybe one day...
More features are in development and planned for delivery this century.