Tuur van Balen

Current

Visiting Tutor at Royal College of Art
Freelance Designer, Researcher at Tuur Van Balen

Past

Research Intern at Demos
Designer at Fabrique
Designer at KVD | reframing and design

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Education

Royal College of Art
Technische Universiteit Delft
Technische Universiteit Delft

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Connections

159 connections

Industry

Design

Websites

My Website

Tuur van Balen’s Summary

Tuur Van Balen (Belgium, 1981) is a designer and researcher eager to push the boundaries and methodologies of design in order to explore the rich interaction between people and technology. He has a special interest in invisible cities, synthetic biology and the 'Metro weird-feed'.

He holds an MA degree in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art and works as a freelance designer and researcher in service design, interaction design and product design. Tuur also initiates his own design research projects, often collaborating with scientists, from synthetic biologists to sociologists.

Keen to experiment with different places for design, Tuur has worked with London based thinktank Demos, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Lancaster and collaborates with Institute for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College.

Before moving to London, Tuur graduated a MSc degree in Industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology and worked at several design agencies in the Netherlands.

Tuur van Balen’s Specialties:

interaction design, product design, design engineering, service design, design research, concept development, scenario development, sketching, model making, film making

Tuur van Balen’s Experience

Visiting Tutor

Royal College of Art

(Educational Institution; Design industry)

January 2009 — Present (11 months)

I am a visiting tutor on a 4 week project for the first year MA students of the Design Interactions course.
The project stimulates critical and speculative thinking about the implications of emerging technologies, particularly Synthetic Biology. Responsibilities include: co-writing the brief, organising lectures, personal tutorials and assessments
Freelance Designer, Researcher

Tuur Van Balen

(Design industry)

August 2008 — Present (1 year 4 months)

Freelance designer and researcher in service design, interaction design and product design. Special interest in emerging technologies, invisible cities and comforting pseudo-sciences. Clients & Collaborations include: Demos, TED, Adidas, Pervasive Interaction Lab at Open University and Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College.
Research Intern

Demos

(Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Think Tanks industry)

July 2007 — August 2007 (2 months)

Doing research in the domains: City, Culture and Science and Technology. More details coming soon...
Designer

Fabrique

(Privately Held; Design industry)

January 2006 — August 2006 (8 months)

As a Designer at the Design and Communications Department of Fabrique, I was involved in concept design and spatial design, reaching form strategy development and positioning of services to concept and interior designs. Clients include KPN (the Dutch national phone company), Giant Bicycles and Heineken Music Hall amongst others.
Designer

KVD | reframing and design

(Privately Held; Design industry)

January 2005 — July 2005 (7 months)

After doing an internship, I have become a part-time designer at KVD, while finishing my masters degree in industrial design engineering at Delft University of Technology. At KVD I was responsible for researching the "Mobility" domain; constructing a database and developing a "meta-vision" which was later applied to several projects for various clients such as NS, the Dutch national rail company.

Tuur van Balen’s Education

Royal College of Art

Master of Arts , Design Interactions , 2006 — 2008

Graduation project: ‘My City = My Body’, a design research project exploring how future technologies might reshape our interaction with the city. Advised by the Imperial College departement for Synthetic Biology.
Technische Universiteit Delft

Master of Science , Industrial Design Engineering , 2004 — 2006

Graduation project:
'Hoe het Rijksmuseum Rijker werd', Concept for a richer interaction with the Rijksmuseum, National Dutch museum in Amsterdam.
Graduated Cum Laude (with Distinction), May 12th, 2006.
Technische Universiteit Delft

Bachelor , Industrial Design Engineering , 1999 — 2003