The first new faces of 2012

Another year has started here at Designit, and everywhere else really, and we are already welcoming new faces to our studios. Let’s get started.

In Aarhus, we welcome Kasper Hornbæk Nielsen as our new Graphic Designer. Kasper studied Graphic Design in Aarhus, and is currently taking a 2 year education in photography, one of his big passions. Kasper has been with Scanad Reklamebureau in Aarhus for 10 years, as a trainee, image editor, and graphic designer, but most recently at Recommended in Aarhus, as a graphic designer. He’s a fan of travelling, and also cooking (and baking, lucky Aarhus).

Also in Aarhus is Christie Lyngfeldt as the new Operations and Finance Trainee. Christie holds a degree in Sales and Buying from Danske Supermarked, and also studied International Concept Marketing in European Retail. For the past four years she’s been working in Salling department store, where she has been involved with sales, buying and advertising. She comes to Designit to flex her muscles and make the most of her qualifications. Christie is into running and sports (which makes some of us look bad), including skiing, so hopes to join us on the ski trip in March (again, to make some of us look bad).

Kasper Baarup Holmboe joins Christie and the other Kasper in Aarhus as a Model Maker. Kasper is studying an MA in Design and Architecture, focusing on Industrial Design at the Aarhus School of Architecture, and hopes to push his skills to the limit at Designit. When not making models, he helps out doing restoration at the Harley Davidson family workshop near Aarhus, and enjoys a good surf when the weather permits.

Also in Aarhus is Anders Kjærgaard Jensen, who will be joining Kasper as a Model Maker. Anders is studying at the Aarhus School of Architecture, and is on his 5th semester there. He’s been working as a freelance model maker at Aart Architects, and hopes to get some real-life insight at Designit. Anders loves anything with a bit of soul, from music to cities, and brings curiosity and some awesome skills.

Over in Copenhagen we say hello to Stine Dahl Mikkelsen as our new Design Researcher. Stine holds an MA in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen. She has also studied at la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain and conducted a four-month long fieldwork on a Base of the Pyramid project in Argentina, as well as taking courses in sociology and public health at the University of Copenhagen. Stine has worked as a qualitative researcher in Research International, TNS Gallup, Synovate, and most recently in Væksthus Hovestadsregionen (Business Link Capital) where she was affiliated with projects within the field of public-private innovation. When not at work, Stine can be found training for her third (third!) marathon, and looking forward to Roskilde Festival.

In Munich we welcome Gianni Ciotola, as our new Product Designer. Giannie has a Diploma in Industrial Design from Munich University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Why he studied, he completed an internship at Phoenix Design in Stuttgart and was a student helper at Fujitsu Computers.Prior to Designit, Gianni worked for two and half years at Kiska Design in Salzburg/Austria as a Product Designer, handling a wide range of products like Hilti, Siteco, Kettler, Zeiss and Adidas. Before that, he spent a year working in an animation studio called Aixsponza in Munich, working as a CG Animation Artist. Gianni says that he’s never lost his inner child, so he should fit right in…

Still in Munich we welcome Kaveh Shirdel as our new Senior Interaction Designer. Kaveh holds an MA in Interactive Media from the London College of Communication, and a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University specialising in Automotive Design. After graduating, his interest turned to emerging internet and imaging technologies. He took a photography apprenticeship whilst learning internet technologies and went on to work as a web developer for 5 years after which he moved into digital content production. For the last 7 years Kaveh has been working as a Producer & Designer in London producing interactive installations and working on digital and mobile design strategy. Kaveh loves mountains, photography and the water – provided he’s under it.

Joining them in Munich we say hello to Yi-Ling Lin, our new Business Designer.  Yi-Ling holds a BA in Mathematics from Baruch College in NYC and two MAs (!) – one in Mathematics in Biology from the Technical University of Munich and one in Design Management from IED Barcelona. Yi-Ling worked as an operations analyst at Frog for one year and as an investment portfolio analyst at PIMCO for three years. Prior to PIMCO, she did a 10-month internship at VCM private equity firm as a junior analyst. Yi-Ling brings an analytical mind, but with a desire to become a creative strategic thinker, and can be found salsa dancing when not balancing paper on her head.

And so we move to Oslo, where we open our arms to Emilie Strømmen Olsen as our new Service Design Intern. Emilie has a BA in Product Design from Akershus University College and is currently taking her MA at Oslo School of Architecture and Design. She’s looking forward to getting fully immersed in Service Design at Designit, and hopes to be able to apply her values in the field of design. Emilie loves dancing and sewing – but not at the same time.

Also in Oslo, we say hello to Nilas Pleje, our new Product Design Intern. Nilas has a BA in Industrial Design from Umeå Institute of Design (UID) in Sweden and he has just finished his third semester in the MA program Advanced Product Design at the same school. During his BA Nilas had an internship at I Design in Stockholm as an Industrial Designer. Before that, he worked as a model technician for company in Norrtälje Sweden, where he made prototypes and models for the casting industry. He also has his own company where he does small design jobs for local companies in Umeå when he has time. When not working, Nilas loves being in the great outdoors, whether it’s fishing or mountain biking, he’s there.

Staying in Oslo, we welcome Annie Feddersen as our new Service Designer. Annie holds a degree from the Aarhus School of Architecture, where she have specialised in service design and research. Since graduating in 2011, Annie has been working as an Experience designer at the Danish audio company, Libratone. Annie has previously been with as at Designit as an intern in Denmark, and couldn’t wait to get back into the fold, albeit in another country. She’s adapting to her new Norwegian lifestyle by skiing, hiking and of course, wearing knitted jumpers.

To Sweden! Allen Smith joins the team as the new Interaction Design Manager in Gothenburg. Allen holds a BA in Telecommunications with Philosophy minor at Indiana University, and an M.Sc. in Interaction Design from Chalmers University of Technology. Before Design, Allen was a Senior Product Manager for UX at Qualcomm, where he helped lead the commercialisation of R&D projects around mobile TV, social media, and automotive infotainment. He has also worked as Creative Director for a mobile software startup, Product Manager for Information Visualisation at a sensor network startup, as the co-founder of a web design company, and survived the dotcom boom at a web startup. Most recently I’ve been on sabbatical exploring ubiquitous computing environments at the Tabletop Interaction Lab and developing a point-of-purchase social media service. Having toured and recorded with several indie bands, music is a massive part of Allen’s life, and he also loves Baja Mexico (that gets our vote for our next Inspiration Trip), surfing, and enjoying a cold beer.