Today we talk to another team member at Design Reality, our very Dutch (in his own words) Richard van Berkel. Here are his answers to our five questions for him.
1. What do you consider to be the defining point of your design experience?
When I was young, I used to take apart all sorts of electrical devices to see how they worked, but putting them back together, I was less successful. A defining moment was when I realised I would like to do something in electronics was during a career night, when I first met an embedded software engineer. He explained his job, while I was studying as an apprentice electrician. I knew then what I wanted to do and pursued that in my educational career. The defining moment in my design experience was years later, when a product that I helped design and program was used by a Olympic gold medallist swimmer to improve her training. The work of a embedded software engineer is often unseen, but can have great impact on the product.
2. What do you do at Design Reality?
I am a Embedded software/Electronics engineer within the engineering department. This means that within certain projects I could be responsible for helping design the electronics and if required, programming the firmware as well. It’s the diversity of the job that attracts me. Since last year I have been responsible for programming and optimising the features of one of the most important own products of Design Reality, namely the FitCheck device. Since the “customer” in this case was the boss of Design Reality itself, it was incredibly challenging, but also highly rewarding.
3. What do you most like about your role?
The diversity of the job, working for a design consultancy company no two products are the same. The engineering & design team consisting of a diverse group of people were you can bounce ideas of each other and where it’s not shameful to ask a question when burdened with a problem.
4. Impressions of the team?
Design Reality consists of engineers, mechanical designers, graphical designers, all collaborating together to produce high-end products, lead by a dedicated group of managers, who are highly experienced in their field. All team members are willing to help one another to solve issues even if it’s not in their realm of expertise, but their different insight might produce a solution not thought of before.
5. Describe yourself in 3 words.
Relaxed
Stubborn
Dutch
6. Three people you would invite to dinner (they can be dead or alive).
Professor Brian Cox
Adam Savage
Barack Obama
