Who are we?

Blendid is an interaction design collective consisting of David Kousemaker and Tim Olden. After meeting at the HKU (Utrecht School of Art and Technology) we soon discovered a shared interest in experimental interfaces. Over the last years the two of us cooperated on a number of projects with satisfying results. After receiving our Masters degree in Interaction Design, we decided to team up to continue to develop our ideas and skills together.

What do we do?

Blendid designs and fabricates interfaces in the widest possible context. As interaction designers, we work in the area where the physical reality and the digital world meet to exchange information. By closely studying user, task and environment and taking all into account during the design process, we can come up with solutions that allow for the best possible connection between the world of the user and the digital world. It is our passion for finding exciting new ways to bridge the gap between the physical and the virtual, that is at the heart of our work.

Not limiting ourselves to pure hardware or pure software solutions, we like to explore the properties of all kinds of different technologies and combine them in innovative ways to create new possibilities for a particular user group or setting. Where possible we try to avoid the standard mouse/ keyboard/ screen- environment. We believe that by allowing users to access the power of technology without them having to interrupt the mindset of their realworld task, a more natural, more exciting, and possibly more effective user experience can be created.

What have we done?

So far this approach has led to a diverse collection of work that cannot easily be boxed into a single category. Sometimes our efforts result in a product prototype, other times they result in interactive art pieces or performances.

In the last few years we collaborated on Demor (2003/ 2004) that set out to create an immersive game experience for visually impaired children. We took into account that this particular user group is very adapt when it comes to navigating on sound. Taking advantage of this strength we created an outdoor game that layered virtual sounds over a realworld field. This approach proofed highly successful. We also created Robotract (2004), a tangible augmented reality game, which merges virtual and realworld elements and allows the players to interact with the game by handling realworld objects. TouchMe (2004) is an interactive installation that allows for the public to leave a personal imprint in the public space. Here the environment of the piece, the public space, was an important design consideration. Experimenting with the whole body of a dancer as an input device we created the Mocap Performance (2002). This performance was shown at two Dutch electronic art festivals.

What can we do for you?

We hope to be able to continue designing and building these kinds of experimental interfaces in the future. If you believe you could benefit from our skills, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us, as we are always on the look out for interesting projects and collaborations.