Hello, my name is Markel Cormenzana. I am a strategic designer

currently working in Bilbao and involved in some really interesting

projects. I would like to take some time from you to talk about my

trajectory so far and why I am applying for a Master. When I started

building this portfolio I approached the task as a commisionned work

for myself and started by researching my own life, looking for evidence

I could use to transmit the nature of my process and my thinking. As

a pathological curious and somehow anxious creator I hope to keep a

clear narrative and convey my incredible love for this profession. Let’s

start from the beginning, I could say that everything started very early,

as soon as 1993. On april that same year I received a birthday gift that,

looking backwards, I could say that changed my whole life.

PORT-FOLIO

Markel Cormenzana

Strategic Designer September 2014

Hello, my name is Markel Cormenzana. I am a strategic designer

currently working in Bilbao and involved in some really interesting

projects. I would like to take some time from you to talk about my

trajectory so far and why I am applying for a Master. When I started

building this portfolio I approached the task as a commisionned work

for myself and started by researching my own life, looking for evidence

I could use to transmit the nature of my process and my thinking. As

a pathological curious and somehow anxious creator I hope to keep a

clear narrative and convey my incredible love for this profession. Let’s

start from the beginning, I could say that everything started very early,

as soon as 1993. On april that same year I received a birthday gift that,

looking backwards, I could say that changed my whole life.

"... I received a birthday gift that, looking backwards, I could say that changed my whole life...”

I discovered science, and that discovery unrevealed my curiosity for the

processes that shaped the world. That curiosity led me to investigate by

myself and to experiment with electricity, wood, painting, photography,

theater... looking for answers (although not being very sure about the

questions). At the age of 18, trying to channel that pulsion, I started

studying Mechanical Engineering.

def. (Latin. Ingenium, meaning "cleverness" and ingeniare, meaning "to contrive, devise") is the application of scientific, economic, social, and

practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, and im-prove structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.

LEONARDODA VINCI

Those years led me a strong background in 3D design, materials

science, structural analysis, product development... But once again

I was getting answers without having framed my questions. In

order to fulfill people’s needs I needed

to empathize, to adapt, to embrace

complexity and neglect linearity. Pursuing

that twist, I traveled to Denmark and

started a course in Integrated Design

Engineering.

Studying there I became familiar with the design process. I understood

how important it is to design for or even with your user. But suddenly

lots of questions emerged. One of my teachers, professor Detlef Matzen

introduced me to sustainable design. That became a big thing for me.

I realised that I could use design as a tool for solving what I learned to

be wicked problems. I started to see the big picture and connect the

processes behind our reality. I became a creative systems thinker. As

Vignelli would have said, design became one to me. Interaction, graphic

design, service design, experience, product... All of them transformed

into means to an end.

BRUNO MUNARI

I love and believe in Design. I believe in the power of beauty and equilibrium. I love and embrace the process. I think that design can and should be used to transform, to tackle the big and systemic issues that our society and planet are facing. I believe in the power of collaboration and synergy. I trust in Design as means to behaviour change. I defend design as a tool to assure common good. I have already experienced that companies can do goog business doing good with their business and that design is essential for that.

My design ethos

Design Strategist & Transition Designer. 2012 - present@ Inèdit

Currently working as a design strategiest in the product innovation department, developping solutions for companies and the public sector fostering the implemen-tation of ecoinnovation in their strategies, business models and operations. I have been involved in various projects including New Product Developments, ecoinnova-tion teams management, business model innovation, leading creative processes and designing ad-hoc methodologies for our clients. My work has been focused in inte-grating systems thinking and innovation processes in organizations as a means to become more sustainable. Two of the most ambitious projects, due to the transforma-tive nature, are: Laboratorio de Ecoinnvoación (Fundación La Caixa, Fundación Forum

Ambiental & Foment del Treball) and Laboratorio de Ideas (Basque Gobernment).

Founder/Resident Artist 2012 - present@ Atelier. Taller de creación.

Atelier is an independent, open and self-managed creation space. It was funded by four collectives from Vitoria-Gasteiz involved with culuture, creation and art. Atelier harbours multidisciplinar creation proccesses, experimentation and tea-ching and promotes the hybridation of music, dance, scupltring, tinkering, theater and graphic arts.

Sustainable Production Project Manager. 2011 - 2012@ Ihobe. Basque Ecoinnovation Agency.

As a project manager I participated in several projects from a policy maker perspec-tive including consulting services for basque SMEs in the journey of sustainable de-sign implementation,managing competitive surveillance and developing an open inno-vatio platform for the agency. I also participated in several forums and congresses

such as Bilbao Ecodesign Meeting, Creativity Meeting Point, Pecha Kucha Nights...

Course Integrated Design - Ecodesign. 2012-2012

@ Syddansk Universitet / University of Southern Denmark

I participated in a multidisplinary and multinational team in the development of a

consumer product matching innovation and sustainable design.

BsC Mechanical Engineering. 2010 - 2012@ Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

I specialized in NPD (New Product Development)developping strong competences in CAD Design (CATIA, Soldiworks, Advances Surfaces...), FEM (Finite Elements Analysis), materials, etc. Resumé

Skills

Left Right

Analytical.Logical.Sequential.Looks at parts.

Synthetical.Holistic.Intuitive.Looks at wholes.

Research

Catia

Solidworks

Rhinoceros

Project management

Creative facilititation

Simapro

HTML 5 + CSS 3

Coding logic

Creativity

Systems thinking

Sketching

Prototyping

Photoshop

Illustrator

Visual culture

Photography

Indesign

After effects

Laboratorio de Ideas

Laboratorio de Ideas (Ideas Lab), emerges in 2012 as a strategic Project

of the Basque Ecodesign Center. This center, founded by six of the most

important companies in the Basque Country, focuses its activity in the

dissemination of sustainable design practices and tools in the Basque

economy.

The Ideas Lab constitutes a hub for the development of new concepts,

ideas and business models in the context of the emerging paradigm.

Backed by a strong research and understanding of customer’s need, Ideas

Lab helps companies stay competitive and resilient by ecoinnovating in the

strategic, business model and operational level.

I have been fully involved with this project since 2012. I codesigned and

implemented the methodology and organizational design of the Lab and

have managed transdisciplinary design teams formed by: sociologists,

industrial designers, entrepreneurs, engineers… During the last two years

I have been managing and codeveloping sustainable solutions with more

than 20 researchers. The main results of this project include: a design

methodology for the development and implementation of product service

systems in manufacturing companies, a series of publications regarding

sustainability concepts (green marketing, brand equity, servitization,

durability, take-back schemes…), several workshops with the project

partners (smart homes, innovation portfolio…), ecoinnovation reports for

each of the partners and product redesign guidelines.

Partners

Methodological backbone

Research methodology

Design Process

Some results

Cuadernos de ideas.

In company workshops.

Research reports.

Ecoinnovation Laboratory

This project was motivated by the interest of three agents: Fundación

la Caixa, Fundación Forum Ambiental and Foment del Treball, the main

business organization of Cataluña, in transferring the experience of the

Ideas Lab to the reality of Cataluña.

The first year has been focused in raising awareness and building

understanding about the business and environmental value of

ecoinnovation. More than 20 business case have been developed, published

and shared in two seminars. Since its birth I have been managing the

design and art direction aspect of this project and participated in the

development of an Ecoinnovation Toolkit for companies that will be

published by the end of 2014.

A group of especially interested companies including Nestlé, BASF,

Endesa… have formed a working group in which a prototype of the toolkit

will be tested.

The strategic plan for 2015 involves the implementation of the toolkit

in several SMEs that will support the design of new and sustainable

products, services, business models and strategies.

Partners

DIS

SEN

Y M

ARC

A L

ABO

RATO

RIO

DE

ECO

INN

OVA

CIÓ

One of the awareness raising actions has been

the design and facilitation of a workshop

targeting school teachers. In this workshop the

concepts of Product Life Cycle and Carbon

Footprint were introduced. The narrative thread

of the workshop was the comparative analysis

between sending a postcard and an email. This

method was designed for teachers to transfer

it to their classes and expand important

sustainability concepts.

I developed the methodology and coordinated

the facilitation of the workshop.

Personal Projects

During the last years I have been really active

collaborating with different Spanish artists and

creators.

Product of this collaborations I have been in

charge of the design and art direction of several

LPs, I have written and designed the scenery of

a theater and dance piece, designed a wooden

bike frame as a means to revitalize wood sector

in the Basque Country and developed several

photographic shows and installations.

Design, art direction and illustrations for Doc Poks - Tren 33.

Excert from “Struggle” Photobook.