Meet the team: Erwin Heijblom

What is your main motivation for designing new products that enrich the market?

“In the end, our job is really about helping people solve daily problems by creating great products. My main motivation is just the expression on someone’s face when they first see our latest and greatest invention.”

Where did you start your career after graduation, and what was the most important lesson you learned in practice during those first steps in your working life?
“For me it was mostly the realization that besides ‘dreaming and aiming for the stars’ there are also things like production costs, lead-times and risks. During the first years I had to descend from my ‘pink cloud’ and become more pragmatic.”

What makes you happiest when you are designing?

“That moment when your first see and feel a new prototype and realize that it works the way you intended. Also, any moment in the process when the pieces of the puzzle start falling together after weeks of challenges.“

Why are you interested in working for MODYN? 

“Well, I worked together with MODYN on the Nexo scooter during my time at BERG and I was really impressed by the skills and creativity of the team. A few years later when I was searching for a new challenge I immediately knew where to begin.

During all my previous projects at BERG and Veth Automotive I worked on ‘something with wheels’. I can honestly say that something about mobility just resonates with me”.

We know you’re new here at MODYN, but what’s day-to-day like so far?

“Like any other job the day starts with coffee. But anyway, the days and weeks are actually all very different. At MODYN we work for different brands and products, which means the focus for each project can be different. Sometimes I need to do more creative design and other weeks more technical engineering. “

What I absolutely love is that we don’t get an overload of emails and mandatory meetings, which gives us a lot of freedom to focus on design and have some nice conversations with colleagues. I spend most of my time creating 3D models for various purposes.

I’m a bit old school in a way that I really appreciate the process of building prototypes, which is something that I do almost every week. MODYN trusted me with updating our workshop, so currently I’m optimizing the workflow for building and testing prototypes.

What I like is that within the agency everybody has a certain (unwritten) expertise, all the designers bring some kind of new insight into the table. For each project I’ve had great input from others. Overall, it’s great to have learned this much during my first months here.”

So what projects are you most excited about working on?

“I’m most excited about projects where a client wants something that is revolutionary and daring. For these types of projects, you really must push boundaries, be creative and solve problems that haven’t been solved before. At the edge of your comfort zone, I think you’ll learn the most”.

What are you obsessed with in mobility design right now?

“Currently I’d say it’s even broader than just mobility. I think there’s a trend where people seek for a personal connection and prefer products and companies which are maybe not perfect but truly honest. As designers we can make such an impact when we recognize people to be unique ‘judges’ instead of common consumers.”

So, when you’re not working, where can we find you? What are your hobbies and what do you like to do? 

“These changes once a few years. I like sports such as tennis, running and occasionally also mountain biking. Inside the house I enjoy chess or almost any board game. I also find it really satisfying to create stuff with LEGO, this is something that stuck with me through all the years.”

Tell us your dream project to work on.

“To work on a project for a major automotive company, either interior or exterior design. People (including me) seem to appreciate good design just a bit more when it comes to cars, which is quite fascinating. “

Be sure to connect with Erwin Heijblom on LinkedIn!