about us
We love creating great products. That is what drives our design and product development process. Not only for our clients, but as well for the users of our products.
design firm
Since 2007 our product design firm executed over 120 complex design and development projects. Our products won awards and are used worldwide.
Our clients build on our experience and are determined to make their vision come true.
They understand that the development of the best products of tomorrow does not come with consensus, but is driven by experience and leadership.
believes
We embrace experiment and innovation.
We only work on projects that we believe are good for people.
We strive to develop solutions that do not harm nature.
We eliminate any unfair profit-seeking and do not merely pursue growth.
design team
Our team consists of passionate designers and engineers with many years of experience. We are all driven by making better products. Better for our clients but even more important, better for the people that will be using them.
Laurens Bos
In his role as senior industrial designer, Laurens helps our clients with industrial design, innovative solutions, product engineering and is leading some projects. He continuously searches for solutions and improvements, that help to make the world more beautiful for people. He has a lot of experience with complex projects, both in the product development stages and design stages, is keen about the details and has great design sketching skills.
He is passionate about kite surfing and mountain biking. He worked before at a dutch bike brand and for many years at Alskar Design.
He studied Industrial Design Engineering at the Amsterdam University.
Rik Verkerk
As senior design engineer, Rik helps our clients with industrial design engineering and high-end product development and leads large design projects. The combination of functional quality and design is what appeals to him. The challenge to find sustainable solutions for technical challenges, which suit within the design vision, triggers him to develop himself day by day.
Apart from many years of experience at Alskar Design, he worked 10 years at a renowned design firm. Rik loves technology and mountain biking.
He studied Industrial Product Design at The Hague University, Mechanical Engineering.
Pieter Stol
Pieter always tries to find elegant holistic solutions for complex problems, considering the entire life-cycle of a product. Not afraid for a challenge and always eager to learn new skills.
He is passionate about restoring his old Mercedes and playing the contra bass.
Pieter studied Integrated Product Design at the Delft University of Technology.
Andreas Knol
As our founder, Andreas is the first point of contact for our clients. He ensures that all design processes improve continuously. He loves design that contributes to improvements in people’s lives and is heavily involved in high-end bicycle development.
Andreas is a passionate mountain biker and loves riding natural trails in Croatia.
He studied Product Vision at Delft University of Technology, Business Administration at Hanze University and Design Engineering at NHL University.
Maria Kouzmina
Maria helps our clients and design team with research and administration. Her research is mostly project driven into ergonomics and human factor design.
Maria is passionate about nature, diving and swimming.
She studied at the State University of Saint Petersburg, Social Psychology at the OpenUniversity and circular economy at the Delft University of Technology.
Jaap Doornbos
From an early age Jaap has been intrigued by why things are the way they are. Nowadays he is passionate senior design engineer for many years and has worked on a wide variety of projects, varying in scale, physical size and complexity.
He worked many years for a renowned Dutch design firm and 9 years as a bike mechanic. He has a deep passion for almost anything on two wheels.
Jaap studied Product Design Engineering at the Utrecht University.
Henriette Lauridsen
Henriette is a curious and ambitious designer with a passion for people-oriented design and technology. For her, design is about trying to improve people’s lives. She approaches design challenges in a hands-on way, prefers to work in a great team and works on concepts, strategy and engineering.
She worked many years at a renowned dutch design firm. Henriette competes in tough bike endurance competitions in Europe.
Henriette studied Industrial Design Engineering at the Aalborg University in Denmark.
our name
The name Alskar resembles an unknown destination. Its sound reminds to regions like the valley of Zanskar, Alaska or Madagaskar.
The name of our product design firm symbolizes going where no one went before. Developing products that have never been made before. Exploring the boundaries of strong innovation and product design.
partners
Where we feel it would help us to do a better job on a project, we may bring in collaborators to help us. Mostly these contractors are working in the field of product testing, product certification, electronics, software, manufacturing and assembly. We do not work with freelance industrial designers on our projects, all the design work is being done by the core design team of our product design firm.
Confidentiality of project and client information is important, so when contractors need access to confidential information, they will need sign a mutual NDA with us and will receive only small bits of project information that is specifically relevant to them.
educational cooperation
Our product design firm cooperates with universities, higher educational institutions and their students in Europe, like the TU Delft, Universidada da Coruna, Politecnico di Milano, Hochschule Pforzheim, UTBM, Hochschule Coburg, l’École de design Nantes Atlantique, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Strate, Ecole de Design à Sèvres & Paris, ISD Valenciennes, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten and UPV Universitat Politècnica de València.
