Dutch Design Week 2019
If not now, then when ?
I returned to Eindhoven for my third taste of Dutch Design Week. For a third year in a row I was thrilled by the show of exceptional attention that goes into each of the exhibitions and the development of young talent. DDW does not just see Dutch design as a label for a certain group of designers or design aesthetic, but as a reflection of a culture and attitude that is characteristic of the Netherlands and of Dutch people.
This year held particular significance for me. After visiting the past few years from Scotland this time I visited being a resident of the Netherlands. Whilst enjoying being immersed in my own field of design and new working environment this came as a welcome break to indulge a holiday for my mind. With all of this change in achieving something I have dreamed of for so long, I have realised there are still things to do, people to connect with, and paths to explore. I like to think about the future in the same context that DDW demonstrates its future-oriented vision. It’s optimistic and believes in the problem-solving capabilities of designers. The festival demonstrates that designers have the inventiveness and flexibility of mind that can lead to innovations that our rapidly changing world so desperately needs.With all of this in my mind I approached this year with an open mind wondering where my next goals and challenges could come from as I persist to develop myself within my discipline.
Grad Show 2019 DAE
I began this year with a trip to the Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show again featuring in the Campina. The Design Academy Eindhoven displayed over 180 exhibits which help try portray a collective image of an emerging future from several different areas of design.
Now more so than ever there is such a focus on maintaining fitness and health. In a world where we openly broadcast digitally almost every area of our lives, what importance in our digital world do we still hold in developing empathy and connecting with others in our real lives? We are increasingly polarised and this appeals to a negative spectrum of emotions such as fear and anger but we as human beings are inherently empathetic and we know empathy is a skill we can train. This game helps offer a storytelling exercise that encourages players and practice empathy by sharing stories about emotions, actions and sensations. Connecting with others in real life to see other perspectives is a skill that many of us should be keen to develop whenever offered the chance and this game offers a fun way in which to flex those emotional intelligence muscles.
Jonathan had on show a mobile app that turns your phone into a virtual spray can. This new app allows users to create tags and graffiti in an augmented reality. Users can express themselves on the walls of the city and take over other user’s tags. This app will be soon open to users round the world. Jonathan had told me about some of the potentials and hopes he’d had for the app by empowering people to have a say in public places through a new take on an old medium of self expression. I had found this to be a great way to invite more engagement by using the device we so often never really think about too much because it has become in itself an extended body part in modern day life.
Mo had documented a series of emotions generated through analysing some famous games. 3.57 Billion people, over half of the world watched the World Cup Final in 2018. Why football means so much to so many?
Mo presented some of her work at the arena which is a permanent platform for hosting performances, film screenings and debates staged by graduates and prominent industry professionals. By analysing the spectrum of feelings during the games the project shows these via a range of 8 key emotions through her publication. The publication goes to show how the culture of football in terms of what it brings to lives has not changed throughout the time of the sport. Wether you support a winning or losing team, many fans gather weekly, annually, every four years in the hope their team emerge victorious. The book illustrates the sheer rollercoaster of emotions throughout the game. I love football and I took great joy in going through the book and relating to the array of feelings communicated throughout to all of my experiences going to football games.
Strijp — Industrial Design
The Strijp area in Eindhoven is homed to a few of the biggest old Philips factories which constitute the main focus and the biggest body of work during the festival. The focus outside here was the Biobasecamp a pavilion and architectural expression of how “building with trees” can contribute to the reduction of CO2 and the reduction of nitrogen by replacing conventional building materials such as concrete with bio based materials. The pavilion was surrounded with different odes to beauty in nature whilst reinforcing the power of bio based materials. It stood as a necessary and viable solution for helping us reduce the impacts of global climate change. The aesthetics of bio based materials around trigger deep thinking. Looking at our future, this must be seen as a next step in helping build a better future. The Biobasecamp generates a starting point of exploration for designers and clients towards the possibilities that this “concrete of the future” offers.
S+Stem — S+Bikes
Given that I work within the cycling industry I found this project to be of particular interest. With cycling being so engrained within Dutch culture sometimes it can be a problem trying to find some space for your bike at times and this product helps offer a simple and effective bike stem which rotates the handlebars and gives you more room.
With the theme ‘If not now, then when’ for DDW 2019 we are called upon to take action and embrace sustainability and a more circular economy and way of life. We are asked how can we make a difference? I truly feel the bike has something to truly offer in this shift in change to helping tackling the climate crisis. The rise of the electric bike and more investment in infrastructure for cycling routes being rolled out in countries across Europe is leading to more and more people taking up cycling as a sustainable form of transport. Cycling has been proven to be massively beneficial for your physical and mental health.
The Office Jungle
Our places of work have evolved quite quickly over the past decade. We have seen massive shifts in people working remotely, shared working spaces and more focus on employee wellbeing in the office environment. This kind of wildness is something we do not normally associate with the man-made, but the office jungle states that wildness can be designed. I found this to be quite fun. The hanging construction of the office jungle is wild in the sense of the spatial complexity, flexibility of the knots and the tension springs and the openness that it offers. I really enjoyed the goal that this exhibition had in making the ultimate goal to make desks, office chairs and even the floors on which they stand superfluous and replace them with dynamic, space-filling structures that float above in-house forests. The question that the office jungle is trying to pose is not how to live in an office, but how to work in a jungle?
Sectie C
Sectie-C is a real design hub during DDW you are given a unique behind-the-scenes look into a little part of the world of design. The usually closed off site is bursting with open studios, gardens, stages, food stalls and exhibitions inside and outside. The unique collaborations between creative entrepreneurs, designers, artists and musicians keep a lively feeling through the area.
Using cardboard as the most important building material, Wikkelhouse is a state-of-the-art, durable house with exceptional structural strength. The base of the structure consists of just over a meter deep wood segments that can be easily switched and disconnected. In this way an everyday product such as cardboard has a new purpose. Keeping in mind the over arching theme of the festival is sustainably, the structure is 3x more eco friendly that the traditional home. The whole units are also 100% recyclable.
Each year graduates in the field of design can’t wait to kickstart their career. What they all have in common that they have no experience with the social and business side of the design field. A yearly program called YA (Young Alumni) helps build knowledge, skills, a network and a stage so that they can develop themselves in their transitions from university into professional life. I tuned in for a talk listening to some recent graduates giving their advice on the trials and tribulations of being a working designer. I listened to the talk in a foam bubble pit which was quite playful and kept the sound within the boundaries of the participants which helped communicate a more intimate feeling to the show.
Stilled Life captured an interesting moment for all my senses to absorb. I felt my eyes wander cross the objects populating the room while giving my mind a little time to wander to take in everything I had seen over my weekend.
After a 3rd year in a row my love for DDW continues to grow. In a year filled with personal change; I yet again enjoyed the fresh sense of perspective that it provided. Sometimes the biggest inspirations in our lives come from the most unexpected of places. I came to Dutch Design Week to simply visit for a long weekend and it’s exciting to think that first experience has lead me back each year. I find it thrilling to look back and think that the spark of inspiration that lead me to come to the Netherlands to work in design started from DDW. That first year provided me with this spark of realisation and desire to be around people doing things. I wanted to be around people that dreamed, supported and made change. I feel very lucky to now be surrounded by people every day who share the same ambitions. I’ve learnt when it comes down to it life is about making yourself proud on your own terms. It’s about finding a happiness that works for you. When you grow on your own terms, when you figure out what actually matters, when you carve out your own journey, you live your own way and something about that is quite satisfying.
I’d say for any designer this a must see on your hit list of festivals to experience. The week repetitively serves up a truly unique insight into the ever evolving world of Dutch design.
