“We celebrate 25 remarkable editions in which we’ve brought together designers, visitors, governments and companies through design. Design that questions, imagines alternatives, and inspires a better world”, says Miriam van der Lubbe, creative head and co-founder of DDW. “We don’t wait for the future—we shape it together. I’m proud of the international platform DDW has become, thanks to these strong collaborations.”
Philips Design puts the user first
To mark its 100th anniversary, Philips Design is showing how the company now applies design within the field of healthcare. In the programme Impact through Design at the Philips Museum, conversations with designers take centre stage, including Peter Skillman (Global Head of Design), Eleni Soerjo, who works on solutions for maternal and child healthcare, and Jon Pluyter and Luc Geurts, who use data and AI in oncology-related projects.
An example is Ollie the Elephant by designer Özgür Taşar, which aims to make medical procedures more understandable for children. The programme illustrates how Philips’ design department has evolved from product design to experience- and user-centred design. The focus is no longer on what is technically possible, but on what people truly need.
HEMA Design Contest: 100-year anniversary edition
HEMA is also celebrating an anniversary at DDW. This year marks exactly 100 years since the department store chain was founded. The company’s team of 25 designers creates products for everyday use.
To celebrate this milestone, HEMA is organising a new edition of its Design Contest, first held in 1983.
The contest has sparked the creation of many well-known products over the years, including the famous Ketelbinkie kettle, introduced in 2012, a variation of which is still sold today.
HEMA is inviting young designers to submit ideas that address everyday problems. Students and recent graduates can take part in this special anniversary edition via www.hema.nl/ontwerpwedstrijd.
At HEMA’s DDW stand, visitors can explore the company’s design history, from early products to more recent creations.
Kiki & Joost present a new direction
Design duo Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk (Kiki&Joost) are marking their 25-year anniversary with In Action at Klokgebouw. The exhibition combines autonomous works with a range of collaborations undertaken by the designers.
Kiki van Eijk presents Memories of a Garden, a series of carpets developed at the TextielMuseum. They are inspired by the time she spent in the mobile studio of painter Marc Mulders, whose work is also on display during DDW. Joost van Bleiswijk presents a new series in which he uses a paint-and-clay cannon to shoot materials onto surfaces.
Together with artist Diederik Verbakel (DIED), Kiki & Joost have created a collection of screen-printed garments. Throughout DDW, live screen-printing sessions will take place at Kiki&Joost’s space.
DDW: Continuing to look ahead
Dutch Design Week itself is now a quarter of a century old. DDW celebrates this with the theme Past. Present. Possible. What began in 2000 as a relatively small event has grown into one attracting over 350,000 visitors. That growth has gone hand in hand with a shift in focus. “This anniversary calls for a moment of reflection,” said Van der Lubbe recently in an interview with vtwonen. “We can be proud of what we’ve achieved. At the same time, as designers, we remain critical, because everything can always be improved.
With the theme Past. Present. Possible., we look back, but above all, we look forward. Dutch Design Week is about possibilities: about creating new scenarios.”
The organisation behind DDW, the Dutch Design Foundation (DDF), recently merged its programmes World Design Embassies and What if Lab into Coalitions. The aim is to bring knowledge and networks together more effectively. In doing so, DDF continues to position itself as a platform addressing social challenges, using design as a tool for change.
Manifestations asks critical questions
The youngest anniversary belongs to Manifestations, now ten years old. The media art festival presents work at the intersection of art and technology. This year’s theme, Happy End?, comes with a question mark that sets the tone.
Manifestations invites visitors to reflect on the future of humanity and machines, power and morality, hope and decline. At the VEEM on Strijp-S in Eindhoven and online projects are presented around three themes: technological slavery and systems of power; apocalyptic dystopias and survival instinct; and invisible enemies and social blindness.
Artists explore issues such as privacy (for example, a toaster printer that burns messages onto toast), the relationship between humans and machines (MPC: My Personal Computer), and the impact of technology on intimacy.
Manifestations mainly features work by emerging talent and is often one of the most talked-about elements of DDW. The physical exhibition runs parallel to Dutch Design Week, while part of the programme remains available online afterwards.