‘God created the world but the Dutch created Holland.’ so goes a popular saying. This should be the first hint to the innovative abilities of the Dutch.

Mention Holland and a few images come to mind: tulips, windmills, coffeeshops, red light district, same-sex marriages and so on. To clear the air, Holland is a region in the Netherlands and does not refer to the entire country. Nonetheless, these 2 names have become synonymous with each other to foreigners. Despite some widely accepted unsavory pictures painted of the Netherlands, they can be viewed as a reflection of the Dutch’s famous social tolerance.

The fact that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world is by no means a happy accident but instead a confirmation of the industrialized nation’s health and wealth. Depending heavily on foreign trade, the Netherlands has a prosperous economy and is currently the 16th largest economy of the world in spite of its relatively small size with only 15 million inhabitants. It is possibly this particular handicap that has inspired the Dutch to constantly innovate in order to stay on top of the game.

From producing famous masters such as Rembrant, to prominent design groups such as De Stijl, the Netherlands has never been short of being a dynamic and nurturing environment for new ideas as creative souls soak in the liberal attitude of the country. Set against such a backdrop of freedom for imaginative expression, the Dutch government seeks to make the stimulation of the creative industry a top priority. Creative spirit is strongly evident throughout the country from world famous art collections in Amsterdam such as masterpieces from painter Johannes Vermeer, highly designed architecture in Rotterdam such as the Netherlands Architecture Institute by architect Jo Coenen, to companies with distinguished international reputation such as Philips Design in Eindhoven, and so on. With more than 13 design schools including the internationally acclaimed Design Academy Eindhoven, spread throughout the country, the world is finally beginning to look beyond the nation’s traditional image of tulips and windmills.

Association of Dutch Designers (BNO)

With a long history dating back to as far back as 1904, the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) is an association set up for and by designers and is the successor to the Association for Craftsmanship and Artisanship (better known by its Dutch abbreviation VANK). BNO is an established representative of the design industry in Netherlands marked by mergers throughout the years from various organizations in different disciplines of design which includes graphic, industrial, jewelry, and design agencies etc. Currently, it serves to unite more than 2500 designers as well as 200 design agencies and departments within the Netherlands.

Comprising of a General Board, a Supervisory Board and a Secretariat, BNO helps its members to achieve their utmost potential by providing support and advice in various aspects. As a bridge between different groups such as government organizations, employees, employers, the public etc in Netherlands and internationally, it also serves to facilitate contact and networking opportunities between these bodies.

Previous prominent initiatives of BNO include Dutch Match, a design matchmaking event between South African and Dutch design agencies in 2007 and Dutch Design Awards which is currently the most important design awards in Netherlands to be handed out annually, just to name a few.

Growth of Industrial Design

Industrial design has often been seen as an ambiguous entity for the uninitiated. The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) has defined it as ‘the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both user and manufacturer.’ In recent years, the spotlight has been placed on sustainability in industrial design. As such, industrial design could be seen as high concept creations of designs beneficial to the user, manufacturer and the environment.

The Netherlands has long established itself as a powerhouse for industrial design since the early 1900s when Wim Gilles, a Dutch industrial design pioneer, founded the Dutch Association of Industrial Designers (KIO). Gilles also taught at the Eindhoven Academy of Industrial Design which was renamed in recent years as Design Academy Eindhoven. Besides industrial design degrees offered in Design Academy Eindhoven, they are also offered in other universities throughout the country such as Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) and Delft University of Technology, with the latter being the largest university-based design course in the world. As recent as 2007, Design Academy Eindhoven and Delft University of Technology were selected by Businessweek to be among the top design schools in the world.

Famous Dutch designers include Adrian van Hooydonk, Chris Bangle’s successor as BMW design chief, Mart Stam, who holds claim to the famous design of the Cantilever chair and Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, designer of the iconic Red and Blue Chair, to name a few.

With such a strong backing of pioneers, the industrial design scene in the Netherlands is clearly an unstoppable force, evident from the continued emergence of young avant-garde Dutch designers such as Maarten Baas and Tord Boontje, both of whom combines technology with skilled techniques to create state-of-the-art product and furniture designs, amongst other talented Dutch designers.

Events and Exhibitions

Notable design events are often organised by various bodies such as BNO, Brainport Foundation and Design Platform Eindhoven (DPE) amongst others. DPE has been the organization responsible for holding the famous annual Dutch Design Week, with the lauded Graduation Galleries from Design Academy Eindhoven being one of the major highlights. Not forgetting the STRP Festival, a four-day multidisciplinary programme which made its debut in 2006. Held annually at the industrial area of Strijp-S, the STRP Festival owes its name to the location. As one of the largest art and technology festivals in Europe, the STRP Festival is undoubtedly one of the most exciting events in Europe, featuring everything from robotics, music, interactive art to visuals etc, attracting big names in the music industry such as The Chemical Brothers to open the show for STRP Festival 2007. Apart from this, there are also many other singular events held independently at various venues throughout the country, in established museums such as the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) in Rotterdam, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Dutch Design Centre in Utrecht, as well as in quirky shops and factories etc.

Future Outlook and Forecast

Based on analysis of past trends, the future of Dutch design seems to be headed in several directions. One would be customized solutions for design problems. Designers would work closer with clients to develop made-to-order products with an individualistic touch. Another major emerging trend appears to be Interactive Technology Design, where design concepts focuses on interaction between the user and the product, with advanced technology playing a significant factor in the interaction.

A notable enduring factor of Dutch design is its distinct characteristic of being revolutionary in nature, even in the face of an increasingly global outlook on design as a discipline. As such, it can be safely predicted that the future of Dutch design will continue to wow the world regardless of which aspect it chooses to develop in.


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TRAVEL ALBUM: DESIGN COUNTRY publishes the essential photography subjects of a country. As they say, architecture landmarks denote the progressing development of a country. Design in each and every country speaks in different languages and dances to different cultures. A lot of countries are growing in the design realm but no one would know about this development but the travelers and the locals themselves. Only. The exciting quirks and electrifying eccentricity of Everyday Product, Design Schools, Designers, Resources, Hotels/Buildings, Design Studios/Personalities, Local Galleries, Museums, etc, are found in both secret and obvious places of the country.

We miss out on these simple things during travel or simply during our busy lifestyle in our own country. So the next time you travel, think of TRAVEL ALBUM: DESIGN COUNTRY.

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