What If?  This year DDW celebrates the power of imagination with the question ‘with what does every designer and all innovation start?’

Last week, the fouthteen edition of Dutch Design Week (DDW) toke place in Eindhoven. The biggest design event in Northern Europe showed the work and ideas of more than 2400 designers to more than 250,000 visitors. In more than eighty locations across the city, DDW organises and facilitates exhibitions, lectures, prize ceremonies, networking events, debates and festivities.

DDW concentrates on the designs of the future. Although during the event every imaginable discipline and aspect of design is on offer, the emphasis is on experiment, innovation and cross-overs. Exceptional attention each year goes to work and development of young talent.

Highlights:

Veemgebouw location, where Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie provided a good idea of the new generation (digital) designers and architects with the intrinsically strong exhibition ‘In No Particular Order’. Other highlights were ‘Thing Nothing’ by Design Academy Eindhoven and Van Abbemuseum, ‘Graduation Show’ by Design Academy Eindhoven, ‘The Allegory of the South’ by Aart van Asseldonk in the Paterskerk, ‘London Calling’ in the Stroomhuis (with work by Lucas & Lucas, Maarten Baas, Kiki van Eijk & Joost van Bleiswijk), OXI on Sectie-C (by Justine Kontou, Tessa Koot and Club-C), ‘Fontys Factory CANCER’ at the Temporary Art Centre (TAC) and ‘Dutch Invertuals presents NO STATIC’ by curator Wendy Plomp.

DDW AWARDS

Submarine Channel came out the big winner during the festive award show in the Effenaar. The agency’s interactive documentary ‘Refugee Republic’ won in the category Communication and also took home the Future Award (the prize for the most promising design for the future).

The encouragement prize for young talent (Young Designer Award) was awarded to designer Teresa van Dongen.