DDW Trend: The Power of 'WE'

Working together

Designer Jessica den Hartog recognizes the importance of collaboration and focuses her work around this in her presentation ReChallenge at Plan-B. She previously presented her project ReColored at DDW17, but this year she is taking it one step further through employing the power of collaboration. Inviting four fellow designers to work with her material from the colour and materials library ReColored. The samples are transformed into new products by the designers. This is how she hopes to share knowledge and expertise in the process and to arrive at new insights regarding the employability of circular plastics.

There is strength in numbers, and you can feel that at Collaboration O. This Eindhoven collective comprises 12 designers and artists. They work together, but also encourage each other to follow their own individual paths. At Section C, a hub of yet more creative people, each designer has a 2-storey studio of their own under a shared roof, ground floor as a workshop and the upper level as an office. During DDW19 the doors of the studios will open and visitors can get an idea of how this collective works.

Presenting together

Students often present their work under the banner of their school. Jeroen Mathijssen, Iede Adu and Zowa Rindt choose not to wait for what their school facilitates, but to set to work themselves. With the presentation Machine Made in Warehouse of Innovation, they present individual work, each with their own view of production methods, materials and design concepts. What links the work is an interest in craftsmanship with modern production processes.

Presenting together is raised to an even higher level by the presentation of Isola Design District. In the Pennings Foundation, the show is not about a collective, but about an entire district. The Isola district in Milan has been revived by projects such as the Bosco Verticale of DDW19 Ambassador Stefano Boeri. This has grown to become the Isola Design District, with an annual presentation during the Milan Design Week. Now for the first time, this district has come to Eindhoven with a 30-strong designer exhibition, dedicated to projects and installations dealing with innovation, sustainability, craftsmanship and new materials.

Bringing together

Design curators focus on bundling stories in a presentation. This collection of objects relates an all-encompassing story to the general public. Dutch Invertuals is such a collection. This collective, under the curatorship of Wendy Plomp, has been bringing together ground-breaking work by designers for a decade. To celebrate this 10th anniversary, a special exhibition has been curated based on the theme of the circle. This iconic form, the symbol of unity and perfection, is questioned and redesigned by various designers from their personal angle.

Creating together

Besides the collective Dutch Invertuals, a design duo is also celebrating an anniversary. Studio RENS, formed by Renee Mennen and Stefanie van Keijsteren, has its 10th anniversary this year too. They will celebrate this with a show during DDW19 demonstrating how they work together in their own studio in Strijp R and who they collaborate with. They will be presenting the work they have done for companies such as Auping, Desso, Cor Unum, Zuiderzee Museum and Baars&Bloemhoff. Giving the public a true impression of what it means to create together, as a design duo but also with industry.