OUGD504 - Study brief 01 - Research 

Before my trip to Amsterdam I vaguely knew of design in the city such as designers and studios like Erik Kessels and Experimental Jetset. So my knowledge is limited so for research I wanted to look more into one of Europe's biggest design cities, earliest design dates back to the 17th century canals and a architectural history leading back to the 1300s. Modern architecture has developed organically between the facades of historical structures, and modern architecture in the Netherlands is some of the most interesting in the world. Many celebrated Dutch architects have built in Amsterdam, including the Rotterdam-based Rem Koolhaas, Sjoerd Soeters, Wiel Arets, Benthem & Crouwel, Ben van Berkel and Ton Alberts.

A breeding ground for cutting edge design, Amsterdam is home to the renowned Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy, and boasts some of the finest designers in the world. The city organizes several international design events throughout the year, including September’s Dutch Design Double, a month long series of exhibitions and events highlighting design disciplines ranging from industrial and graphics to jewelry and architecture. 

I came across an article on Creative Bloq about the fall and rise of dutch design, it talks about how feisty spirit and fresh influences have given Dutch design a new lease of life. The question the article aims to answer is 'What is Dutch design now?' The Netherlands, like London, has become a Mecca for designers seeking a highly creative place to work that offers many opportunities. Dutch graphic design was once unambiguously the creation of the Dutch. Now it's produced by a multinational cast of designers who perhaps travelled there to study and stayed, or simply decided that it would make an ideal base from which to make a fresh start. As a result of these fresh influences, combined with the openness to new developments of a small but highly successful trading nation, Dutch graphic design is probably more variegated and tougher to characterise now than it has ever been.