Survey of the vitality of the current design scene in The Netherlands. Innovation and experimentation in architecture, urban planning, industrial design and graphic design. Contemporary Dutch designers artfully recast and reintrpret known forms and modernist archetypes through technological know-how, creativity and wit.

Experimentation and Dutch design have long gone hand in hand, from postage stamps to the Rietveld chair to the clean simplicity of Schiphol airport. Mienke Simon Thomas skillfully details the groundbreaking accomplishments and popular products of Dutch design in Dutch Design Culture. Thomas, a museum curator, delves deeply into the rich design history of the Netherlands, beginning with the historical roots of Dutch crafts education and the moral and social ideals of modernism that became central to the nation’s cultural dialogue. Touching upon such issues as the emergence of the professional industrial designer, public work initiatives, debates about design as art, and the provocative notion of “anti-design,” Thomas argues that though Dutch design from the beginning has been driven by aims of functionality, simplicity, and affordability, it has also embraced luxury and exclusivity. The book also discusses the role played by leading Dutch designers and their works, including Wim Crouwel, Marcel Wanders, and the design collective Droog Design. An unprecedented, detailed history, Dutch Design Culture is a critical primer on one of the leading national design movements today.

In recent years, Dutch Design has sharply diverged from its previous course. A generation of designers trained in and shaped by the crisis years chose new values and starting points. The focus is now on inquisitive and collaborative makers who strive for social relevance and, if possible, impact. This post-crisis generation is committed and optimistic, but also pragmatic and in possession of an eye for beauty. Humour and the almost inescapable concept have been exchanged for engagement and free research and irony and contemplative criticism for open-mindedness and the will to act. Craftsmanship and local production are examined as realistic alternatives to deadlocked systems of production and distribution. In addition to art and design, science, technology, social studies and politics are also seen as design arenas. In short, the latest generation of designers is looking to substantiate the content of the profession and make positive contributions to social issues. Well-known design writer Jeroen Junte is the first to describe this new stage in the development of the widely acclaimed Dutch Design, by way of 199 surprising, innovative, astonishing projects and products.

This year a total of 295 entries were assessed for their distinctive qualities by a panel of experts looking for outstanding work in areas such as content, design, picture editing, typography, choice of materials, printing, and binding. The ?Best Dutch Book Designs 2019? presents a comprehensive overview of the 33 selections made during this difficult yet rewarding process. The catalogue includes detailed information about each publication, its technical execution, and unique insights into the significant aspects that made each one a cut above the rest. 00Exhibition: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (03.10.-01.11.2020).

Dutch Moderne examines a little-charted genre of Dutch graphic design during the 20's and 30's. The stylistic movements of the period - from De Stijl to art deco - played a vital role in bringing the concepts of the modern movement into the commercial world. A synthesis of cubist and ancient Egyptian and Mayan forms, art deco quickly spread throughout post-World War I France, Germany, England, Italy, and Eastern Europe before appearing in Holland. And yet despite its comparatively late start, Dutch designers enthusiastically embraced the style for its contemporary feel, elegance, and streamlined aesthetic as an alternative to staid traditional and outrageous revolutionary graphic approaches. The style influenced virtually all forms of Dutch commercial art, from magazines, newspapers, and posters to trademarks and advertisements. Dutch Moderne features over 500 of these designs, many of which have never before been published in the United States, by scores of designers both renowned and anonymous. These unearthed artifacts of Dutch commercial design reveal the rich legacy of an indigenous style. This book is an essential resource for graphic designers, students of design, and pop culture history aficionados alike.

Overzicht van vooral de 20e-eeuwse Nederlandse typografie.