Do It Ourselves: A New Mentality in Dutch Design

The acclaimed design writer Jeroen Junte traces new themes in Dutch design through 197 innovative and astonishing projects and products

In recent years, Dutch design has sharply diverged from its previous course. A generation of designers trained in and shaped by Europe's crisis years have chosen 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. Humor 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.

In this volume, Jeroen Junte (born 1967) examines craftsmanship and local production 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.