Secrid gives the stage to visionary designers, who aim to transform entire industries from producing ever more to producing ever better. Together, they show how sustainable change is already happening and they give a hopeful picture of our future.
Industrial Evolution
Secrid believes in the power of design. Look around you. Everything is designed. From the clothes you are wearing, to the phone in your pocket and the building you are in. All these products shape our society and impact our ecosystems.
Since the Industrial Revolution and the relocation of factories to low-wage countries, mass production of low-price and short-lifespan products has become the norm. This development has brought prosperity to some, but also social inequality, depleted raw materials, environmental pollution, declining biodiversity and a climate crisis.
Industry cannot be stopped, but it can be changed. We see a leading role for designers within that transition. The general guideline is simple: every new product must be better than its predecessors. We call this: Industrial Evolution.
During Dutch Design Week we put the spotlight on 7 talented designers. Creatives who boost the evolution of their industry with an innovative approach. In addition, we offer each designer coaching and an award of €7,777: a reference to our 7 design principles for holistic product design.
Design as a force for good
In collaboration with Dutch Design Foundation and Impact Hub Amsterdam, these designers are selected for the 2024 edition:
Milou Voorwinden | Studio Milou Voorwinden
3D weaving techniques for zero-waste clothing and textile production.
Pauline van Dongen | Suntex
Solar textile for festival tents, canopies, and facades to energize and cool urban spaces
Boey Wang | Haptics of Cooking
Beautiful and sensory kitchenware for sighted ánd visually impaired people.
Doreen Westphal | Resty & Fungi on Fire
Tasty and nutritious products made of high-quality food waste.
Huub Looze & Margreet van Uffelen | Omlab
Biodegradable construction objects that promote biodiversity.
Hedwig Heinsman, Martine de Wit & Hans Vermeulen | Aectual
3D printed interior solutions made from recycled waste streams.
Lotte Douwes | Meaningful Matter
High-quality tableware and interior products crafted from ceramic waste
Design dilemmas
As consumers, we only see the end product. But every design, and every improvement, is preceded by a complex process of choices. During DDW we want to provide an insight into the conscious choices and dilemmas that our design talents and we ourselves face in our work. We hope this will open up conversations and ultimately lead to change.
Talented designers can help to solve some of the biggest dilemmas of our time. That’s why we invite designers to apply for the next edition of the design challenge that is organised by What Design Can Do. Three winners of the recent 'Redesign Everything Challenge' are supported by Secrid and their work is also shown in this exhibition:
Celium™ by Polybion | Axel, Alexis Gómez Ortigoza and team
A premium bio-textile made of cellulose, cultivated with bacteria that eat agricultural waste.
Electric Skin | Paige Perillat Piratoine, Catherine Euale, Nada Elkharashi, and Sequoia Fischer
A speculative idea to use bacteria that naturally produce electrical proteins for use in electronics.
ForestGuard | Dr. Muhammed Ali Ă–rnek & Suat Batuhan Esirger and team
A device that detects forest fires in a very early stage to manage a fire before it
