DROOG DESIGN
DROOG DESIGN
When Renny Ramakers and Gijs Bakker presented their group of designer’s pieces at the 1993 Milan Furniture Fair, they knew they had discovered something great. What they didn’t know, is that in the years to come they would help to define Dutch design internationally and influence global design throughout the 1990s. With their straight forward, no nonsense design, and their desire for a more sustainable design functionality, they successfully made their mark on the design world.
After their showcase at the Milan Furniture Fair, Renny and Gijs formed the design collective Droog, translated as “dry” or “wry,” in Amsterdam. This ‘dry’ theme refers to the highly conceptual, minimalistic items, with an added bit of wry humor, that Droog design delivers. Droog functions as a design collective, allowing multiple designers to use the resources that the company provides. One of these elements is the Droog Lab, which is just what it is called, a lab for creating design. This lab, in Amsterdam, is where much of the designs that Droog is known for were created. Droog has been the platform from which many successful designers have began their careers. The company’s designers focus was to provide pieces that focus on functionality as well as the items ability to enrich everyday life. The majority of designs created through Droog are simple household items, such as chairs, tables, and lamps. They are things people see in their everyday life but tend not to appreciate. Droog designers aim to provide a reason to appreciate these everyday items by adding an element of something unexpected, whether it be the material, the way the item functions or a simple humorous twist. One famous piece created by Rody Graumans, through Droog, is the 85 Lamps Chandelier. It is composed of 85 individual, undressed light bulbs that are brought together as a single lighting element. This almost sarcastic design reflects Droog’s idea of taking the everyday and making it into something worth experiencing.
While Droog Design added a fresh element to the design scene of the early 1990s, the idea was not formed without a purpose. After the 1980s, design was drowning in excess and ‘over the top’ ideals. Both Renny, Gijs, and their designers sought to change this thought process. They focused on the simple, sometimes minimalistic approach to design. The luxury of content rather than luxurious materials. This is seen in the design collectives constant use of found materials and recycled objects. “It is a comment on many things: on plentitude, over-consumption, the pretensions that beset the profession,” (Design Museum) was a comment made by Renny Ramakers of a piece created by Tejo Remy. Remy created both the Rag Chair, made of used clothing, and a set of found, used drawers that are stacked and held together by a rope called simply, Chest of Drawers. This sustainable ideal that Droog holds is a very modern. With the current ‘green craze’ that western culture is experiencing, these items would seem right at home, were they not created over a decade ago. This gives the designs an almost ultra modern sense, with their simple forms and highly conceptual nature and the added ‘green’ influences.
These ideals are what helped Droog to become so popular in the 1990s. However, changes over these ideals have caused some turmoil in the Droog design leadership. Today the company is split into two sides. One being the design foundation, which is focused on exhibitions, events, and promoting young design, the other is the business side, a world leading contemporary design studio and manufacturer. This, to cofounder Gijs Bakker, was the wrong direction to take. After opening their flagship store in Amsterdam, and it’s success, the company recently opened a store in New York City. This seemed to be a step away from the company’s ideal of non-consumerism. In 2009 co-founder Gijs Bakker stepped down from all his held positions at Droog Design stating, in reference the New York store,
“It…pushes Droog’s original philosophy to the background,…Its existence also implies that to maintain profitability, only big and expensive products will be developed from now on…I refuse to let the Droog direction be decided by commercial considerations.” (Kennedy)
While the company still states that it will uphold it’s original concepts, in order to continue to function, acquiring revenue must be a part of the business as well.
Throughout the 1990s, a small Dutch design collective began to get noticed and soon became synonymous with Dutch design and ushered in a new wave of modern, conceptual design. Through their use of recycled materials and their sense of dry humor, Droog brought an appreciation and an unexpected experience with the common items we live with and use daily.
Droog Design
Works Cited
“About Us.” Droog. 8 September 2009.
Defining the Next Generation of Global Design. Droog Lab, January 2009.
“DROOG Design Collective.” Design Museum. 8 September 2009.
Droog Design:Spirit of the Nineties. ed. Renny Ramakers, Gijs Bakker. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, 1998.
Kennedy, Gabrielle. “Droog Design Founders Split.” Design.nl. 8 September 2009.
Markham, Ania. “Droog Design.” Shift. 8 September 2009.
Mina. “DROOG.” Trans. Tatsuhiko Akutsu.Shift. 8 September 2009.
