Dutch Design Week (DDW) has taken over Eindhoven once again, featuring leather covered cars, food trucks and every imaginable product under the sun manufactured with recycled or 3D printed materials.
DDW, which opened October 17, 2015, showcases work from thousands of designers. Among their diverse and varied exhibits you can find Mind the Step, an exhibition featuring student designs with an emphasis on design research.
In its second year, Mind the Step (MTS) 2015 is organised by the Technical University of Eindhoven and Design United, a research centre of 3TU. It features designs from TU Delft, Eindhoven University of Technology and University of Twente. The aim of the exhibition is not only to showcase students’ design work but also to represent and place emphasis on design research. As Matthijs Netten, coordinator of the TU Delft projects at TU Delft emphasised “Design isn’t only the fancy chairs, it’s the really practical things. Applying technology to societal problems.”
Like DDW itself, the exhibits featured at MTS are diverse, and while there is no over-arching theme for the exhibition they are divided by topic; Circular Economy, City, Design Conversations, Future Mobility, Health, Home, Material Innovations, and Wearables. Wearables is one of the most interesting parts of the exhibition due to the nature and diversity of the designs. Here 3D printing features in everything from clothing to prosthetics. The Custom fit Parametric Bra and 3D hand-scanner used for casts, both from TU Delft, use 3D printing technology for made-to measure personalised design. Bart Ahsmann, managing director of Design United told Delta that these Ultra Personalised Products and Services or UPPS will be a particular trend in the future of design.
Other standout designs include Vika, the interactive moving wall designed for the Princess Maxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology, and Mizu, the smart wash-stand, both from TU Delft. Developed at Eindhoven University of Technology, LifeLines is an impressive fabric which changes its patterns with use, and the H2Zero hydrogen car from the University of Twente is also worth a visit. Organisers tried not to place emphasis on which university the designs came from, choosing to emphasise content instead. Both Ahsmann and Netten emphasised that MTS is a great opportunity for students and researchers to expose their work to a broader audience outside the academic community. Last year MTS exhibitor and TU Delft alumnus Alec Momont received a great deal of interest in his ambulance drone, DDW 2015 has seen him nominated for a Dutch Design Award.
Ahsmann estimated that sixty to seventy thousand people visited MTS last year. Housed in the Klokgebouw alongside a number of other exhibits, you can visit MTS, or any of the other DDW locations until October 25.
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