So-called Craft: The Formative Years of Droog Design, 1992–1998

Abstract

Within just a few years of its inception, the Dutch design group Droog Design rose to worldwide renown. The group's key constants were not its members, but rather the creators behind the Droog Design label: art historian Renny Ramakers and designer Gijs Bakker. Together they were responsible for not only the planning and organization of projects and the thematic content of presentations, but also for defining the significance of Droog. From the very outset, that significance was propounded in books, articles, lectures, and media presentations. This promotional material has generally been accepted at face value by the trade and popular presses and design industry. In many cases it was not until later that the designers' true aims were revealed in the individual work of participants. And yet the intentions driving Droog Design during its formative initial years have remained obscure. This article sheds light on the real significance of these first years, and compares this to the official reading given by Droog Design itself. The conclusion interprets the place of craft in Droog Design's work, within this new perspective on their ambitions.

Keywords:

• Droog Design
• found object
• surrealism
• conceptual design
• neomodernism