Dutch Digital Design: A new generation of Dutch designers

Editor: Roman Stikkelorum

In the last 10 years, a lot has changed in the way visitors interact with brands. That’s why we’re seeing more and more interesting digital design solutions. Increasingly, brands are seeing the value of consistent online and offline experiences while making sure that they overlap seamlessly.

Since we started Vruchtvlees, we have been committed to combining high-quality design with smart code. We call that synergy Dutch Digital Design. I would be happy to explain why this term sums up just about everything Vruchtvlees stands for.

Grounded in traditional Dutch Design thinking

During my studies at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) I was taught by design icons like Gert Dumbar. In these classes, Michael, Rindor and I noticed that digital design was often lagging behind. Design agencies created incredibly strong identities that for some reason didn’t excel on digital platforms. That’s why we started Vruchtvlees. We saw the opportunity to merge the worlds of design and digital and allow design to actually flourish online. We made it our personal mission to transform the Dutch Design tradition into a digital equivalent. 

Our work is minimal, experimental, innovative, unconventional, often with a touch of humour, but always optimistic and driven by design. The academy ensured that conceptual thinking is embedded in our DNA. Form follows function. That’s why the user experience is most important to us when designing new identities and websites. Because we want to ensure the ideal user experience, both online and offline.

The definition of Dutch Digital Design

The Dutch Design Foundation defines Dutch Design as “a culture and mentality that is characteristic of the Netherlands […] It is solution-oriented, functional, humanistic, free-thinking, brutal, humorous, relativizing, stubborn and thinks beyond hierarchical barriers.” We see Dutch Design as the development and presentation of powerful concepts and logos. Look at Piet Mondrian, Dick Bruna and Droog – they were all creative makers who, with relatively few resources, used their skills to create structures that would become iconic works understood by all.

Dutch Design is about researching and above all, asking questions. We apply this mentality in the work we do with our clients. We dig deep. We ask the questions hidden behind the obvious questions to ensure that we come up with fitting solutions.

But it doesn’t stop there. Dutch Digital Design means continuously researching and asking questions in order to optimise digital products. We’ve seen that combining design thinking and a digital mind yields interesting results.

Because a digital product is never ‘finished’. A website is an organic platform that requires active solutions. That’s what we call agile. You can ask for direct feedback online. You can test things and get immediate results. Whether it’s the placement of a button or a user survey, the goal is to create the most optimal website possible. It’s Human-Centred Design, it’s about making things for real people. It’s about creating a user-friendly product that intuitively speaks to the imagination and leads to action. 

What is Dutch Digital Design for Vruchtvlees?

At Vruchtvlees, we follow in the footsteps of the Dutch Design tradition. We believe that you can design content independently of the medium. Whether it’s a platform, a website or a campaign page, every touchpoint of the customer journey has to be designed from an overarching brand promise. That’s why we always start with a strategic concept.

The form follows the (functional) concept. We’re not here to ‘make things beautiful’ or to ‘decorate’ something. You might even say we’re obsessed with the end user and you can see that in all the choices we make.

We disregard all that is unnecessary to reach the core. It’s the only way to get to the essence of what you’re doing. That’s how you create products that people love and based on which brands can flourish.

We see User Interface and User Experience Design as a craft. But we also push the boundaries of what this means. Only then can we work in an experimental and unconventional way. Grounded in the Dutch Design tradition but with a digital mind set, we give ambitious brands a striking brand identity, both online and offline.

That’s what we call Dutch Digital Design.