Continued research on Droog....

OK, so I’ve had a change of heart……




I’m afraid I may be becoming a Droog addict!

I’ve done some more research and checked out multiple websites and have come to understand that dry (Droog) can be funny, witty, clever, imaginative and quite fertile. I see the pragmatic value in minimalist, recycled-oriented, practical, form following function design. I also see the artistic value in this sort of self-effacing design – thinking outside the box while using the box to help you think, if that makes any sense.

Here's some of the sites I've visited, as well as some pithy quotes about Droog.

1) DROOG - "creating innovative concepts that change perspective. Our products and projects connect with the individual, the user. They deal with slowness, memories, nostalgia, re-use, craftsmanship, nature. They generate experience, interaction, participation, products that are easily to comprehend, have meaning, tell stories; products that are meant to be cherished and not discarded without thought."

http://www.droogdesign.nl/#frames(lb=lb.php?r=73&f=0,rb=rb.php?f=21&s=1a&l=20)

2) What is Droog? "The criteria are flexible and shaped by developments in product culture and the designers’ own initiatives,” states Droog. The only constant is that the concept has validity today; that it is worked out along clear-cut, compelling lines; and that product usability is a must. Within this framework literally anything goes.

Droog was different. It shared the simplicity of minimalism and its careful choice of materials, but deployed humour – albeit a dry or ‘droog’ humour - to strike an emotional bond with the user. Rudy Graumans’ 85 bulb chandelier is an inspired example of lateral thinking in design, but it is impossible not to smile at the verve with which the designer transformed an everyday object like a standard light bulb into a spectacular chandelier."


http://www.designmuseum.org/design/droog

3) Droog Design - "The use of industrial and recycled materials is emphasized by this Dutch design firm established in 1993. "The Droog collection features over 180 designs by over a hundred designers, in the product categories of lighting, furniture, tabletop, kitchen, bathroom, accessory and various. Droog products are chosen or commissioned based on the curatorial criteria laid out by founders Renny Ramakers and Gjis Bakker. They need to combine functionality and conceptual clarity with a keen expression of awareness of cultural and technological references and contexts." Some examples of their products: Birdhouse by Marcel Wanders, 2005; 85 lamps chandelier by Rody Graumans, 1993; Treetrunk Bench by Jurgen Bey, 1999; and Heat wave electric radiator by Joris Laarman, 2003."

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:T73F740BGWEJ:www.digital-librarian.com/shopping.html+muji,+ikea+and+droog&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=34&gl=us

4) "Droog is a brand and a mentality: design of products that do what they should and think about why they’re doing it in the first place: function? fun? wit? criticism? All of the above?"

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:uUkO0vNofGgJ:www.noahbrier.com/links/archives/design/+muji,+ikea+and+droog&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=47&gl=us

5) "Droog Design is an international platform for innovative design. By its mission and activities Droog aims to stimulate creation, innovation and cultural debate. The gallery from Droog Design, droog@home, offers young (inter)national design talent a stage, and enables the public to be introduced to the most recent developments in the field of conceptual design."

http://www.droogdesign.nl/files/pdf/060217%20Press%20release%20New%20British%20Designers.pdf