Designing the future in Eindhoven

In the October Half Term a group of Yr12 and 13 students headed off to Eindhoven to immerse themselves in Dutch Design Week. Design Technology, Art and Photography students all found themselves surrounded by the work of artists, designers, students and creatives from around the globe as they spent six days exploring the city.

Year 12 students Sam and Maggie gave us an insight into the trip:

Sam: “The purpose of the trip was to gain inspiration for our own work and there was a lot to take in. The exhibitions covered everything from fashion design to virtual reality and robots.”

Maggie: “Seeing all the work was amazing. I am new to DT and it was amazing to see the different ways designers incorporate different ideas and find new ways of looking for solutions.”

Sam: “Seeing work in progress from University design students gave me a good understanding of what you can work towards and being able to actually talk to the designers was really valuable.”

Maggie: “Seeing the ‘Robot Love’ exhibition, all about the relationship between humans and robots, was a highlight. It was very weird but fascinating and it definitely made you think about things. My favourite part of each day was actually after we’d visited the exhibits. We’d all go to a café and work on our sketchbooks. We’d draw, stick in flyers and images we’d picked up and liked, add to our own designs and discuss what we’d seen, it was great to really reflect on the day. Our sketchbooks form part of our coursework so it was great to have that time to spend working on them.”

Sam: “Eindhoven is a great city, we were staying very centrally and could get around easily by walking or bike. A few of us also took our skateboards and spent some of our free time in a local skate-park which was a brilliant way to relax. We even got DT teacher Stephen Debrett on a skateboard at one point!”

Maggie: “You do need to keep your eyes open, there were a LOT of near misses with bikes on the (many) bike paths.”

Sam: “On the last day we had a party on the terrace of our hotel and it felt great to be standing around with new friends and teachers, talking and laughing.”

Maggie: “I got to spend time with people I didn’t previously know well at all and people from other years in the school so it was a great trip for more than just what we saw. We had a great all round experience.

Sam: “We’re all looking forward to using what we’ve learnt in the briefs we’re working on in both DT and Art.”