Driving Dutch Design 2021 turns 23 designers into entrepreneurs

For many designers, wonder and passion are the primary motives. A good start, but running a successful design studio also involves good entrepreneurship. How do you ensure that your design studio grows into a financially healthy business that reflects your core values?

Driving Dutch Design (DDD) helps designers realise a successful business. Today was the kick-off for 2021. DDD is the professionalisation and networking programme of ABN AMRO, Beroepsorganisatie Nederlandse Ontwerpers (BNO) and Dutch Design Foundation (DDF). By combining forces and networks, these parties have been helping driven designers on their way in the world of creative entrepreneurship for eight years now. This year, for the first time, the kick-off took place entirely online.

Are you curious to know which designers will participate this year? The class of 2021 consists of 23 driven talents all showing high ambitions and promising motivations. Through a video call, they got to know each other, met their coaches and tuned in for their first online masterclass. A good start! Over the next ten months, the Drivers will take part in monthly masterclasses on profiling, communication, financing, business management and presentation. In addition, they will develop personally with an ABN AMRO coach and work on a presentation at Dutch Design Week 2021 in Bureau DDD.

Although this year’s kick-off took place online for the first time, last year’s pandemic was the impetus for the inevitable transition to an online programme. Especially in such a digital age, DDD proved to be of great value to the participating designers. The three initiators are confident that this will also be the case for this new group. In the coming ten months, they will do everything they can to help them professionalise their design practice.

For more information and an overview of all participants and partners please visit drivingdutchdesign.nl