Willem de Kooning Academy teachers Renate Boere (Graphic Design) and Jeroen Bouweriks (Advertising) prepared a workshop for the International Design Week in India, focused on (Dutch) design thinking. Together with intern Leon Baauw, two introductory lectures were given on how Dutch designers deal with traditions in the current zeitgeist and how it is possible for Indian students to get inspiration from all the (often invisible to them) beauty directly around them.

For the second part of the workshop, both the Dutch and Indian students and a small number of Indian teachers had to bring at least one traditional and one household object. The assignment was to do a sketchy investigation in groups within a very short period of time into the similarities between different objects. After the analysis, new combinations could be made that were based on, for example, colour, shape, function, structure or sound. The next step was to use the research done to form a new product from the objects brought along.

The results were very surprising at both schools, despite the short time span. The students came up with completely new and original products with which they demonstrated all kinds of innovative visions. Some products were even in such an advanced stage that it was easy to ask yourself why this was not yet for sale.