Design Commissions
Studio Veronica Ditting did the art direction and designed the graphic layer for the Speculative Design Archive exhibition and related communications.
Kho Liang Ie, Schipholboek: a presentation book bound in wood featuring photographs, design studies and handwritten comments about the interior of Schiphol Airport, originally made for a Unesco presentation. Archive Nel Verschuuren/Kho Liang Ie & Associates. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, NVER 410. Art direction: Studio Veronica Ditting. Photography: Tim Elkaïm.
Vincent de Rijk, material, colour and form studies for various projects in which De Rijk has been involved. From the archive of the Vincent de Rijk Workshop. Documented for Speculative Design Archive, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam 2018. Art direction: Studio Veronica Ditting. Photography: Tim Elkaïm.
Cubic3 Design, archive material, including sketches for desk lamp Nachtschade. On loan from the archives of Cubic3 Design (Ton Hoogerwerf and Gerwin van Vulpen). Documented for Speculative Design Archive, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam 2018. Art direction: Studio Veronica Ditting. Photo: Tim Elkaïm.
Speculative Design Archive
Het Nieuwe Instituut is using a temporary archive to speculate on the importance of a Dutch design and digital culture archive. On the basis of some thought-provoking examples, the Speculative Design Archive_ explores the form and meaning that a collection of this kind might assume in the future. The installation follows the entire archivisation process, throwing light on every aspect: from collecting, classifying and describing items, to the reconstruction of provenance, determination of value and discussion of importance. Various archives are shown in the exhibition from organisations such as V2 and Droog, companies like Vlisco and Artifort, and a variety of designers including Wim Gilles, Kho Liang Ie, Cubic3 Design, Lust, Geert Lap and Hella Jongerius.
The Speculative Design Archive exhibition contained large quantities of various materials - sketches, tests of materials, prototypes and implemented designs - by many different designers. "Our main focus of attention was to find a way to visualise the juxtaposition of work in progress and already implemented work," says Veronica Ditting. "We tackled this duality by commissioning two sorts of campaign images from the photographer Tim Elkaïm: sketches and works in progress were photographed informally in colour, while the implemented works were recorded more formally in black and white. We visited designers' studios together to take the photos."
Ever since Elkaïm did a photo reportage for the magazine The Gentlewoman, Ditting has enjoyed working with him: "There's always a dynamic and inspiring exchange with Elkaïm. He has a good eye for composition and a great appreciation of objects and design, which is why we took him on for this project." Extensive captions provided further context for the exhibition, enabling visitors to dive deeper into the material on display. "The design of the graphic layer in the exhibition alludes to archivisation practices such as lists and cataloguing by number," Ditting explains. "The captions were printed on A4 and A1 sheets in a way that reduced the material waste to a minimum with a view to sustainability. The red clamps with which the captions were attached in the exhibition provided an extra visual accent." She is pleased with the result, and would have welcomed more time to develop the 'layeredness' of the design even further.
Kho Liang Ie, Model 720 bench designed for Schiphol Airport, manufactured by Artifort, 1966-1970. On loan from Studio Linse. Documented for Speculative Design Archive, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam 2018. Art direction: Studio Veronica Ditting. Photography: Tim Elkaïm.
Cubic3 Design, Table piece, 1982. On loan from the archives of Cubic3 Design (Ton Hoogerwerf and Gerwin van Vulpen). Documented for Speculative Design Archive, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam 2018. Art direction: Studio Veronica Ditting. Photography: Tim Elkaïm.
Studio Veronica Ditting
A London-based design office, Studio Veronica Ditting works internationally with fashion houses, artists, art institutes and architecture firms on a wide range of projects. Recent clients include Miu Miu, Hermès, Adidas, Tiffany & Co, Tory Burch, COS, and the art institutes Somerset House and Het Nieuwe Instituut. Veronica Ditting, who graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2005, is also artistic director of The Gentlewoman magazine, which has been designed and produced in collaboration with her studio since its launch in 2010. Veronica is responsible for the art direction and supervises the production of the photography in the magazine.