All about elegant, practical design DESIGNER RENÉ HOLTEN SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS René Holten has produced many outstanding designs in his day, including several award-winning ones. For example, in 1998 he received the award for best Dutch furniture design for his DoDo chair. He was presented with the Good Industrial Design Award for his Libel, Lotus and Low Lotus chairs. In 2016 he won the prestigious Red Dot Award for his Hammock double bath and Kaldur tap. The Maastricht-based designer often uses synthetic – e.g. melamine – resin in his designs. “The great thing about melamine resin is its versatility and affordability. Like Bauhaus, one of my goals as a designer is to create elegant, practical designs for everyone.” René Holten has his own design studio and works for such brands such as Artifort, Pullman, Mosa and Clou. “It wasn’t obvious that I was going to be a designer. My parents had other plans for me and didn’t see me entering a creative profession. So I started out studying business. Later, I decided to pursue my own dreams after all. I went to the Maastricht Academy of Art and then to the Design Academy in Eindhoven. My first job was as an architectural designer working for the Dutch architect Wiel Arets for many years, from whom I learned a lot. I also spent about seven years at Artifort as head of product development. My studio still does a lot of work for the Artifort brand.” The enormous power of visualization René Holten has created many exceptional products in his career. 18 melamine The designs often first appear in his mind’s eye. He visualizes everything. “I see the designs in 3D, down to the smallest detail. I have my best ideas while I’m jogging. “I have my best ideas while I’m jogging.” I go into overdrive then and work out all the details right away. I see the materials, think about the best production techniques and even start calculating prices. It’s ideal for me to be able to see the designs so clearly in my mind. Fortunately, one of my staff can turn my designs into working plans.” The tinkerer in René Holten As clearly as René Holten can visualize his designs while walking or jogging, what he wants most at the end of the design process is to feel the product with his own hands. “That’s when I feel what needs to happen to complete a creation. My family often finds me messing around with designs, materials and scale models at home. Someone once asked my son what kind of work I did. He said I was a tinkerer.” A sea of materials René zooms in on the materials, one of the important basic elements of product development. “As a designer, I basically have access to a vast range of materials. I want to use those that are best suited to the design. I take as many factors as possible into account.
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