The Netherlands is a country by design. Dutch kind of out-of-the-box thinking was born of the necessity to imagine, design, and construct workable solutions on a grand scale, tackling the challenges of living in a vulnerable and crowded delta region. Dutch creative collaboration across different sectors makes valuable contributions in solving societal issues such as urbanisation, healthcare, safety, water and energy security. Through this Dutch Inspiration directory, we strive to bring together design-thinkers and doers from all over the world to catapult ideas into action.

The Netherlands has long been known as a country of painters - thanks to Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondrian and the CoBrA artists. Nowadays, the range of creative media and artistic movements are more extensive, making the Dutch creative industry rank among the world’s top-10 country for trades, jobs, brands and patents. The country’s architecture, design, gaming, fashion and music together act as a catalyst for innovation in all other industries and sectors, fueling innovation, creativity and business opportunities. The Dutch have always been pragmatic and are known for their smart solutions, inventions and scientific discoveries, whereby LED lighting and WiFi are just two representative examples. The Netherlands is also the second-largest exporter of reality TV programmes such as Big Brother.

With cities such as Amsterdam, a creative melting pot of communications, interactive design and fashion, and Eindhoven, the nation’s technological hub and home to the Design Academy Eindhoven and the annual Dutch Design Week, we believe Dutch creativity and innovation can truly change people’s lives.