konings industrial design

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My Dutch Design

Agency Profile
Konings Industrial Design;

• Designs innovative products
• Attends the development of startups
• Supports the design departments of multinationals with ‘creative engineering’

Sample project: Nike (EMTS), display presentation system for international sales events (2007)

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Standpunt

If it blings it’s called design these days.
The NDSM-dock, a former shipyard on the banks of the ‘IJ’ in north Amsterdam is a centre of subculture. The dock with its 84.000 m2 is bigger than ten football fields. Within the NDSM-dock and creative breeding ground Wouter Konings’ office is situated: Konings Industrial Design. Wouter Konings developed the NEMS-system, which in collaboration with Laarhoven Design in Amsterdam and Laarhoven Design International is produced for Nike and distributed around the world.
Nike was looking for a company capable to facilitate both the design and production of a new ‘travelling product display’. “With this question they also found me on the internet. My core business however is providing the design. I prefer leaving the actual production to others. That’s how I came into contact with Laarhoven Design.”

“Pitches are a bad format for development.”
Apart from Konings Industrial Design Nike contacted three other players, one of which is their usual supplier in the field of events, Kubik. Nike wrote a pitch with an extensive briefing. Wouter Konings: “In my opinion pitches are a bad format for development because you are likely to run into many different interests during a product development process. It is possible that a briefing states a certain product characteristic is a rigid demand. But in the process of development it might turn out that when you drop that demand and are able to comply with all the other demands you perfectly reach the goal of the client. You just get a different mix of demands and whishes.”

Wouter Konings is very clear about it; “When involved in a pitch I always ask for coverage of costs made and from the start I emphasize that I want to do it in collaboration; I have an idea about something, the client can respond, I change it, etc. etc. There has to be a true correlation.”

In the end Nike chose the design and product definition of Wouter Konings. Immediately afterwards he started looking for the right production partner. At first he encountered some difficulties when he tried to contact Laarhoven Design. “I knew from my days at NPK that you had production facilities in Leiderdorp (the Netherlands). I knew you could do it but it proved hard to reach you guys in Leiderdorp. After a few phone calls it was clear to me I had to arrange everything through a division situated in Amsterdam. That is how I met Floris Hollander who handled this project very well.” The pilot of the system on a worldwide sales meeting in Orlando was a great success. Recently a final test setup at Nike’s headquarters in Hilversum (the Netherlands) was used to take care of the final issues. Now production in China has started at Bannermate in which Raoul Lemaire plays an important role.

Just like Laarhoven Design, Wouter’s studio carries the word ‘design’ in its name. Wouter has a clear opinion on design; “These days the word design is used for everything and it became a degenerated value. An ugly radiator or an electric heater might also be labeled as ‘design’ these days. If it blings, it’s called design these days. In my view everything that someone has put thought into could be design. There are no products anymore that are ‘just’ functional. When it comes to design I like a certain base rhythm. Not too many ‘special features’ to make it special. It must have a function. A clear relation between design and function. Not every product has to be another statement.”

“A good designer is someone who works on a product’s look and feel. What we do is much more industrial design. Which is something you are good at when you can keep an overview of where a project should go. Beginners often start thinking of many different ideas, but don’t concern themselves with what the final product should be. Every step you take should be focused towards the final result. It is okay to take the occasional sidestep, but if it’s not useful for the final purpose get back on track quickly.”

A client’s vision is important as well. Sometimes it results in concessions regarding the shape of a product. Sometimes it helps to test with potential customers of your client. Experience shows this might lead to completely new insights, contradicting the ones of your client. We’ve done this with the development of women’s shoes with retractable heels. It turned out the test subjects chose something entirely different than what the client had predicted. In principal the client is always king but together you have to reach the essence of the project.

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MANAGEMENT TEAM

It’s half past nine in the morning and the NDSM-dock, the hotspot for creative Amsterdam situated alongside the ´IJ’, is almost deserted. Outside, MTV employees stroll from the ferry to their new headquarters. Inside the ´Kunststad´ (City of art), a labyrinth of workshops and small studios in a former ship dock, tranquility resides. The creative sector, Amsterdam’s economical ‘last line of defense’ is still vast asleep.
Creativity is the economical focal point this year. The creative branches have to save the Netherlands. In competition with China, our creativity rather than our technicians can make a difference. Amsterdam puts a lot of effort in attracting creative industries such as here alongside the ‘IJ’ in north Amsterdam.

Wouter Konings, designer and founder of Konings Industrial Design, is one of those creative entrepreneurs. In the large studio, right in the middle of the ‘Kunststad’, design projects for international clients like Nike and Siemens are realized. Konings started his career at Dyson and later Philips and NPK. After founding his own company he created the studio in the Kunststad. On average it houses seven designers.
In the still almost empty studio Konings talks about his career as a creative employee, before he founded his own company. In a large company like Philips he didn’t feel at home. “The internal political games are not my cup of tea.” Later he ended up at a smaller design studio, NPK Industrial Design. One of the difficulties he had to cope with, was the fact that on the one side he had to justify his hours and on the other side he wanted to make sure the client got the best possible result. “Working according to an hour based schedule can negatively influence a person’s creativity. Innovative solutions don’t get a fair chance because the effort needed to implement them is hard to determine up front.”
In his own studio he chose to do thing differently. Despite the large projects Konings Industrial Design is involved in, all project employees are hired on a freelance basis. Even the full-time employees that claim a spot within the studio are their own boss. Konings: “At the start of a project I determine which expertise’s I need and based on that I form a project team. This allows me to chose people with the same drive as I have.”

As a network company, Konings Industrial Design likes to work with ‘lone stars’. “Your reputation is directly linked to the work you deliver. We experience more mutual dependency rather than hierarchy.” Given the results are good and the project is successful, the work relation can continue in new projects. Facilitating employees, like secretaries, Konings tries to avoid as long as possible. “The less employees the better.”

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Real Dutch Design

agency profile Konings Industrial Design is a full-service design consultancy specialized in developing innovative products. One of its important characteristics is its intense involvement; the studio stands by the client’s side as a true partner. Konings Industrial Design enables the client to put a successful product on the market in the most effective and efficient way possible.

innovation management Guiding start-up businesses and setting up design departments are the studio’s specific areas of expertise. Clients can profit in this way from the consultancy’s experience, know-how and network. The fact that Wouter Konings has held
managerial positions at Dyson (UK), Philips and npk industrial design is a tremendous advantage. This gives Wouter broad knowledge of the
design profession in addition to his qualities as a designer. The example shown here is an innovation management trajectory.

Product Innovation Management

Lopullo Sesti asked Konings Industrial Design to develop a shoe that offers a fashionable, comfortable and practical solution for women: one
that can be transformed in a few seconds from a stylish high heel to a comfortable flat. When starting a company with a primary focus on product innovation, it takes a lot of time to set up the organisation and find the right people. To speed up this process and get it right the first time, konings industrial design was hired to set up the development department. By using Konings Industrial Design design’s knowledge, extensive experience and wide network, Lopullo Sesti was able to make a flying start.

The whole process until now involved:

• Writing the business plan
• Product development strategy
• Planning, budgeting and cost management
• Market research and target group surveys
• Patent research, writing and application
• Funding strategy and investor’s brochure
• Research into all aspects of the shoe business
• Analysis of the human foot ergonomics
• Shoe production and materials
• Product and innovation development
• Creative brainstorming sessions
• Creating fresh and innovative ideas
• Concept generation using sketches and models
• Product definition using 3D cad
• Engineering and strength analyses
• Risk analysis and minimization
• Rapid prototyping and functional models
• Duration and friendly environment testing
• Purchasing strategy and production management
• Asian tooling management
• Factory prototyping and quality management
• User guidelines / CE directives
• Photographic visuals by rendering animation movies
• Product photography, logo and graphics

While they have an in-depth knowledge of the process, for specific tasks and situations they co-operate with a wide network of specialists, suppliers and other useful contacts:

• Fashion shoe designers
• Ergonomics (human factors) consultants
• Universities and technical colleges
• Subsidy organizations
• Rapid prototyping companies
• Patent agents and standards institutes
• Profession organizations
• Advertisement, marketing and communication consultancies
• Graphic designers and website developers
• Preferred supplier networks and Asian mould makers
• Venture capital funds and informal investor’s forums

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