This Dutch designer’s name is every bit as unusual as his customers are ‘wayward’; a crucial concept to Dirk Ploos van Amstel. The fact of the matter is that he is all too aware that any design gets appropriated in the end. Meaning that end users will end up making the design their own, whatever he does. The result? The underlying touchstones that underpin all of Ploos van Amstel’s designs are the user and the way in which the latter uses the product. A closer look at this stand-out designer.
Creatively educational
Dirk Ploos van Amstel graduated from Utrecht University in 2005, having bagged himself a Master of Arts in User Interaction Design qualification. Starting his professional career working as a project manager and functional developer, he subsequently decided to return to Utrecht University, where he is now seen at the other end of the auditorium as a lecturer, and as the co-ordinator of the ‘Nieuwe Dingen Doen’ project agency.
A maverick in product design
In 2001, Ploos van Amstel launched his own studio in Maastricht, where he puts all his passion into designing furniture pieces, coat hooks and door handles. Typical of Ploos van Amstel’s style is that he does not seek to conceal the constructions in his designs, but very much draws attention to it. Take the Shut the Door, Have a Seat door handle, for instance. The design lifts out the mechanism which normally resides inside the door and externalises it in order to harmoniously meld it with the actual handle. A welcome contrast with the traditional design style that hides the mechanical construction of objects behind a sleek visual aesthetic.
The bond with the user
By actually seeing constructions in operation, users develop a much stronger bond with ostensibly everyday objects in their physical environment. We handle dozens of door levers every single day, but barely stop to reflect on how they actually work. Until you get hold of Ploos van Amstel-designed door hardware. His levers are available in black, white and red, which means they will blend into any home interior.
Sleek, but laden with symbolism
Ploos van Amstel’s designs are stripped down to their bare essence and supremely functional. Take the SeesawSeat for example, a seesaw for smaller spaces that is transformed into a sofa in a jiffy. But this does not mean to say there is no room for symbolism. MOEP for instance is made up of a rocking chair and a cot that are connected by way of a red stretch of rope. We have rarely seen a more endearing and poignant symbolisation of the blood ties that exist between parents and their children.