Graduates in BNO Dd Yearbook ’24-’25

14 november 2024

The Dd Yearbook ‘24-’25 of BNO (Association of Dutch Designers) will be published soon and it will feature the work of six alums. Jim Olijkan, Gemma Luz Bosch, Hanna Boslau, Herman Hondebrink and Peter Wermann will be part of the publication. The publication offers an overview of the highlights of the past design year and looks ahead to the themes of 2025.

The publication provides an overview of highlights from the past design year and looks ahead to the themes of 2025.

Jim Olijkan - Bachelor Graphic Design

Work: Closing Soon: Hera Sans

A fence is a divider: Not only does a fence divide a space into two distinct physical areas, it also creates a dynamic between those two. Whichever side you’re on, dictates your relationship to the fence, and to the space on the other side of it. There is always an inside and an outside, something to be protected and something to be repelled. You either can’t enter, or you can’t leave.

View the work of Jim in the Graduation Catalogue.

Gemma Luz Bosch - Master ArtScience

Work: long low slow baden

‘long low slow baden’ is a soft landing on earth. An acoustic immersive installation wherein the audience is one by one invited to lay down on an inflatable positioned beneath a tree. Moving up and down, feeling your own body, slowing down and sensing gravity. This movement makes two large ceramic flutes breath out, sounding long low slow tones.

View the work of Gemma in the Graduation Catalogue.

Herman Hondebrink - Master Industrial Design

Work: The Other Side of the Coin: Resisting Resource Extraction of Shimmering Industries

“The other side of the coin” is an installation that showcases the chemical transformation of nickel Dutch Guilders through the chemical process of electrolysis. The centrepiece is a transparent rectangular machine. The top part contains a bath filled with a green solution, from which corroding Guilders and a mould are suspended, while the bottom section is filled with rocks that mimic nickel ore. The machine transforms nickel Dutch Guilders into a new form of currency which pays tribute to the ongoing forms of resistance to the Indonesian nickel industry. Nickel is a crucial element for electronic vehicle battery production, pivotal in shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The project seeks to make visible how we are interconnected with exploitative mining practices, which are necessary for the ‘green’ transition.

View the work of Herman in the Graduation Catalogue.

Peter Wertmann - Bachelor Textile & Fashion

Work: Lost Product of Society

This graduation collection captures the essence of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, fused with the freedom of growing up in the Swiss Alps and the structure of military experience. It embodies the contrasts between vast, open landscapes and disciplined, confined living.

Hanna Boslau - Master Type & Media

About the theme of the Dd Yearbook: (Off) Balance

The balance seems lost in a world where contradictions dominate the discourse, where they are sought rather than avoided. Left versus right, democracy versus autocracy, tradition versus innovation, old versus young, tech-made versus human-made, perfection versus imperfection, environment versus consumption. How do designers find inspiration and balance in these complex times? Do they stick to business as usual, or do they look for new forms of functionality and meaning?

Dd Yearbook ‘24-’25 gives a candid insight into what designers are thinking and making now: through essays and interviews, striking final exam work from Dutch design schools, award-winning work and portraits of image-defining designers such as Noon Passama, BCXSY, Joost Grootens, Hedy Tjin, Lidewij Edelkoort, Patta, Mohamed Benchellal, Marit Törnqvist, TBWA\NEBOKO and Typotheque.