ONE WEEK ABOUT Driving Dutch Design by curator Patrick Aarts Sen (BNO). Over the next few days, we show the Drivers of 2025, Ritsert Mans is one of them.
From the sea to the studio – a designer between nature and technology.
With a background as both a skipper and a designer, I operate at the intersection of nature, technology and art. After completing my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design at Delft University of Technology, I made a conscious decision to pursue a career at sea: the call of nature and the rhythm of the water were more appealing than office work. I continued my education at the nautical college and spent many wonderful years on the water.
Yet something else was bubbling beneath the surface. It became increasingly clear that my future lay in artistry. My work is fuelled by a constant fascination with contrasts: the raw beauty of nature versus the ingenuity of engines and technology. That tension is a lasting source of inspiration.
In my installations, I explore how images and movements can amaze, confuse or challenge us. By playing with physical and mathematical principles, I try to appeal to and disrupt the viewer’s intuition. For me, it’s not just about the object, but about the experience – the moment when wonder turns into insight or feeling.
My themes often revolve around the complex relationship between humans, nature and technology. In a world where our prosperity is inextricably linked to the fossil fuel industry, but where we also experience its consequences on a daily basis, I see a deeper layer of beauty and conflict. That paradox is my source of inspiration.
As a designer, I want to convey a love of adventure and creation. I believe that the future – with all its uncertainties – brings not only challenges, but also opportunities to create, discover and reconnect.
Driving Dutch Design programme
The Driving Dutch Design training course, organised by the BNO, was much more than just a programme for me – it was a valuable platform for structuring my development as a creative professional. As a creator, you can unconsciously get stuck in routines or habits. This training course held up a mirror to me and showed me where I had become stuck in my work.
It confronted me, but it also gave me direction. The process made it increasingly clear where my strengths lie, what I really want to focus on and – just as importantly – why I want to do that. It not only gave me practical tools, but also renewed clarity about my position and ambition as a designer.
Driving Dutch Design
Driving Dutch Design is the professionalisation and networking programme of the Dutch design sector that helps driven designers get started in the world of creative entrepreneurship. Besides Design your business and Design your identityfor startups, in 2025 there is also DDD Next Level for mid-career designers.
The organisation is in the hands of the BNO and the programme is supported by Stichting Stokroos and the Cultuurfonds, thanks in part to the Ahrend Fonds.
