During a visit to Une Saison Graphique in Le Havre (FR), Richard Niessen is surprised by the enthusiasm of the organizing team and the high level of French design, a clear result of government efforts.
In the Netherlands, Niessen misses that enthusiasm. Under the influence of far-reaching market forces, designers have become each other's competitors. And as the result of severe budget cuts, the Fonds BKVB has been abolished and subsidies for design are being transferred to the Creative Industry Fund NL, where a very different culture prevails.
The poster Seven Rulers Tracing Board was designed as part of Richard Niessen's presentation (text in Dutch) at a meeting of this Creative Industry Fund NL, held on December 17, 2013 at the Lloyd Hotel.
The text is the outcome of several conversations with colleagues about the state of the profession. The poster, a proposal to establish a kind of union, united under seven different values borrowed from John Ruskin, can be seen as an initial impetus to building the palace.
