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After his study at the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven, Frans Van Nieuwenborg worked for a number of years in Denmark with different designers and architects including Knud Holscher. Since 1973 he has had his own design firm in Leiden (6 employees) and since 1990 the firm has operated under the name of ‘Van Nieuwenborg Industrial Design Consultancy Group’.

“I‘m always searching for something more, another way of seeing, something with a potential ‘thrill’. Design is more than simply giving shape or form. That sounds too rigid. It is not only about working with materials - it's a question of giving concrete form to emotions.

Of course there is a great deal of technical know-how involved. This means that a sort of pollination process is necessary between those who envisage the products, such as myself, and the pure technicians who know what is and what is not possible. Then you have to begin again. Everything must be ordered and new connections made. The result is a new product which transcends borders and opens up new vistas. You must dare not only to classify but to throw everything in the air and see where the pieces land. Step outside the accepted framework.”

International awards and design prizes, among others:

MOMA, New York, USA - aankoop Delight

Amsterdams fonds voor de kunst - Emmy van Leersum prijs

Rotterdamse Kunststichting - designprijs Lazzurro

Excellent Design Award - Cosmit Milaan

Red Dot Design Museum Award Essen

Internationaler Designpreis des Landes Baden-Wurttemberg

Rotterdamse Kunststichting - Publieksprijs

IF Designprijs Industrie Forum Design Hannover