Technology is regarded as a must-have when dealing with the many of the economic and social challenges we are currently facing. A good Dutch example is the virtual girl Sweetie, who was created for Terre des Hommes and helped track down over a 1000 web sex tourists. Another such example is ‘Ramped’, an interactive skate park which helps young skaters overcome their fears. These ideas were realized by thinking outside-the-box for the purpose of creating a better world; cross-overs that suit the creative industry’s ambition to create new solutions together with other top sectors and where the focus lies on the digital possibilities.
That is why corporate customers are increasingly opting for a strategic collaboration with a digital agency. This is also clear from the growth figures of this industry. The members of the Dutch Digital Agencies we have researched, i.e. those generating turnover of 1 million or more, together generate a total turnover of almost EUR 323 million.
The Netherlands has one of the strongest digital infrastructures in the world, which acts as a catalyst of the growth figures in the digital sector, and must be regarded as the Netherlands’ third main port in light of the rapidly growing World Wide Web.
(Research Deloitte November 2014). The Netherlands is therefore at the forefront of internet innovation and actively takes part in internet communities.
The market for internet services is open and neutral, which is another reason why the Netherlands is an attractive location for companies in the digital infrastructure sector.
A growing number of Higher Professional Education students are studying Communications and Multimedia Design within Creative Technologies. A significant number of these students will ultimately work for digital design agencies. The next step for the sector is therefore also to conquer international markets. The international leading one-year digital design masters study is a good example of such an initiative; this study has been set up by the sector and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and offers talented digital designers from all over the world the opportunity to develop into global players.
Read more about Dutch Digital Design thinking.