Association for Art and Industry (Bond voor Kunst en Industrie, BKI, 1924-1949), from 1949 the BKI prize Foundation (Stichting BKI-prijs). Its purpose, according to their 1961 brochure, was to annually award one or more prizes for products manufactured in series in The Netherlands. ‘The BKI prize will generally be awarded to that particular combination of entrepreneur and designer which, according to the jury, has successfully contributed to the notion of good industrial design of the Dutch manufactured product. The aim is to honour to both the initiative of the entrepreneur as well as the efficacy of the designer. Naturally, the product needs to meet the high standards of usability and technical realisation, yet above all it needs to stand out for its persuasive design.’ With the prize, the board not only aims to raise awareness for collaborating with designers in the industry, but also among the general public. In addition, the prize emphasised humanity. The prize was awarded to De Cirkel/Kramer, De Ploeg, René Smeets, Pastoe and others.
The Dutch version of this biography is taken from the book Visies op vormgeving, het Nederlandse ontwerpen in teksten deel 2: 1940-2000 (2008) by Frederike Huygen.