How consciously did you approach the subject of Danish design – when did you become aware of its importance and your role in communicating it?

Lars Dybdahl: My awareness of the importance of design was established in the 1970s. While I was particularly interested in urban planning and architecture after 1800, design and craft became a vital field for me early on in my studies. The three main examples that particularly attracted me were: firstly, William Morris and his social dream of the refinement of labour through craftsmanship in particular. Secondly, the ornamental, liberated break in Art Nouveau / Art Nouveau around 1900 and thirdly, industrial, objective design – the mass-orientated production of quality objects not for the elite but for the everyday life of the many. Poul Henningsen’s development work with the PH lamp stood out for me as a shining example.

I studied art history at Aarhus University and one of my chosen free subjects was industrial art. I also studied in Lund, where my interest in the period after 1800 was developed. At Lund University I was able to focus on this field and it has left a lasting impression on my work. So did my involvement in the housing, environment and planning journal Blød By, with teachers and students from Aarhus School of Architecture as initiators and driving forces.

In the 1980s, when I had settled in Copenhagen, the design scene took a new particular turn, very clearly manifested in the work of the Italian Memphis Group. It was a different kind of modernism, both a critical and decorative statement on how we perceive furniture and product design – what needs they should fulfil, not only functional, but also social and psychological.

The provocation of this movement was also liberating in relation to the Danish design scene. Here, the focus was still on the Danish furniture tradition, which everyone related to and which gradually became a burden without radical renewal possibilities. Danish designers were internationally inspired and came up with new expressions; provocative, organic, openings towards new materials and style games with the monumental and the decorative.

Unfortunately, manufacturers were rarely on board. There was talk of the ‘furniture crisis’ with the Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition and the Furniture Group of 1983 as the frontrunners against the manufacturers.

The break-up had a big impact and it stuck with me. Industrial design and craft is something I have been heavily involved in as a researcher and communicator over the years, both when I was a lecturer in design history and theory at the University of Copenhagen – and in my curatorial work with exhibitions, primarily at Designmuseum Danmark and Sophienholm. Teaching the students and talking to the craft artists and designers has been the non-fossil fuel in my professional work!

How would you describe Danish design? And why is it an important part of our society/culture/history?

Lars Dybdahl: I consider the concept of DNA to be an outdated biologism that we should use with caution. There is a risk of turning away from the historically changing conditions. In my book Danish Design History, Volume 1, I described 10 points, all centred around historical processes and changes.

I would like to emphasise four characteristics in particular.
Firstly, Danish design is innovative with a functional character, the utensil character is pronounced. Secondly, durable and responsible production is essential and is nowadays largely associated with sustainability.

The third characteristic is design with aesthetic fascination.Awareness of the possibilities of materials and the importance of materiality in the product is a great asset here.The value of symbolisation, the metaphorical and attitude are also important qualities here, and the dialogue between unique craft artists and industrial design has played a historically important role.
Craft artists have more freedom to define what they want, where industrial design is production-bound within certain possibilities.

The fourth and last characteristic I want to mention is the user-orientation, the intuitive expression.
The products are self-explanatory, they work without a user manual. These are four qualities that can be found in the majority of good Danish design. They are universal virtues, but they are expressed in a Danish context, based on historical and cultural conditions.

Denmark has a starting point as a trading nation, which means that we have absorbed impressions through trade and travelling.The Danish underground does not contain a wide range of raw materials that can be used in the production of design. Instead, development is characterised by modifications of international trends and expressions that are processed in interaction with local Danish elements. Across time and place and across cultural development, design is in a positive sense the materialisation of social relations and rituals between people.

Design products have strong staging properties – they are co-creators of how we relate to each other and are instruments for staging social and economic success. The lifestyle element is particularly exposed today on social media and here too, products act as actors – they are ambassadors of our lifestyle in everyday spaces and rituals.

The previous recipient of the award was Bodil Kjær, a Danish designer who gained recognition in Denmark late in her career. How do you think we in Denmark manage our design tradition – historical and contemporary?

Lars Dybdahl: Bodil Kjær was not disavowed in Denmark because she was not known here – she lived and worked abroad and developments in Denmark were locally based. Her recognition came later and it is fully deserved. In her desk, she collects the Danish tradition in an international perspective – the lines and expression bring together the warm and the ‘cool’. She doesn’t shy away from tradition – but picks up the international purist style in her work and puts it in an artisanal context.

Since the 1990s, there has been a large number of publications on Danish design. Books and articles that thematise the subject. We need to stimulate and continue this. The design profession has developed and communication should follow suit. Museums should optimally document design and craft processes around the creation and document how manufacturers operate, what strategies are used and what production methods are employed. We should communicate the business side of the profession. Here we need to be stronger, both in documentation and communication – today this can be done in podcasts and videos for both interviews and process are thus preserved for posterity.

I miss a permanent museum exhibition that tells the main lines of design development. About materials, production, expressions of form, the design culture compass and thus also the communication of the professionalised design process that has taken place since the mid-18th century. We should educate our young generation in design understanding, let design play a greater role in education so that it is not just a practical subject. Design can be integrated into subjects such as Danish, biology and maths, in history through poster design, for example. Let design be a lever for more cross-disciplinary subjects.

You’ve mentioned SDG number 12 as the most important thing for the design industry to consider and work with. Can you elaborate on this?

Lars Dybdahl: There are three SDGs that I think are particularly important for the design profession. Number 3, Health and well-being, where we have a lot to offer in the field of medical technology. Design of this kind has been an integral part since the 1800s, when instrument maker Camillus Nyrop created, among other things, prosthetic legs and a brilliant birthing rod. They were exhibited at the time and established the collaboration between manufacturer and doctor. Collaboration between different disciplines is an essential part of Danish design, as is still seen at Coloplast and Novo. Denmark has a strong, continuous tradition here that should be continued and further developed.

Then there is SDG 11, which focuses on Sustainable Cities and Communities. This is where Danish design, especially when working with urban spaces, can become a strong international sparring partner.

In the 12th goal of Responsible Consumption and Production, material knowledge is important, designers must have a knowledge of sustainable materials, what they are and what they can do. This requires co-operation with other disciplines, not least the sustainability-oriented engineers. Internship pairings could be a way to further develop this. Humanities and business-related studies should be coordinated. Fewer and more focused study programmes could create a stronger field and support curiosity for interdisciplinary collaborations and sparring. Go out, read the book, be curious.

Also important in this context is the craft artists‘ and designers’ sensitivity to materiality, their approach to formal and artistic questions. These skills require collaboration with engineers to create the aforementioned user-friendly products that also benefit the environment and the planet. There must be an interaction where all players are aware of the importance of sustainability. We should mention and communicate this potential. The product designer and graphic designer can help promote the consumer’s better choice over the unsustainable products from Temu.

You have helped elevate design history from its position as a less respected, almost inferior, little sister to the history of art and architecture to an independent research field. What is the next step in your work?

Lars Dybdahl: As an associate professor, I worked on the development of the humanistic design discipline, and recently I participated in the evaluation of the promising design programmes at SDU in Kolding. I am also part of the editorial team of the digital journal Formkraft for craft and design, and most recently published the article ‘The transatlantic outlook on Bernadotte and Bjørn’s American design practice’ under the theme Udsyn, where Danish design is put into international perspective.
With a feature article in Kulturinformation.dk, I am currently contributing to reopening the debate on a permanent exhibition space for design and craft. I also follow developments closely and continue to research design, craft, architecture and urban development in modernity.

We’ve looked back a lot, used documentation of the past, written about the present. How do you think we can raise the debate about what design is and can be in the future?

Lars Dybdahl: Designers should participate in the public discussion based on alternative approaches to the traditional notions of design. Designers should come up with examples and show us what’s on the way. This helps to raise a debate and initiate discussions and new initiatives, and many of us who are already interested in design should be motivated to demand something new.

There is a need for players in the design field to act in the media in an innovative way. This includes design in the green transition. The Design Council could write feature articles and articles and invite to panel debates. In the past, the council was an active voice communicating the importance of design. This work could continue.

We need to plant the message in education and training, not only in schools but also in business. We need to educate ourselves and stay curious. The graphic design field has overlooked potential that should be brought to light. Communicative communication is still relevant and should be further developed.

Cultural history museums across the country are potentially important forums for the integration of design history approaches that shed a new communicative light on these museums’ collections and exhibitions about our common history. We should communicate the non-profit relevance and importance of the subject. There is great potential in expanding the use of Danish design.

How should we activate international recognition – should we and can we?

Lars Dybdahl: We can and we must – a few suggestions in addition to the success of craft artists in foreign galleries and the participation of designers and manufacturers in foreign trade fairs etc. The Ministry of Business and the Ministry of Culture should collaborate on an initiative where they hire curators to create an international travelling exhibition: Green Design Denmark.

If we want to be a pioneer in the green transition, we must also demonstrate this internationally with our products. Such an exhibition can spark new initiatives and collaborations. Again, communication in podcasts, videos and social media is an important part. Let’s invite foreign design critics when we think we have material we want to share.

An expert group can also be set up under the Ministry of Culture and select five product examples that convincingly demonstrate the ‘classic virtues’ of sustainable new approaches. The five proposals are then sent to foreign cultural institutions, museums, home and design magazines, TV stations etc. If they are interested, they are donated as gifts – let’s place the exemplary products around the world. Let them represent Danish design and once again raise international awareness of the qualities of Danish design.

How do you see Danish design at the end of 2024? They say that writing history is a link between the past and the future. If that’s true, where is Danish design heading? And can an exhibition centre help to continue our shared desire to shape a sustainable future?

Lars Dybdahl: Thanks for asking the big questions – Based on developments over the past 40 years, design as a product and quality development paradigm has penetrated deep into all spheres of society – it has become an integral part of everyday culture. Today, the hairdresser is often a ‘hair designer’.

Overall, New Nordic and its derivatives have become a widespread norm in everyday Danish life. The interior design style and its products are portrayed in the media, it has become a lifestyle trend, and it dominates so much that it can have an inhibiting effect on designers’ work. So can the constant dialogue with the ‘furniture classics’. The postmodernism of the 1980s stimulated a mental liberation in many Danish designers. Now, a traditionalism seems to be threatening if no one reacts. And there are signs of disruption and indications of bold moves.

Take furniture, for example: Here’s a good example Maria Bruun’s Nordic Pioneer chair. It points towards something else, it has the Nordic element in the wood, but in its minimalism it also has postmodernist elements. Akiko Kuwahata’s bench for Mindcraft in 2024 is also an interesting example and Dögg Guðmundsdóttir has a liberating approach to the profession in her manifestations of circularity, recycling and multifunctionality, as seen in her latest works for the SE exhibitions in 2023 and 2024. Design can and should be something other than traditionalism and the search for instant icon status. The examples here indicate renewal.

There is a further forward-looking vision in critical design, in thought-provoking statement design. Here, conventional notions are challenged, as seen in the duo Benandsebastian, among others. They operate in the post-disciplinary intersection between architecture, design and performance, and here (in the intersection, ed.), on Constitution Day in 2022, they have placed nature at the centre by pointing out its absence in the debate and the constitution by setting up exhibition stands around numerous trees in Hertadalen by Ledreborg Castle. They disturbingly turn the perspective from us to nature.

In other words, there are breakthroughs and good examples on the way, and excellent things are still coming into production. A major interdisciplinary approach is gaining momentum. Benandsebastian is taking political responsibility. They shift the focus from the local to the global – they are among those who help to open up the horizon and thus the possibilities of the profession.

We need a permanent exhibition space, a wide-ranging, nationally leading stage that profiles attitudes, messages and visions. A focal point for both players and audiences, pointing the way forward in solo and thematic exhibitions about the interplay in Danish design. We should showcase these breakthroughs and bold projects, fostering a sense of community and belonging. Creativity and innovation on all design tangents.

Lars Dybdahl was interviewed by Marie-Louise Høstbo, member of the Design Council.

Theme: Scenes of Crafts

The industry is calling for an art centre dedicated to contemporary crafts and design. With this theme, Formkraft focuses on crafts exhibition venues and curators. What is the importance of small and large venues? Who curates crafts and design exhibitions? How do the craft artists themselves get out of the limelight?

Read the theme