What is Scandinavian design? History, characteristics and classics

Scandinavian design is an umbrella term for design in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, above all from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is recognised by simple, functional forms, light wood and natural materials, softly rounded lines and an effort to make beautiful everyday objects accessible to many.

Facts

More beautiful everyday things

The roots lie in the early 20th century. Ellen Key wrote in 1899 about beauty for all, and in 1919 Gregor Paulsson published the pamphlet More Beautiful Everyday Things, which urged industry to employ artists. Glassworks and porcelain factories such as Orrefors and Gustavsberg began to collaborate with designers, and Swedish applied art attracted attention at the Paris exhibition of 1925.

During the 1930s the ideas merged with Functionalism and the people's home ideal of good, affordable homes for all. Design was to be practical, durable and human. Read more under Scandinavian design.

Denmark: the cabinet-makers' modernism

In Denmark designers started from a strong cabinet-making tradition. Kaare Klint taught at the Academy of Fine Arts from the 1920s and studied human measurements and older furniture types. His pupils and followers, such as Hans J. Wegner, made chairs in solid wood with soft forms that sit well in the hand, such as the Wishbone chair of 1950.

Arne Jacobsen worked with industry's new materials: moulded plywood in the Ant chair of 1952 and foam and fabric in the Egg, designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Poul Henningsen designed lamps with several shades that give glare-free light, such as the PH 5 of 1958.

Sweden and Finland

In Sweden Bruno Mathsson designed chairs in bent wood and stretched webbing, such as Eva of 1934, after studying how the body sits. The Austrian architect Josef Frank moved to Stockholm and gave Svenskt Tenn his colourful textiles, such as Vegetable Tree, a counterweight to the severity of Functionalism. At Gustavsberg Stig Lindberg designed ceramics with playful patterns.

In Finland Alvar Aalto created furniture in bent birch and the Savoy vase in 1936. Kaj Franck designed the tableware Kilta, where each piece can be bought separately and combined freely, and Tapio Wirkkala the glass Kantarelli. In 1964 Maija Isola created the poppy pattern Unikko for Marimekko.

A brand for the world

After the Second World War Scandinavian design became an international concept. The touring exhibition Design in Scandinavia was shown in the United States and Canada in 1954–1957, and the Lunning Prize was awarded to young Nordic designers from 1951 to 1970. In the 1950s and 1960s teak became the typical material of Danish furniture exported all over the world.

During the 1960s the language of form was renewed with plastics and strong colours, as in Verner Panton's chairs. Read more about that period under the Space Age and in the guide to furniture styles in chronological order.

How to recognise Scandinavian design

Look for simple, clean forms without unnecessary decoration but with softly rounded edges that invite touch. The materials are often natural: light wood such as birch, beech and ash, or teak and oak, along with glass, ceramics, wool and linen. Colours are often light, with the occasional strong accent in textiles and ceramics.

Just as important is the purpose. The objects are made for daily use, often in series production at reasonable prices, and they should work as well in a small home as in a large one. That is why many classics are still made. See more examples under design of the people's home and Danish modern.

How to recognise it

Exercise

Who designed the tableware Kilta, where the pieces can be bought and combined freely?