History and Current Status of Design in Scandinavia

This chapter makes the case that the development of Scandinavian industrial design in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries should be understood in the light of social developments including educational reform, the role of the functionalist movement and the influence of Scandinavian (especially Danish) designers on the shaping of a modern legal framework for design protection. Inspiration from Japanese design aesthetics on the Scandinavian design idiom is discussed. Furthermore, it is argued that Scandinavian design must be viewed as ‘identified design’ in the sense that consumers are typically familiar with the names of the designers behind their furniture, lamps, tableware and other furnishings and that, in the twentieth century, many designers were prominent public figures. Brief object biographies of a number of Scandinavian designs, that have acquired an iconic status within material culture (due to their ubiquity, their mediagenic character or similar cultural-symbolic status), are provided in the chapter, including Poul Henningsen’s ‘PH5’ lamp for Louis Poulsen, Arne Jacobsen’s ‘Ant’ Chair for Fritz Hansen, Hans Wegner’s ‘Round Chair’ for PP Furniture, Märta Måås-Fjetterstrøm’s textile designs, Aino & Alvar Aalto’s ‘Aalto Vase’, Armi Ratia’s ‘Unikko’ design for Marimekko and Peter Opsvik’s ‘Tripp-Trapp’ chair for Stokke Furniture.