6 ms·

How Scandinavian design took over the world

77 points by pmcpinto 11y ago

pietro 11y ago
The association to the welfare state is complete bogus. Every last item of furniture in that article is from before the welfare state started its expansion in Scandinavia. Sweden and Denmark had lower taxes than the US until about 1960. What Scandinavian designers offered at the time was something entirely different: International modernism in its purest form. The architects of the time, most notably Arne Jakobsen, were heavily inspired by German and American modernists. They were just better at it. Jakobsen designed most of his chairs for a skyskraper in Copenhagen that's essentially a copy of Lever House on Park Avenue in NYC, and his mania for designing every last item in the skyskraper mirrored that of Mies van der Rohe, a German-American. At the time, it was considered "American" by Danes. If there's anything special about Scandinavian design, and I believe there is, it's the constant search for purity. There's not a single period in Scandinavian art history since the Protestant reformations of the 16th century that isn't dominated by the search for purity. Even baroque art from Scandinavia is strangely cool. It just happens to in vogue today, and since we practiced for centuries and it's engrained in our culture, we're very, very good at it. Culture is much deeper than whatever political currents dominate a country at one partical point in time.
- sheraz 11y ago
  This. 1000 times over. Well said -- purity. the same is true for technology and music as well. Swedes may not be first to market with products and services, but their polish and engineering culture to "get it right" are world class.
  - dirtyaura 11y ago
    Funny, in Finland Swedes are seen as great marketers that are both able to create world-wide brands and fast to adapt to trends. From giants like H&M, IKEA to Swedish pop music (Abba, Roxette, Europe, Robyn...) and clothing (Nudie, COS, Fifth Avenue, Cheap Mondays...)
    - sheraz 11y ago
      That's my point. They are fast to adapt to existing trends -- not create them.
- jernfrost 11y ago
  I don't think the welfare state is just about taxes. National maternity leave in Norway e.g. was introduced in early 1900s, something which still doesn't exist at a national level in the US. The problem is that people conflate welfare states with socialism. Nordic countries have been very pro market and free trade focuses from early on, but that has always been combined with more active government policies towards the ills of society than what has been found in the anglo-saxon world. Even back in the 1500s Scandinavian countries were markedly milder towards criminals than e.g. Britain which always had a much harder stance towards crime. So just like design, the philosophies that underly the welfare state has been there a long time. It is just that in later years, especially in e.g. Norway with its oil wealth, the welfare state system has become a lot more visible, due to the amount of money available to expand it.
  - jakub_h 11y ago
    All this sounds very comforting, considering that the oil is going to run out (* ). The north being inspirational to us, I hope, will continue into the future. ((* ) And by "run out", I mean "become unprofitable to pump considering the market price", of course.)
    - useerup 11y ago
      The "financed by oil" is exclusive to Norway. No other Scandinavian/Nordic country enjoys similar fortune. But it may highlight another point that could be made: Instead of corrupting the country similar to the oil-rich arab states, the norwegians have managed the richness with a typical Scandinavian common-sense (Lutheran?) approach: Define the oil richness as a common good and make sure to invest profits for future generations rather than burn it all on the current generation. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/11/oil-fund-norway-millionaires_n_4576887.html http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/11/oil-fund-norway-mill... But, as I said - that is a luxury only Norway has enjoyed.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - 11y ago
- useerup 11y ago
  I did not read the article as saying the original (1960s) success of "Scandinavian Design" was fueled by a fascination of the welfare model. Rather, I took the impression from the article that the latest revival which the design school experiences (post 2008 crisis) may be party fueled by renewed interest in the Nordic welfare model. The welfare states were developed through the 1950s and early 1960s. When I grew up in the 1960s it was already pretty elaborate and generous. I agree that the "special" part of Scandinavian design is a search for purity and simplicity. That, however, is also a trait of modern Japanese design, and not unique to Scandinavia.
chestnut-tree 11y ago
Somewhat related: if you're in the UK, the BBC is currently airing a three-part documentary series called Art of Scandinavia. The series focuses on Norway, Denmark and Sweden. It's available to watch on iPlayer (for UK residents only) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0745j6m/episodes/guide http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0745j6m/episodes/guide
barney54 11y ago
15 years ago, when I was in my mid-20s, I didn't understand why people where so excited about IKEA. Then I went to a normal American furniture store. The traditional American store was terrible. The furniture was ugly and expensive with none of the clean lines of IKEA. That's when I understood for the first time the genius of Scandinavian design.
- massysett 11y ago
  I think people are excited about IKEA because it's inexpensive, comes in a flat box, and can be taken home right now. Furthermore, I bet IKEA has clean lines not for the sake of clean lines but rather because clean lines can be made inexpensively and packed into a flat box.
  - analog31 11y ago
    In my neighborhood, those qualities are also appealing when shopping on a budget to furnish smaller houses. Form follows function.
  - TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
    A furniture store near me went into administration recently. Some of its sofas cost north of £10,000. They looked a lot like IKEA sofas, and the rumour was they were sourced from the same factories and made from similar materials, but offered in a wider range with a hint of extra trim - mostly nicer looking feet.
    - gherkin0 11y ago
      > They looked a lot like IKEA sofas, and the rumour was they were sourced from the same factories and made from similar material I was always under the impression that Ikea designed and sold all of its own designs. Is it really a place that sells mostly desirable private-label goods from 3rd parties, a-la Trader Joe's? > but offered in a wider range with a hint of extra trim - mostly nicer looking feet. My bother was telling me last weekend about http://www.prettypegs.com/us/ http://www.prettypegs.com/us/. Apparently there's an ecosystem developing around Ikea furniture to provide that. Also, to completely change the subject. I recently learned that all the Philips-looking screws on Ikea furniture are "Posidriv" screws not Philips and you need special driver for them, because a Philips driver will likely ruin them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives
nerdponx 11y ago
Someone was desperate to put that pun into print
Spooky23 11y ago
Two answers: 1. Cheap. 2. After two devastating World Wars, people wanted to discard the past. Clean functionality inspired by aircraft represented a modern, better future.

77 points by pmcpinto 11y ago

The association to the welfare state is complete bogus. Every last item of furniture in that article is from before the welfare state started its expansion in Scandinavia. Sweden and Denmark had lower taxes than the US until about 1960. What Scandinavian designers offered at the time was something entirely different: International modernism in its purest form. The architects of the time, most notably Arne Jakobsen, were heavily inspired by German and American modernists. They were just better at it. Jakobsen designed most of his chairs for a skyskraper in Copenhagen that's essentially a copy of Lever House on Park Avenue in NYC, and his mania for designing every last item in the skyskraper mirrored that of Mies van der Rohe, a German-American. At the time, it was considered "American" by Danes. If there's anything special about Scandinavian design, and I believe there is, it's the constant search for purity. There's not a single period in Scandinavian art history since the Protestant reformations of the 16th century that isn't dominated by the search for purity. Even baroque art from Scandinavia is strangely cool. It just happens to in vogue today, and since we practiced for centuries and it's engrained in our culture, we're very, very good at it. Culture is much deeper than whatever political currents dominate a country at one partical point in time.

sheraz 11y ago
This. 1000 times over. Well said -- purity. the same is true for technology and music as well. Swedes may not be first to market with products and services, but their polish and engineering culture to "get it right" are world class.
- dirtyaura 11y ago
  Funny, in Finland Swedes are seen as great marketers that are both able to create world-wide brands and fast to adapt to trends. From giants like H&M, IKEA to Swedish pop music (Abba, Roxette, Europe, Robyn...) and clothing (Nudie, COS, Fifth Avenue, Cheap Mondays...)
  - sheraz 11y ago
    That's my point. They are fast to adapt to existing trends -- not create them.
jernfrost 11y ago
I don't think the welfare state is just about taxes. National maternity leave in Norway e.g. was introduced in early 1900s, something which still doesn't exist at a national level in the US. The problem is that people conflate welfare states with socialism. Nordic countries have been very pro market and free trade focuses from early on, but that has always been combined with more active government policies towards the ills of society than what has been found in the anglo-saxon world. Even back in the 1500s Scandinavian countries were markedly milder towards criminals than e.g. Britain which always had a much harder stance towards crime. So just like design, the philosophies that underly the welfare state has been there a long time. It is just that in later years, especially in e.g. Norway with its oil wealth, the welfare state system has become a lot more visible, due to the amount of money available to expand it.
- jakub_h 11y ago
  All this sounds very comforting, considering that the oil is going to run out (* ). The north being inspirational to us, I hope, will continue into the future. ((* ) And by "run out", I mean "become unprofitable to pump considering the market price", of course.)
  - useerup 11y ago
    The "financed by oil" is exclusive to Norway. No other Scandinavian/Nordic country enjoys similar fortune. But it may highlight another point that could be made: Instead of corrupting the country similar to the oil-rich arab states, the norwegians have managed the richness with a typical Scandinavian common-sense (Lutheran?) approach: Define the oil richness as a common good and make sure to invest profits for future generations rather than burn it all on the current generation. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/11/oil-fund-norway-millionaires_n_4576887.html http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/11/oil-fund-norway-mill... But, as I said - that is a luxury only Norway has enjoyed.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - 11y ago
useerup 11y ago
I did not read the article as saying the original (1960s) success of "Scandinavian Design" was fueled by a fascination of the welfare model. Rather, I took the impression from the article that the latest revival which the design school experiences (post 2008 crisis) may be party fueled by renewed interest in the Nordic welfare model. The welfare states were developed through the 1950s and early 1960s. When I grew up in the 1960s it was already pretty elaborate and generous. I agree that the "special" part of Scandinavian design is a search for purity and simplicity. That, however, is also a trait of modern Japanese design, and not unique to Scandinavia.

chestnut-tree 11y ago

Somewhat related: if you're in the UK, the BBC is currently airing a three-part documentary series called Art of Scandinavia. The series focuses on Norway, Denmark and Sweden. It's available to watch on iPlayer (for UK residents only) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0745j6m/episodes/guide http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0745j6m/episodes/guide

barney54 11y ago

15 years ago, when I was in my mid-20s, I didn't understand why people where so excited about IKEA. Then I went to a normal American furniture store. The traditional American store was terrible. The furniture was ugly and expensive with none of the clean lines of IKEA. That's when I understood for the first time the genius of Scandinavian design.

massysett 11y ago
I think people are excited about IKEA because it's inexpensive, comes in a flat box, and can be taken home right now. Furthermore, I bet IKEA has clean lines not for the sake of clean lines but rather because clean lines can be made inexpensively and packed into a flat box.
- analog31 11y ago
  In my neighborhood, those qualities are also appealing when shopping on a budget to furnish smaller houses. Form follows function.
- TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
  A furniture store near me went into administration recently. Some of its sofas cost north of £10,000. They looked a lot like IKEA sofas, and the rumour was they were sourced from the same factories and made from similar materials, but offered in a wider range with a hint of extra trim - mostly nicer looking feet.
  - gherkin0 11y ago
    > They looked a lot like IKEA sofas, and the rumour was they were sourced from the same factories and made from similar material I was always under the impression that Ikea designed and sold all of its own designs. Is it really a place that sells mostly desirable private-label goods from 3rd parties, a-la Trader Joe's? > but offered in a wider range with a hint of extra trim - mostly nicer looking feet. My bother was telling me last weekend about http://www.prettypegs.com/us/ http://www.prettypegs.com/us/. Apparently there's an ecosystem developing around Ikea furniture to provide that. Also, to completely change the subject. I recently learned that all the Philips-looking screws on Ikea furniture are "Posidriv" screws not Philips and you need special driver for them, because a Philips driver will likely ruin them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives

nerdponx 11y ago

Someone was desperate to put that pun into print

Spooky23 11y ago

Two answers: 1. Cheap. 2. After two devastating World Wars, people wanted to discard the past. Clean functionality inspired by aircraft represented a modern, better future.