Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland.
Scandinavian designers are known especially for household goods including furniture, textiles, ceramics, lamps, and glass, but Scandinavian design has been extended to industrial design such as of consumer electronics, mobile phones, and cars.
In 1914, the Danish Selskabet for Dekorativ Kunst (Company for Decorative Arts) launched its Skønvirke [da] (literally “Graceful Work”) magazine. Its title became the name of a new Danish style of arts and crafts, both in objects and in architecture, to rival Art Nouveau and Jugendstil.
How It Started
From the 1930s, designers such as Alvar Aalto (architecture, furniture, textiles), Arne Jacobsen (chairs), Borge Mogensen (furniture), Hans J. Wegner (chairs), Verner Panton (plastic chairs), Poul Henningsen (lamps), and Maija Isola (printed textiles) helped to create a “golden age of Scandinavian design”.
Scandinavian textile artists became known for their pile rugs early in the 20th century, while brightly-coloured Scandinavian textiles became popular across the western world after the Second World War.
The Lunning Prize, awarded to outstanding Scandinavian designers between 1951 and 1970, was instrumental in making Scandinavian design a recognized commodity, and in defining its profile.
In 1954, the Brooklyn Museum held its “Design in Scandinavia” exhibition, and a fashion for “Scandinavian Modern” furniture began in America.
Scandinavian design is by no means limited to furniture and household goods. It has been applied to industrial design, such as of consumer electronics, mobile phones, and cars.
The concept of Scandinavian design has been the subject of scholarly debate, exhibitions and marketing agendas since the 1950s. Many emphasize the democratic design ideals that were a central theme of the movement and are reflected in the rhetoric surrounding contemporary Scandinavian and international design. Others, however, have analyzed the reception of Scandinavian design abroad, seeing in it a form of myth-making and racial politics.