From the furniture design of the post-war era to today’s elastic and fluid concept of design. Since 1945, Danish design has undergone a drastic development along with changes in society. The exhibition “Denmark by Design” portrays this development and places it into a social and societal context.

Decade by decade, the exhibition portrays the designer’s focus on the individual and the home and on to workplace and the public space. We see how trend-setting developments in society, political opinions, and ideas have influenced Danish design.

”From 1945 until 2010, Danish design has undergone tremendous development and achieved considerable international recognition; recognition that stems from the position that design acquired during the 20th and 21st centuries as a natural part of Danish DNA. Danish companies have continuously invested in design, and recently, design has also made its way to the political agenda. It is encouraging to see that decision-makers both in politics and business are giving design increasing priority as a crucial competitive parameter, and indeed that is the only way forward if Denmark is to continue to defend its position as a leading design nation,” says Christian Scherfig, managing director of the Danish Design Centre.

The exhibition illustrates how Danish companies have contributed to this development, prioritising design and quality as the basis of a successful business strategy. Featured examples from industrial design include Coloplast A/S with Conveen ® Contour, a urine bag for persons with incontinence, designed by Henning Andreasen in 1986, the hygiene product line from Berendsen A/S, designed by Knud Holscher Design in 2009, and GN Resound with their brand-new digital hearing aid ReSound Alera, designed by Philip Meinertz in 2010. In the realm of furniture design, the exhibition features the latest new product from Republic of Fritz Hansen: the Nap chair, designed by Kasper Salto. Ecco is also represented, among other things with their JOKE shoe, which dates back to 1978.

“Denmark by Design” received financial support from the Augustinus Foundation and from
several corporate sponsors: Fritz Hansen A/S, GN ReSound A/S, Berendsen Textile Service
A/S, Coloplast A/S, and ECCO A/S.

The exhibition is semi-permanent and will be on display until May 2013.