Fast forward a couple of decades and Norwegian design is doing rather well on its own terms. In particular, furniture has proved very successful. Formed in 2000, office furniture specialsts Noway Says have won a string of awards from the Norwegian Design Council.
For the past four years Norway has been exhibiting its design products in the UK, at 100% Norway at 100% Design. The 2007 show featured glassware from Cathrine Maske, Anne Haavind and Lena Hansson, as well as wall-covering designs from Scandinavian Surface. Norwegian design in the 21st Century is big on environmental themes – it drawing heavily on themes of nature and sustainability, and less on the hard-edged functionality that characterises some of its close neighbours.
Norway’s design industry is relatively small, but actively promoted. The Norwegian Design Council (NDC) was set up in 1963 and is financed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It has a strong focus on encouraging design within industry, and its core activity takes the form of consultancy services for businesses, promoting design as a strategic tool to improve competitiveness.
The role of promoting design more widely falls to Norsk Form. Established in 1992 by the Ministry of Culture, Norsk Form works to raise awareness of the value of design and architecture. It does this through a range of exhibitions, publications, conferences, study tours, competitions, and workshops for children and adolescents. Though they are separate organisations with different funding streams, Norsk Form and NDC occupy the same building in Oslo.
In recent years, new design events have lent additional support to the industry. Design Year 2005 was a 4m NOK (£350,000) programme of events aimed at promoting Norwegian design, while Design Underveis was a mobile campaign carried out by NDC to promote design locally to companies around the country.
Other industry bodies include:
- NID (Norwegian Industrial Designers)
- GRAFILL (Norwegian Graphic Designers and Illustrators)
- NIL (Norwegian Organisation of Interior Architects and Furniture Designers)
In 2003 there were approximately 2,300 businesses in the Norwegian design industry.
These broke down into: 1,173 architecture firms, 186 interior design and decoration firms, 741 general design firms, and about 200 industrial design firms.
In 2003 the design industry achieved a turnover of 2,790m NOK (£250m).
Small to medium sized firms dominate the industry: 89% of firms employ fewer than 5 people.
Oslo is the hub for the design industry, being home to 48% of design businesses.
(Source: The Norwegian Design Industry report 2004, Nils Henrik Solum & Marit Hubak)
In a nod to the growing value placed on design, the Oslo School of Architecture changed its name to the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in 2003. Other institutions are also increasingly offering specialised design courses.
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design is divided into institutes of architecture; form, theory and history; urbanism and landscape; and industrial design. It offers courses at graduate and undergraduate level.
For more information, visit www.aho.no
The Oslo National College of the Arts (KHIO) has a Faculty of Design, with three undergraduate programmes: Interior Architecture and Furniture Design, Fashion Design and Costume Design, and Visual Communication. It also offers an MA in Design.
For more information, visit www.khio.no
Akershus University College offers a three-year undergraduate degree in Product Design.
For more information, visit www.hiak.no
Agder University College offers a three-year undergraduate degree in Multimedia Technology and Design.
For more information, visit www.uia.no