This is a country with a long history of design appreciation. The national design organisation, Svensk Form, dates back to 1845. However, it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th Century that Swedish design as we know it really started to take shape, with the publication of several essays and books celebrating the idea of “skönhet i hemmet”, or beauty in the home.
The Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 launched the aesthetics that we still associate with Swedish design today: the simplicity, the clean lines, the light and the soothing, Spartan feel. From the middle of the last century, industrial design took centre stage, with the production of the first Saab in 1952.
Today, there are geographical pockets of design around southern Sweden. The Småland district is a centre of glassworks, while furniture and interiors are clustered in the towns of Växjö and Värnamo. The area around the city of Borås is where textile and fashion designers gravitate, and Höganäs is home to ceramics.
If any further proof were needed that the world likes Swedish design, it came early in 2007 when Starbucks commissioned Swedish designers to produce a range of mugs, cups and other crockery for its 8,000 outlets around the world. Design House Stockholm won the commission to design the products.
Svensk Form, the national design association, was originally founded to safeguard the quality of hand-made crafts from a perceived threat of mass production. Today, Svensk Form works to promote design in Sweden and abroad.
The association has an annual turnover of around 14m SEK (£1m), 8m SEK of which comes from the Swedish Ministry of Education, Research and Culture. Around 2.5m SEK is generated by members and subscribers, and the rest from commercial activities.
Not content with being the oldest design organisation in the world, Svensk Form also publishes the longest running design magazine – Form – which launched in 1905 and appears six times a year.
Sweden’s government is well aware of the value of design to Sweden’s economy and international reputation. It designated 2005 the Year of Design, and financed a year of exhibitions and events both at home and around the world to promote Swedish design.
Other industry bodies include:
- Swedish Furniture Industry (SMI), part of the Wood and Furniture Association (TMF) which represents 800 enterprises with about 26,000 employees.
- Swedish Industrial Design (SVID), which was founded in 1989 and works closely with government agencies concerned with industrial policy. It is mainly financed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
According to 2005 figures produced by SVID, there are 340 industrial design agencies in Sweden. However, when graphic, interior and furniture design are counted together, the total rises to 11,199 companies. This breaks down into 5,631 graphic design firms, 2,740 architecture firms, and 2,828 design firms.
There’s been considerable growth in the sector, with a rise of 272% in the number of firms between 1993 and 2002. Graphic design in particular has seen substantial growth, with a 410% rise in the number of firms during that period.
In 2003 the design industry had a turnover of 7,549m SEK (£565m).
(Source for all figures: SVID, 2005)
Design education has grown quite a bit during the past decade. In 1995 there were just two Swedish design schools and six programmes. By 2005, that number had risen to 72 programmes.
Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå University provides four academic programmes focusing exclusively on industrial design and related specialisations.
For more information, visit www.dh.umu.se
Beckmans School of Design is a small but well established Stockholm college providing courses in advertising and graphic design, product design, and fashion design.
For more information, visit www.beckmans.se
HDK - The School of Design and Crafts at Göteburg University offers teaching in Ceramic Art, Textile Art and Jewellery Art and Design.
For more information, visit www.hdk.gu.se