Lovisa Hansson, 31, Sweden

School: Danmarks Designskole

Department: Furniture

Specials: Furniture design.

Design background

Very broad, started as an artist painting a lot, then took a degree in preserving paintings. Trying now to mix different experiences in my furniture designs.

Important lessons learned during your education

To question different standards and myself and that good ideas need even better communication through design and media to become real consumer products.

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I have artistic background but needed to develop communicating them through different tools as sketching and presentation.

Project title

Silent Cloud

Length of project

10 weeks

Concept

Silent Cloud is a sound-absorbing cabinet designed to reduce the acoustic problems caused by today’s minimalist interiors.

The doors are made of molded felt, a material with very good sound-absorbing properties. The shape of the cabinet is developed in collaboration with an acoustic expert.

Inspiration

Cabinet 2192 designed in 1954 by Josef Frank for the interior design shop Svenskt Tenn.

Materials

Form pressed felt, solid ash wood, white lacquered MDF

Keywords for the visual design

Classic with a modern twist

How is your work process when you design?

I usually start a project by exploring different ideas on the market and in my surrounding. When I have several different ideas I try to evaluate them through sketching with combination of model making or 3D visualizing. After going through this process the strongest fragments usually survive and together build up the final result, a product concept or a family of products.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The final one when you must exclude a lot or have to compare ideas those sometimes seem to be equal in each sense.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Cooperation with other disciplines or designers. Good communication through different designer tools.

What are your strengths?

I have a quick process in visualizing ideas through models. I also like the challenge to solve upcoming problems.

What are your weaknesses?

In some projects I prioritize finalizing concrete and practical solutions before emotional or conceptual ideas that are generally harder to communicate through products or furniture.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Architecture, auctions with historical things from different time periods, design blogs, art.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Many, for example contemporary designers like Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Naoto Fukasawa, Patricia Urquiola.

Other students you find inspirational?

I often find the work of students from other design disciplines working with other materials like ceramics, glass, graphic design or fashion inspirational.

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

To design individual furniture with strong identity and improved emotional or functional solutions than existing.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

To design products that achieve the ambition in my approach towards design.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Not a dream, but always an exciting and challenging wish.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

When thinking design furniture design has always been on top of my mind.

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

Yes, the one called “Felt Mountain” and soon a site www.studioblackbird.se that I share together with an industrial designer.

Were can we find more information about you?

At the site mentioned above.

Contact info

info@studioblackbird.se

Signe Balling, 25, Denmark

School: The Danish Design School

Department: Furniture and Spatial Design

Specials: Furniture, detailed finishing

Design background

Art school for 2 months, basic education as goldsmith and bachelor from the Danish Design School.

Important lessons learned during your education

Trust your instincts and stay true to your decisions. Don’t let anyone tell you that your idea is impossible!

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I went to an art school for 2 months and took drawing lessons for 5 months.

Project title

A tension!

Length of project

5 weeks

Concept

The dining table consists of a solid wood tabletop, a metal tube apron, and four legs made of spring steel. The four legs have a bend on the middle from where the rods “extend” towards the corners of the tabletop and the apron. The most marrow end of each of the legs locks into the table’s apron and the other end is forced in place on the corners of the tabletop.

I have chosen to pair my table up with Arne Jacobsen’s “7” chairs, because the corners of the table and the back of the chair have the same curvature.

Inspiration

Piet Hein’s “Superellipse” table and Niels Jørgen Haugesen’s “X-line” chair.

Materials

Spring steel rod, square metal tube and stained solid wood.

Keywords for the visual design

Functional, simplicity and details.

How is your work process when you design?

I usually start by drawing the essential lines of my idea on paper and quickly switch to making paper models and small-scale pieces in a realistic material. I then go to either drawing on the computer or making muck-ups, then making the basic construction in a cheep material to get all the right measurements and at the end in the right material.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The first part of the process, when everything is possible. I like knowing what possibilities I have and haven’t for the next steps otherwise it is hard to focus.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Planning my time. Always plan more days!

I always finish in time, but am totally exhausted in the end.

What are your strengths?

Not just settling for what’s good enough.

What are your weaknesses?

Being too ambitious, when I don’t have the time. Not being realistic within the time limit.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Mostly technical functions, nautical details and structures in nature. And anything untraditional.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Alexander Lervik, Carlo Volf, Tom Rossau og Verner Panton.

Other students you find inspirational?

Benjamin Nordsmark

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Making design functional and beautiful at the same time.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

Working together with other creative people and being able to make a living from designing producible and one of a kind unique art/furniture pieces.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Since I went to Paris about 12 years ago, but I have always had creative hobbies.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

Furniture is such a big part of our daily life and I like the many options in materials and products.

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

My favorite project and piece of furniture/art: My Cyklus chair made from a continuous metal tube and inflated bicycle tube.

Contact info:

Signe Balling

T: +0045 60 92 04 63

M: sijor@student.dkds.dk

Soon: www.signeballing.com

Marcel Granfelt Saavedra, 25, Sweden

School: Konstfack

Department: Interior architecture and furniture design

Specials: Furniture design

Design background

Bachelor in industrial design Lund.

Important lessons learned during your education

To fail.

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

No.

Project title

Morgonstund

Length of project

5 weeks

Concept

The concept is to create a cabinet which changes visually depending on the space and light sources.

Inspiration

The light that hits you on the way home from the party an early morning in July.

Materials

Mdf and some recycled wood from an old porch.

Keywords for the visual design

Morning sky, graphical, light and shadows

How is your work process when you design?

I never sketch or write anything I got everything in my head. I work with a theme and start creating from that. I try to get in the workshop as fast as possible and work with models in scale 1:1.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

Probably somewhere in the end when I start to doubt my idea. It always happens.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Not really, it could be anything.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Maarten Baas, Jamie Hayon, Front

Other students you find inspirational?

Sophia Lithell

Jenny Ekdahl

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

I work often conceptually and more with a story then function.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

To conquer the world and make it a bit more enjoyable.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Not specific design, but anything that I find creative. I still wish to work with a little bit of everything in the artistic field.

Were can we find more information about you?

www.marcelsaavedra.com

Contact info

Marcel.granfeltsaavedra@student.konstfack.se

Sara Wright Polmar,  27, Norway

School: Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, Oslo National Academy of the Arts

Department: Interior architecture and furniture design

Specials: Furniture

Design background:

Bachelor in Teacher Training Art and Design spring 07

Currently in my second year of my bachelor in Interior Architecture and Furniture design

Important lessons learned during your education:

I have learned a lot by being in the workshops, by physically working with the materials. You discover a lot of things you did not expect or couldn’t see until you have an object in front of you. Enthusiasm and believing in what you are doing is also very important – if you don’t believe in it, others probably won’t either.

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

My education in Teacher Training Art and Design is extremely valuable to me, even if I never become a teacher. There, I got to work with many different materials and techniques, and learned a lot. I also met brilliant and inspiring students, and that has been an important part of my own development. I believe that all the things you do and learn, even if they don’t seem relevant, are important in some way or another.

Project title: Stack

Length of project: A little hard to say, as it was something I did outside of school. I thought about if for a while before I had the time to actually work on it.

Concept: Stack is a hall stand that invites you to contribute to the shaping of your own surroundings. The loose wooden cylinders can be stacked onto a solid core in any desired order and exchanged at will.

Inspiration: Stacking toys

Materials: Metal core with oak and pine cylinders

Keywords for the visual design: Playfulness, variation, individuality

How is your work process when you design?

I always start by writing down keywords, to sort my thoughts and ideas. Then I sketch, of course, and as soon as I can I start working with mock-ups and

scale modeling. To me, this is the best part of the design process.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The creative process is fun and exciting, but it is also exhausting! When you feel like you are going nowhere, and when you have no idea what you are doing – it’s frustrating, but an important part of creating something good! It can also be hard to stay enthusiastic though the process, it’s easy to become blind and have doubts when it comes to your own work.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

I wouldn’t mind being more skilled at 3D drawing- and I would have loved to have a background in cabinetmaking.

What are your strengths?

I am enthusiastic and independent – I like figuring things out on my own.

What are your weaknesses?

I can be too impatient and work a bit too quickly. I think I need to work on not being afraid to “wander around” in the process without knowing what I am doing.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

I spend a lot of time surfing the Internet, and also find inspiration in random things in my surroundings.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Ray and Charles Eames (playful, yet elegant), The Bouroullec brothers, Cathrine Kullberg. A lot of young Norwegian designers are doing interesting stuff.

Other students you find inspirational?

I was really impressed with a lot of the work in the Greenhouse area at Stockholm Furniture Fair, there are definitely a lot of inspiring students! And Kristine Bjaadal- her master assignment from KhiO is wonderful!

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Humor and playfulness is important to me, design shouldn’t have to be serious. I want my surroundings to be uplifting and interesting, both visually and functional. I wish to incorporate this in the work I do.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

If I can make a living working with furniture design I would be really grateful. I would love to have a workshop and studio, where I can make prototypes and maybe one-offs.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

I have always known that I wanted to do something creative, but not necessarily furniture design.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

Solving problems, and working with materials, colors and forms make me happy!

Were can we find more information about you?

My-soon-to-come website

www.sarapolmar.no

Contact info:

sarapolm@khio.no

Erik Rosin, 25, Sweden

School: Beckmans College of Design

Department: Product & Interior Design

Specials: Strategic and Graphic Design 

Design background

- 1 year of Art History at Södertörn University

- 1 year of Three-dimensional Design & Architecture at Nyckelviksskolan

- 3 years at Beckmans College of Design 

Important lessons learned during your education

 To listen, research, question, visualize, cooperate, create, inspire and work hard. 

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I worked at a nine to five job in a store, which was a great way of getting motivation and energy to start studying. It also keeps you grounded. 

Project title

 Origami nemuro – Kami / Kuro / Fuji 

Length of project

 8 weeks 

Concept 

A sleeping place is often static in both its expression and function, even though the need for sleep is everything but static when you live together. One wants to read whilst the other wants to sleep. One rises early whilst the other has a lie-in. The soft module Kuro transforms the bed according to the user’s needs. Make a blackout, a headboard, a silencer or just a decoration of an unmade bed. 
 
The bed Kami has a bedding that is foldable according to needs and the bedside table Fuji has the shape of an extended tetrahedron. The shapes of the three units are inspired by origami, geometry and the golden ratio. The choice of materials, where life cycle thinking is central, is influenced by the Japanese philosophy Wabi-Sabi. What nature has created can be decomposed by nature.  

Inspiration

 Origami, geometry and Wabi-Sabi 

Materials

 Kami (bed) – Pine, latex, steel, cotton, wool, Valchromat

Kuro (module) – Latex, wool

Fuji (table) – Valchromat 

Keywords for the visual design

 I started out by folding paper, and wanted to transfer the fragility and angular form of it into full-scale interior.  

How is your work process when you design?

 I put a lot of focus on the research and concept making phase, being the phase where the crucial part lies whether a project will be taking responsibility and be an inspirational one. 

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

Building stuff. 

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Positivity, creativity, questioning and progressivism.

What are your strengths?

Researching, questioning, approaching people, asking for help, taking the initiative to cooperate, idea making, implementation on a strategical and organizational level. 

What are your weaknesses?

 Building stuff on my own. Often I don’t lack the knowledge on how to do it, just the motivation of actually doing it. 

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Nature, humans,  space. 

Any designers you find inspirational?

- Nirvan Richter, architect, furniture designer and founder of Norrgavel.

- Zandra Ahl, glass and ceramics professor at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design.

- Mathilda Tham, professor in sustainability at Goldsmiths College in London and Beckmans College of Design. 

Other students you find inspirational?

Many in general, no one in particular. 

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Yes, one  where taking responsibility and creating inspiration is in focus. By taking responsibility I mean through an ecological, economical and humanistic point of view. I see the designer roll partly as a creator of long term strategic goals with the intention to create a sustainable world. Inspiration is one of the ways of getting there.  

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

To be able to work with design both on a macro level as a strategy and on a micro level with interiors, furniture, products and graphic design. 

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

No, I started this path unconsciously about nine years ago, and consciously about five years ago. Before I loved learning languages, and I saw myself working as an interpreter/translator.   

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

Products, furniture, interiors and graphic design are things which are close to us in our daily life, hopefully they tell stories and you appreciate them for their function. I thought design had the possibility to change and inspire people in their daily life. Today I still believe this, but design has opened my eyes to the possibility of being a process which can be applied in much larger structural complexities.  

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

I am currently working with my Bachelor exam project, where I investigate how I can create a design process which is taking responsibility and is inspirational at the same time. My intention is then to transform the theory into practice, exhibiting four inspirational projects in the areas of furniture, product/service design, graphic design and film. 
 
 
 
 

Where can we find more information about you?

www.erikrosin.com 

Contact info 

Erik Rosin Studio

Theory & practice

info@erikrosin.com

www.erikrosin.com

+46 73 969 85 55

Magnus Sangild, 27, Denmark

School: The Danish Design School

Department: Product Design

Specials: Furniture & Spatial

Design background 

4 years as a cabinetmaker, 5 years at the design school and half a year at Studio/ Louise Campbell – now running my own company in the hearth of Copenhagen making furniture, product and spatial designs.

Important lessons learned during your education

Most important is being independent and believe in yourself and stick with it.

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I worked as a cabinetmaker for four years and I had some drawing courses before I applied to The Danish Design School.

Project title

MagicMagnusMountain

Length of project 

 12 weeks

Concept

Make a furniture with a rough visual layout.

Inspiration 

The skerry/rocklike surroundings in and around Gothenburg

Materials

Threaded Carbon Fibers and Epoxy

Keywords for the visual design

Mountain, Tactile, Transparent, Rough, Interaction.

How is your work process when you design?

I often starts with a moodboard showing in which direction I want the process to go, my designs are made with intuition of an interaction between the design product and the viewer and I would like to tell a visual story with my designs. This means that the interaction reflects on some sort of reaction from the viewer, this also being whether he/she likes the piece or not.

Then I start sketching while experimenting with different materials that I already have selected, making small visual drafts showing the main ideas of the concept. Bringing it to the computer where I detail the designs and put dimensions to it – after that I build a prototype in scale 1:1 where I test the materials and proportions.   

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The first part of the project, for me, is nerve wrecking – this is when I’m not in full control of the process, the project could end up in so many different ways. The best way of describing it, is like being in love with girl. I see myself running around trying different things, ends up disappointed and head down most of the times, but when I find the right path of the design my hearth starts beating really fast and adrenalin pumps through my vains, I get an energy rush that’s indescribable.

What are your strengths?

That I dare to be different and that I make designs that focus on the emotional relationship that emerges from furniture’s with a visual history.

What are your weaknesses?

There are many but to name one, I’m really bad at making beautiful hand drawings.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Graphic design has always been a huge impact on my designs, also I have gained a lot of tactile input from being in a relationship with a textile designer.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Marcel Wanders, Tom Dixon, Louise Campbell, Thomas Bentzen, Henrik Vibskov etc.

Other students you find inspirational?

Alexander Høst, fashion designer, great friend and a great discussion partner.

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

I am very inspired by interdisciplinary exchange and I think the best way to describe my way of designing is a field called “cross over” where design meets art.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

The dream scenario would be that I can stay independent in all means that concern economy and creativity and still focus on being different.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

No not really, but since I was 16 though.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

It came as a natural continuation of being a cabinetmaker and to develop my own design language. Also I felt a responsibility to increase the diversity on the furniture market. For me it is equally important that the product tells a tale and have a very obvious function.  

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

Medusa a stool: http://www.magnussangild.com/index.php?/project/medusa/

Creator table and bench: http://www.magnussangild.com/index.php?/project/creator/

Were can we find more information about you?

www.magnussangild.com

Contact info

Magnus Sangild

Slejpnersgade 10. 4^th

2200 København N

+45 2532 8982

info@magnussangild.com

Ernesto García, 29, Mexico 

School: Konstfack, University College of Arts Crafts and Design, Sweden

Department: Inredningsarkitektur & möbeldesign

Specials: Interior and Furniture Design 

Design background

August 1998 –  May 2003: BA in Industrial Design, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico city 

August 2002 to June 2005: Abstracta Studio, own project, Mexico city 

August 2005 to August 2009: Esrawe studio (www.esrawe.com), Designer Senior, Mexico city 

August 2009- in progress (June 2011)

MA In Space, Inredningsarkitektur & möbeldesign, Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm Sweden 

Important lessons learned during your education

To be conscious of how design affects the space and the people in which is in contact. 

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I apply to competitions that I found interesting, I think it is a good way to make a portfolio if you don´t have work experience. 

Project title

Oserí Shelve

Length of project

 6 weeks

Concept

Oserí Shelve is a flexible system compound of three different parts, box 40cm x 30cm x 30cm, box  60cm x 30cm x 30cm and a hanger. The basic idea is that the user can build a grid on the wall each 50cm with the hangers and then start to hang the boxes.

The boxes can interact between each other or with other hangers in this way the user can create different compositions.

My intention is to create a shelve that last long by changing towards the users needs and desires, for instance if you need more space to storage you can get more boxes.

Oserí shelve can also adapt easy to the new space when you move. I think also that this kind of furniture makes easy for you to feel comfortable in the new space because at the same time that it has a new shape it remind you your previous house. 

Inspiration

I got inspiration from “raramuris” a semi nomad tribe form north Mexico; they have to move each winter to a warmer place. Their objects are neglected, they can not put more attention to them because probably they have to leave them when move.

I start to make links with this culture and our culture in which way objects are more important for us. Also I wondered which kind of objects requires a semi nomad society?

We are semi nomad; at least we have to move 2 or 3 times in our life. 

Materials

Wood board and metal sheet 

Keywords for the visual design

Ordered chaos 

How is your work process when you design?

I would say everything but organize. It is going back and forward between the both parts of my brain. 

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

To make the final presentation for the client, It is a lot of work but it is important only show what it is relevant for the project. 

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Critical thinking. Always question if things should be done in that way.

What are your strengths?

Patience I could say.

What are your weaknesses?

I get interested for so many thinks that It becomes really difficult to manage. 

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Everyday life and art. I think art is ahead of design.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Tapio Virkala and Achille Castiglioni

Other students you find inspirational?

I could say everyone, Konstfack is full of talent but I can mention Johana Landin, Karolina Nyström and Keisuke Kawase  

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

I could say that process is in between architecture, industrial design and interior design.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

Not really, I have to think about it. 

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Yes

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

Since I started to study design I feel attracted by furniture.

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

Piñata furniture is still in development. It is furniture made with recycled paper and natural glue. (check blog for more information – link below. red.)

Were can we find more information about you?

ernesto-garcia-design.blogspot.com 

Contact info

neto_gar@hotmail.com

Daniel Svahn, 30, Sweden

School: Beckmans College of Design. Graduated 2009 (BFA)

Department: Form

Specials: Product- Furniture- and Interior design

Design background

After Beckmans I now run my own design studio. I also work as an assistant at Jens Fager A&D. During school I had a summer internship at Matti Klenell/ Peter Andersson Design Studio.

Important lessons learned during your education

That you can’t learn everything in school. You have to push yourself and seek the information and means you need for specific projects. To use the knowledge of your teachers and classmates in off-school projects and to use the workshops after hours!

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I studied sculpturing and 3D art for 2 years at the Idun Lovén Art School. Before that I went 1 year at the preparatory art school Konstskolan i Stockholm.  

Project title

Quiet Riot – screen wall. (part of the series “Roaming the Streets” which also featured a sideboard and a clothes hanger).

Length of project

On and off for about 12 weeks.

Concept

Furniture inspired by observations of shapes and expressions in the urban environment.

Inspiration

For the screen wall it was riot railings and how beautiful they are in their shape, roughness and basic function to divide. I was also inspired by soiled concrete walls, like by graffiti and trashy posters and what not.

Materials

Steel rods, sound absorbing plates, upholstery and fabric.

Keywords for the visual design

To get the true shape of the railing (and because of lack of time and money) I made the prototype from real railings that I rebuilt to the shape I wanted. As a “real” product the framework and construction would be very different and I’m already working on developments for it to make it more functional and expressive. But it’s still thought to work as a combined sound absorbing screen wall and notice board.

How is your work process when you design?

I actually work a lot in my head and sketch through thoughts. I probably need to sketch more for real and I’m working on it. Then there’s a lot of modeling in small-scale, computer 3D and full-scale. When I make prototypes I really want them to work and be able to be tried out. 

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The final decisions. No matter how well I plan my work I will always end up having trouble deciding the last small things like defined details and colors.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

- Fundamental knowledge of construction, how things can be joined and how they work together.

- Being able to make construction drawings like in AutoCad.

- To communicate yourself and your ideas in a way people can understand.

What are your strengths?

I work pretty well in stressful situations, but I’m also very good at making schedules and deadlines and to follow them.  

What are your weaknesses?

I’m never really satisfied, but who is and should you be?

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Oh, it can be all and nothing. There’s something in everything, you just have to be observant.

Any designers you find inspirational?

There’s so many talented people, it’s hard to name only a few and leave others out. But basically all people who follow their dreams, have fun, work hard and who can stand for their works all the way to the end.  

Other students you find inspirational?

My former class- and school mates, my fellow designer friends and as above.

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Hm, I don’t know. I like to be rational, realistic yet out there. And to experiment and have fun! That is key, the work shouldn’t be a burden.  

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

To continue to develop myself and learn new things along the way. And hopefully make designs that get appreciated and to do it for a living.  

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

I knew that I wanted to work with something creative and at first I aspired to be an artist. But then my interest for design grew and I realized that, that was my heading. But I try to combine the two and be as artistic I can in my projects.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

I like, not quick quick, but quick results and I like people and I like working with people to try to solve their problems. Also I need the push of a mission/deadline to get to work.

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

The rest of the products in the “Roaming the Streets” series. But also my exam project at Beckmans called “Viskningsleken” (Chinese Whispers).

An alternate, random like and collective design process I experimented with to find new and exciting shapes for furniture. (Check the website through the link below. red.)

Were can we find more information about you?

www.danielsvahn.com

Contact info

daniel@danielsvahn.com

Carl Hagerling, Sweden

School: Studied Master of Industrial Design at Lund University

Design background

- Graphic + industrial design at own company Hagerling form, Malmö  (www.hagerling.se)

- Industrial designer at Hareide designmill Gothenburg (www.hareide-designmill.se)

- Interface designer at Sony Ericsson Lund (www.sonyericsson.se)

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

Studied graphic design and multimedia for 2, 5 half years

Project title

 UNO

Length of project

3 weeks

Concept

Furniture collection

Inspiration

Spacecrafts from the 60′ties

Materials

Wood (mdf and oak) and steel

Keywords for the visual design

Space, clean, *light*

How is your work process when you design?

I work very quick to not lose my first instinct. Look allot on inspirational pictures. Find shapes that are interesting. Sketch pretty quick on different solutions. Make it in CAD. Make prototype

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

When the project is slow and you get bored of the whole thing

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Sketch, CAD, Creative, some engineer skills and to be persistent

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Here comes a cliché: I find inspiration in everyday objects. Could be anything from clothes-peg to tree structure

Any designers you find inspirational?

Tom Dixon and Claes Nellestam

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Clean and uncluttered lines

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

Just to be able to continue to create.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

yes

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

I’m doing new work all the time for different clients. Check out my webpage: www.hagerling.se for latest project

Were can we find more information about you?

www.unoproduct.com

www.hagerling.se

 

Benjamin Kolstrup, 30, Denmark

School: Danmarks Designskole

Department: Furniture & Spatial Design

Specials: Furniture.

Design background  

1 year at the School of Visuel Arts, 1996-1997 Valby – Cph. Denmark.

3 years doing various graphic odd jobs for Skibby Business Travel and Profil Business Travel 1997-2000.

BA in Design and 3 ½ years at Denmark design School, working primarily with furniture design.

Important lessons learned during your education

 Believe in your original intention and idea.

Set your eye steadfast on your goal, but be willing to kill your darlings during the process!

Trust your instincts, work hard – nothing is impossible.

Learn from others and never be afraid to ask for help or advice.

Respect your fellow students and colleagues, no matter what their earlier design experience consists of – don’t be a smart ass, just be smart!

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

Not really, besides a 2 years student course, this is always good to have I guess!

Took a chance and thankfully got in.

Project title 

Chair Force One

Length of project 

10 weeks

Inspiration

The construction and shape of the fighter planes from World War II, like the Submarine Spitfire and the Messerschmidt, but primarily the Spitfire, which I think is a beautiful aero plane.

I liked the thought of giving a lounge furniture an association to the shape and form of an airplane, so you could sit in your own private ‘Chair Force One’ and get flown away, while you relax. 

Materials

Ash, Birch and pine wood.

Upholstery – cotton, foam and non woven fabric

Keywords for the visual design

The wing and back are meant to lean up against the earlier mentioned expression of an airplane. The wooden frame underneath the main body is inspired by old types of undercarriage on propeller aero planes, but also got inspired by some of Finn Juhl’s work with wooden frames on his chairs.

How is your work process when you design?

Very well structured in the initiating stages – I always do a really big bunch of research and sketching, but then my process very often turns into a totally confusing stage, caused by my craving need to reach very far.

But luckily, I’m a solid worker and a very stubborn striker – I love my profession very dearly!

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The part of the process, where you have to make some very decisive decisions to continue the innovative development!

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Think it’s a huge strength to have good communicative skills, both verbally and visually, so your presentation of a developed design object becomes as informative, simple and interesting as possible.

Besides the above, learning tools and work methods, in order to strengthen your approach to the design process, so you can bring your product development up to a whole new tempo, quality and level.

What are your strengths?

Odd thinking and generating ideas, sketching on paper – I’m way better with a simple pen, creating form and expressions, than working with 3d drawing programs and it’s so much faster for me.

Stubbornness, passion for the trade, humility and respect for my mentors, fellow students and teachers.

What are your weaknesses?

Ohh…there’s many – you’re your own worst critic as known, but I really stink big time at the earlier mentioned 3d computer drawing programs. My patience regarding my own learning capabilities are really bad. Selling myself and my work at fairs – can do with the work of others, but my own…

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

Mainly the design area, but besides that I’m trying to keep my channels for imprints open, in my everyday life.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Many – Georg Nakashima, Wegner and a lot of the other Old Danish masters like Wanscher, kjaerholm, Juhl and so on. Of the more modern designers – Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukusawa, Patricia Urquiola, Konstantin Grcic, Nils Holger Moorman, Patrick Norguet, Ross Lovegrove and Stefan Sagmeister amongst others.

Other students you find inspirational?

Jenny palmborg, Erik Mattson, Jonas Lundby Jensen, Laura, Signe, Nina, Maria, Jose’, Martin, Sille, Lisa, Caroline, Mette, Hedvig and a lot other fellow students I see or meet during my day at Denmark Design School.

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Even though the deep plate is invented, as our teachers always tell us, I’m continuously trying to create an original expression or story with my work.

Learning by doing!

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

Get to know a lot of interesting people. Keep on learning, developing and getting better to perform my trade and hopefully live of my work one day, very soon.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Noooo! Originally, I thought that I want to be a professional football player and all, then an art painter – that was too depressing and boring though. Then it was a human bowling ball and a chef, but then I realized that the design trade was my call and I bloody love it!

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

It felt natural.

Do you have any other projects you would like to highlight?

I’ve just finished a very cool lounge furniture that can be seen at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair, called “Chair Force One” which I’m very proud of.

Soon, I’m finishing a brand new dining room chair inspired by Wegner’s round chair.

Contact info

Benjaminkolstrup@live.dk/bekol@student.dkds.dk

Mobile. +4526393526