New Nordic Design

Course Description

This course investigates the present state of design in the Nordic Countries, the New Nordic Design, as it currently unfolds. The focus is design at all scales which includes for example, social design, service design, product design, furniture, textiles and fashion design. The course relates these areas to local traditions and cultures. It acknowledges the importance of global connections and describes how we express and organize ourselves and our communities in the Nordic region at the beginning of the 21^st century.  The course looks specifically at Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Danish design. Students will critically evaluate the relevance of regional design characteristics in the globalized world of today.

Furthermore, the course will dive into the formative beginnings of design in the Nordics in the late 19^th century and the world renowned “Golden Age” of democratic Nordic Design in the post-World War II era from the 1950s to 1970s. Studying these eras will help to frame a better understanding of the present state of design in the Nordic countries, the New Nordic Design.

Throughout the course we will read and study texts on design, visit architecture and design sites in Copenhagen to use as case studies. We will meet practitioners involved in  design and learn about how they view the world. We will work on assignments that try to bridge the gap between the world of thinking and the world of making.

Course Structure

The course consists of 23 sessions and two 4-hour field studies.

The course is divided into 4 sections;

1. Origins and roots of Nordic Design
2. Political agendas forming design, production, consumption and consumer behavior
3. Social Design
4. Making and Nordic production

Besides of traditional classroom activities, we will also be outside the classroom to explore and use the city with all possibilities for interesting dialogues while observing first hand. We will seek out relevant exhibitions and include them in our dialogue about New Nordic Design. There will be guest lecturers to help frame the different topics.

• You will work on a Semester Assignment, a poster and short research paper dealing with a New Nordic Design topic and you will have about eight weeks to do an individual research and reflection.
• You will work on various group assignments.
• And you will be contributing to the class with visual input for common use.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you should:

• Be able to orient yourself in the recent Nordic landscape of design
• Become familiar with the main design development trends in the Nordics
• Understand the importance and fundamentals of critical reading and writing
• Be able to reflect on the role of design, the designer, political agendas and production through the application of critical thinking

Faculty

Petra Ahde-Deal
Doctor of Arts, (Art and Design, Aalto University, 2013). M.A. (Applied Arts, University of Art and Design Helsinki, 2005). Gemmologist, (Gemmological Association of Great Britain, 2003). Jewellery Designer (Lahti Polytechnic, Inst. of Design, 2002). External Lecturer, University of Gothenburg, 2020- . Docent, Senior Associate Professor in Design, KEA Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, 2018-2023. Assistant Professor, KEA, 2016-2018, Course Coordinator, Lecturer, KEA, 2013-2016, Researcher, Doctoral candidate, Aalto University, School of Art, Design and Architecture, 2007-2013. With DIS since 2024.

Required Reading

• See information in calendar before each class.

Approach to Learning

The class will meet twice a week and will consist of lectures, field studies, student presentations, and class discussions.

Be prepared, check that you have done your reading before Class:

Critical reading requires that you question intensely. For critical reading, you cannot sit back and wait. These texts are not necessarily easy, nor are you expected to swallow the words without consideration. True reading demands that you first actively listen to the author without projecting your own agenda. In this way, you might imagine that you are engaged in a conversation with the author. Once he/she/they has completed what he/she/they wants to say, you are then in a position to speak back and say something of your own, something meaningful and well thought through.

Expectations:

You are expected to be fully engaged in lectures, participate actively in discussions, and be open-minded to your fellow students’ contributions to class. You must help to establish an environment in which we can learn from each other as well as from the texts and cases we engage with and to actively support this approach. Readings must be done before class and should be done with inquisitiveness. The ability to frame the appropriate questions and to apply critical thinking will be valued.

Field Studies

The field studies are a primary experiential learning component of the course, and should be viewed as an integrated component of the course. The visits will illustrate and expand directly upon the content of the lectures and readings. Copenhagen and its examples of Nordic Design will provide the basis for in-class field studies.

Assignments

Grading

Academic Regulations

• Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

  • Course Enrollment and Grading  
  • Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

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