Content area
Full Text
Abstract
The "New Nordic" label has spread in the design world since 2005, but it is quite difficult to distinguish from the image of "Scandinavian Design" and the heritage of values and aesthetics from the 1950s. Many designer statements and promotional texts are eager to mention both designations. This survey sketches the background and asks, "What is 'New'?" and "What is 'Nordic'?" with a focus on the Danish firm Muuto, which has been a central actor in establishing the term "New Nordic Design." We focus on the interplay between the storytelling around the products and designers on webpages and in marketing, popular literature, etc., and the actual design objects. Reoccurring themes from the 1950s are how it relates to nature and climate, social models of welfare and equality, and pure, minimalist forms. They are, however, more present in the high expectations of an international audience and in promotions than in the objects themselves. The new products of Nordic Design are close to the current international neo-modernism in the form of digitally designed and industrially produced items in often thought-provoking minimalist forms and are directed at an elitist, international audience that wants to engage with these demanding aesthetics and the ideal picture of Nordic cultures-as a nice design and gourmet destination. New Nordic Design shows that the image and ideals of Scandinavian Modern are still living, as a subtle version of Scandinavian Retro, a reimagination of the lifestyle and values of Scandinavian Modern.
Keywords: Scandinavian Design; Nordic identity; design values; neo-modernism; minimalism
With the designation "New Nordic," design from the Nordic countries has once again entered the international scene as a broad trend in the last 10 years. This is part of a general fascination for "Nordic Cool" discussed in this volume that seems to be fuelled by different global, political, and economic trends and the reactualisation of the Nordic welfare states as historical role models. In the 1950s and 1960s, design products for domestic interiors, from furniture to kitchenware, from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and, on rarer occasions, Iceland, had great international success as "Scandinavian Design." This regional brand was not least consolidated by the grand travelling exhibition, Design in Scandinavia, 19541957, in North America, where Finland, a bit confusingly, was included under this...