What does it mean to be the person responsible for the creative vision and subsequent achievement of a brand and its projects? What’s the role of ‘creative direction’ in this regard, bridging the business of design retail to a company's aspirations, overall look and outreach, aspiring to sell while attesting to the innovative, transformative power of design?

At the ongoing 3daysofdesign activating the Danish city of Copenhagen from June 12 – 14, 2024, STIR interviewed select heads of design, as well as creative and artistic directors of young and established brands, from Sony Design, ferm LIVING, GUBI, and more. At the heart of this endeavour lies a drive to unearth how such design companies Dare to Dream, following the design event's theme, and comprehend what this intersection spawns. As part of their official press tour, 3daysofdesign invited STIR’s curatorial director Samta Nadeem, who, through these exclusive conversations, understood from the brands’ creative directors their design ethos, what they stand for and how they plan to STIR up the future.

Sony Design

Rikke Gertsen Constein (art director) and Jesper Gill Hansson (deputy head for Design Centre Europe Nordic Studio)

Sony’s Creative Center CREATE MORE FUN at the design festival, introduces a shift in approach to colour, material and finishes (CMF), and explores its dynamics and applications in physical and digital dimensions. The exhibition’s interactive experience, merging play and flexibility, offers a homage to design through experimentation and deconstruction. Hansson elaborates on how Sony has a purpose of filling the world with emotion, and that’s a dare as much as a dream, while Constein reflects on how for such a big company like Sony, daring to dream is to simply design and keep exploring.

GUBI

Marie Kristine Schmidt (chief brand officer)

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, GUBI indulges in Tactile Encounters during the design festival, exploring and discovering the intersection of colour and texture, the point where shade and surface meet, and the emotions produced as a result. Apart from new furniture and lighting editions, the design company has on display fresh material thinking from contemporary studios including GamFratesi, a tactile textile and leather installation made in collaboration with Italian fabric house Dedar and sustainable leather specialists at Sørensen Leather. Schmidt elaborates on the intimate nature of 3daysofdesign, her love for Danish design, and GUBI’s collaboration with UNICEF featuring its iconic Pacha Lounge Chair in support of children worldwide.

ferm LIVING

Phillipp Materna (head of design)

At 3daysofdesign, the Danish retail company narrates The Art of Making, traversing their most beloved product designs from their preliminary sketches to the prototypes and results, the relations forged with their skilled makers, and the exploration of forms and materials along the way. Materna remarked how the design exhibition celebrates craft, artisans, techniques and technologies, and how ferm LIVING places 'honesty' at the heart of their endeavours.

A-N-D

Lukas Peet (creative director, co-founder and designer)

Returning to Copenhagen’s annual 3daysofdesign for the second consecutive year, the decorative luminaire design studio and manufacturer based in Vancouver, Canada, indulged in a collaborative exhibition with NORR11, a Danish design company. A-N-D unveils new additions to a pre-existing series of lighting designs as well as familiar collections by designers Caine Heintzman and Peet, interspersed with furniture by NORR11. Peet remarked how 3daysofdesign has been an interesting platform for A-N-D, allowing it to be a little more creative, and more specific in how its fixtures are curated and shown while allowing them to reach a different demographic audience.

Garde Hvalsøe

Birgitta Murga Thomsen (head of brand and business planning)

The Danish interior company and Portuguese furniture design brand De La Espada stages a joint exhibition Crafted to Last that celebrates the two brands’ ethos for preserving traditional craftsmanship and employing natural materials in thoughtful, long-lasting contemporary designs. Guest curated by interior stylist Pernille Vest, the design exhibition features a curated selection of furniture, custom interior solutions, bespoke kitchens, and small art objects, highlighting the profound connections between high-quality materials, artistry, and the human touch. Thomsen observed how it is important for the brand to keep pushing the boundaries of the perceptions of who they are.

Karakter

Christian Elving (CEO, co-founder and creative director)

Karakter celebrates visionary works of some of the most influential designers of the past century at 3daysofdesign with a showcase replete with reissued lamps by the renowned 1970s Italian sculptor and designer Angelo Mangiarotti, alongside mid-century masterpieces by Danish architect Bodil Kjær, and contemporary creations by Dutch designer Aldo Bakker. Elving elaborated on the values of exhibiting at 3daysofdesign compared to other global design events and betting on the design icons of tomorrow defining what the brand dares to achieve.

Bolon

Annica Eklund (owner and creative director)

The Swedish design company, specialising in innovative and sustainable flooring and rug solutions for public spaces, participates in several installations and partnerships, beginning with café Atelier September for a unique installation, where visitors can engage with their flooring designs while enjoying a beverage. Secondly, in honour of Danish design brand Normann Copenhagen’s 25th anniversary, Bolon is sponsoring an exhibition titled Elements of Normann. Most importantly, the company also participates in the installation named Casa Escandi, featuring its flooring as part of a holistic approach to Scandinavian aesthetics. Eklund reflected on Bolon’s 3daysofdesign debut, the open-minded, cosy demeanour of Copenhagen, and “to never leave your dreams on your pillow.”

Vitra

Christian Grosen (chief design officer)

The acclaimed Swiss company, a family business in its third generation, believes that environments shape thoughts and feelings, and thus, strives to enhance them through the power of design. During 3daysofdesign, Vitra presents a brand new soft seating product by a young, new designer couple. Upholding the value of circularity in design remains paramount to Vitra, Grosen observed.

&Tradition

Els Van Hoorebeeck (creative and brand director)

Via a curated immersive exhibition at its Copenhagen home, &Tradition introduces new products and a new classic designer to their design roster. These are objects infused with “character and unique expression, reaffirming their commitment to preserving icons of the past while creating the classics of tomorrow,” the brand relays. Hoorebeeck shares that the beauty of a strong brand identity (like &Tradition's) lies in taking risks, and understanding and bringing in diverse cultures.

Massproductions

Chris Martin (co-founder, designer-in-chief) and Magnus Elebäck (CEO)

Based in Stockholm, Massproductions welcomed visitors into the 1990s video culture with their TV sofa-themed presentation of their new PATCH SOFA SYSTEM at the design festival, including a VHS-based installation. Elebäck and Martin shared a neo-modernist vision of what functional design should be and decided to stray away from PR-driven product strategies while establishing the furniture company 15 years back. They also told Nadeem that for Massproductions, design remains crucial, and that's how numbers will follow, as it always does.

ReFramed

Kasper Schelde Simonsen (founder)

As a young design brand rooted in the ‘bedroom,’ ReFramed matures into its debut at 3daysofdesign this year by exhibiting current products and forming a design installation named A Dreamer's Sanctuary at their community space. ReFramed dedicates itself to the role design plays in our lives, by being accessible, inclusive, beautiful and easy to assemble. Simonsen told STIR how he dreams of a world with fewer products, and those that solve problems and exist for the 'right reasons.'

STIR navigates through key design districts, highlights and events of 3daysofdesign 2024. Tap here to know more.