The Sociable Kitchen® by Kvik

3 — A closer look at the Danish design DNA

Kvik Season 1 Episode 3

In our last episode, we learned about the origins of the Danish Design DNA, if you haven’t heard it, you should go back and listen now. In this episode, we dig a bit deeper into the ten strands of the DNA.

In 2017, the Danish Design Council saw a need to redefine Danish design for the 21st century. If American design is business and German design is science and Italian design is art, then what is Danish design? In the 20th century, it was arguably craftsmanship and that’s still a key element today. 

But design can play a key role in solving the challenges we face in the world today - things like climate change, using our resources wisely - the ten strands of the Danish design DNA reflect that. It contains not only the heritage of Danish design, but the future as well. The ten strands can be boiled down to ten simple values - social, human, holistic, quality, user-driven, transformative, craft, durable, factual and simple.  

To see the designs we talk about in this episode, visit https://www.kvik.dk/podcast/episodes/closer-look-at-danish-design-dna