Unmaking Democratic Design
Swedish design is somewhat synonymous with Ikea and its accessible design for the masses. Otherwise known as “democratic design”, the country is famed for delivering easy-to-use, cheap, flat-packed furniture to the rest of the world. Priding itself on an all-encompassing universality that provides everyone and anyone with affordable and ergonomic design, the notion of democratic design is synonymous with Sweden’s design identity. In a this exhibition by Fredrik Paulsen at the Röhsska Museum, Unmaking Democratic Design sees the furniture designer interpret his idea of democratic design through chairs.
Using pigments and dyes, Fredrik Paulsen’s approach to colouring wood is akin to that of a graphic designer’s to paper. By using special inks instead of CMYK, we have paralleled the brightness and vitality of the pure colours used by Fredrik – which would otherwise be dulled through standard CMYK colour mixing. Similarly, we have approached the design of the typeface with furniture in mind – trying to imagine a what if-scenario of Paulsen building the letterforms like he would his exuberant chairs.
Curated by Johan Deurell