February 9th, 2010
What in Danish Design is Borrowed and Where Then do We Find Ourselves in the Multitude of Creations?
What in Danish Design is Borrowed and Where Then do We Find Ourselves in the Multitude of Creations?
In today’s globalized society nearly everything is a borrowed or upcycled idea. Danish Design is certainly no exception to this environment, but the best of designers are still able to project their personal expressions and intertwine their prospective with the muse that inspired them.
Take for example the Royal Copenhagen Collection. Inspired by porcelain exports from China, specifically blue and white glazes, the Danes found their own way of mimicking the beautiful white color of the eastern imports. Eventually this technique and color scheme became the backbone of the Royal Copenhagen Collection. Today the porcelain works have become iconic throughout Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia. In my host family’s house we drink from Royal Copenhagen teacups, eat from Royal Copenhagen plates and rest our eggs in Royal Copenhagen holders. The ‘borrowed’ blue and white porcelain from China has grown into it’s own phenomenon, culture and brand in a completely different part of the world.
Marked by a logo highlighting the hand painted craft, Royal Copenhagen pieces don’t go without notice. However, the logo that was once an emblazoned certificate of authenticity has turned into a branding campaign, which in my opinion detracts from the original intent of the collection. Created by request of the queen, the Royal Copenhagen collection was tastefully decorated in 1775. As any good product does, the collection changed with the times. Today we see Louise Campbell’s colorful, more contemporary, but still tasteful interpretation of the original design. However, we’ve also witnessed the brand fall into a sort of identity crisis/overload with the addition of plates and teacups that contain the trademark logo slapped over the front of them.
Marked by a logo highlighting the hand painted craft, Royal Copenhagen pieces don’t go without notice. However, the logo that was once an emblazoned certificate of authenticity has turned into a branding campaign, which in my opinion detracts from the original intent of the collection. Created by request of the queen, the Royal Copenhagen collection was tastefully decorated in 1775. As any good product does, the collection changed with the times. Today we see Louise Campbell’s colorful, more contemporary, but still tasteful interpretation of the original design. However, we’ve also witnessed the brand fall into a sort of identity crisis/overload with the addition of plates and teacups that contain the trademark logo slapped over the front of them.
Removing the trademark from the bottom and wrapping it over the collection tells me Royal Copenhagen is no longer about quality, but identity. Sure, you can have both; take Polo Ralph Lauren for example. The clothing company produces a quality garment, however the garment’s demand is created by its logo. This very American ideal of money or property talking for you is what I see has infiltrated the Royal Copenhagen collection.
So yes, ideas are borrowed. And no, that isn’t bad. Unless the borrowed ideas carry you away from your core message and begin to pry you from your history. Royal Copenhagen was founded on the attraction to tastefully decorated blue and white porcelain products from the east. Today we are beginning to see these original ideals become over westernized and lost along the way. This is an important lesson designers must learn from. Danish designers are particularly good at blazing their own trails; but as soon as you loose yourself in borrowed ideas, the quality and integrity of your product begins to take a hit. Royal Copenhagen, don’t let this happen to you!
images [http://www.royalcopenhagen.com/]
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