Week 5- Kristina Ou

The two articles assigned this week focus on how Danish furniture helped elevate Denmark’s aesthetics. In one of the articles “Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: the rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design”, it is said that the Danish people placed a narrative or image that was seen when looking at their furniture. It is known to be simple and that many people like the foreign aspect of buying furniture. The other way that the Danish were able to emphasize on their popularity was through a social media/marketing presence. They tried to keep up with current trends of what consumers wanted in their pieces and what each piece reflected. When buying the pieces, they wanted consumers to feel like they are buying an image of themselves. It was through the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Furniture Exhibition that helped gain a lot of attention towards their furniture, and through journal reviews on the pieces that helped it take off internationally. In the other article “The Internalization of Danish Furniture. A Value Chain Perspective”, it is said that the Danish focused on internalization which is what boosted the popularity of the furniture. They first focused on getting more involved in the production of the pieces and focusing on becoming popular within the country itself. It then focused on international exports for increased revenue. Through these processes the Danish were able to advance in their popularity of aesthetics towards their furniture both internally and internationally.

Some lessons I can learn from this rebranding is by making sure that our product will be able to sufficiently help people in the current area and then try to make it popular enough to spread across worldwide. If the product is strong enough, it can completely change the way the nation can be seen.

Question: Is it possible during this current age of technological advancement that a product as simple as furniture can completely change a nation’s image once again?

https://www.haikudesigns.com/assets/images/furniture/sove/sove-set-lrg.jpg

Hedemann, L., & Nissen, M. R. (2013). The Internalization of Danish Furniture. A Value Chain Perspective. 16-36.

Hansen, P. H. (2006). Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930-1970. The Business HIstory Review, 449-483.