From Svenska Slöjdföreningen to Svensk Form

The world's oldest design organization - this is how Svensk Form, which until 1976 was called Svenska Slöjdföreningen, is often described. In 1845, when the association was founded, "slöjd" meant production in general. Why was an association needed for this?

The Sunday drawing school for craftsmen started by the artist Nils Månsson Mandelgren in 1844 was in dire financial straits. An association could provide support. The school, now known as Konstfack, was run by Slöjdföreningen until 1860, when the state took over.

Opinion leader from the start
From the very beginning, Svensk Form was an active opinion leader. The association took on more tasks, such as being responsible for Sweden's participation in international exhibitions, publishing free pattern sheets for craftsmen around the country, publishing information publications on manufacturing, supporting young craftsmen and designers with scholarships, opening a museum with educational and stylistically organized objects, which was handed over to the National Museum, and founding a magazine in 1905, which in 1932 was named Form.

Artists to industry
Everyday goods needed to be artistically designed, practical and easy to handle. "Artists to industry" became the goal of the agency that the association started in 1914. The home exhibition at Liljevalchs in 1917 was the breakthrough with hundreds of new products - everything from drinking glasses to entire rooms intended for the working and lower middle classes. The artists' efforts led to a growing international appreciation, including at the great Paris exhibition in 1925, at the Metropolitan in New York in 1927, in Paris in 1937, in New York in 1939, at the Triennials in Milan from 1948 onwards, at traveling exhibitions in the United States, Australia and in later decades around the world.

Consumption and knowledge
In the 1940s, the needs and knowledge of consumers came into focus. The Bo Committee's courses around the country started in 1944. The year before, in 1943, the association had set up three sections for consumers, producers and designers respectively. The association's local section in Malmö since 1945, now Svensk Form Syd - Form/Design Center, became the epitome of what life-enhancing and child-friendly consumption could be like. In 1970, an editorial in Form formulated the educational ambitions as follows: "What Slöjdföreningen has endeavored to do, however, is not to point fingers - to give consumers opportunities for comparison and to stimulate critical reflection."

Housing issues and social debate
Exhibitions have debated the needs of society. The 1930 Stockholm exhibition with an extensive functionalist program. The jubilee exhibitions in Stockholm and Gothenburg in 1945 addressed housing needs and housing issues. The Helsingborg exhibition in 1955 - H55 - highlighted the new modern living patterns of the post-war period. The Form Fantasi arts and crafts exhibition at Liljevalchs in 1964 expressed a longing for playfulness and sensuality. In the 1960s, the public environment was in focus and in the 1970s, quality of life and ecological issues were discussed - for example, in the exhibition Vara & Undvara at Kulturhuset in Stockholm.

From "Excellent Swedish Design" to Design Year
But too few industries used professional designers. The "Excellent Swedish Design" jury selection between 1983 and 2002 was one way of solving this shortcoming. Both designers and manufacturers were to be recognized. In 1985, the Design Center in Stockholm was inaugurated with the exhibition "Därför Design". Design is not only about products but also about how to communicate with the outside world, as the NordForm90 exhibition in Malmö in 1990 showed. In 1999, Svensk Form was given a three-year national assignment to increase public and official awareness of the importance of design. In 2000, Svensk Form therefore moved to Skeppsholmen in Stockholm to provide a public arena. Two years later, the association was awarded a government grant to create a meeting place for form and design. 2005 was designated by the government as the Year of Design. The campaign office was run by Svensk Form and the result was over 1,600 projects across the country.

Young Swedish Design and Design S - our national design awards
Ung Svensk Form was started in 1998 on the initiative of Svensk Form and Form/Design Center in Malmö. Today, Ung Svensk Form is an annual award and exhibition organized by Svensk Form. It is an arena for young Swedish design where we draw attention to the need to create creative space in design work. The previous exhibitions have attracted great attention both in Sweden and internationally. Many of the exhibitors from previous years are now well established in their respective fields.

In 2006, the new Design S award was launched together with SVID and the Swedish Advertising Federation. Today, the award is run by Svensk Form and is Sweden's foremost and broadest design award that is held every two years. The award is aimed at professional designers, designers, architects, individual practitioners, producers and companies working with design and form in a broad sense.

Swedish Form regionally
Over the years, Svensk Form has become increasingly nationwide and today has 14 active regional associations from Svensk Form Norrbotten in the north to Svensk Form Skåne Blekinge in the south.