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28 Jan 2026 /

Designing the future at Formland

From 25 to 27 January, Kolding School of Design took part in Formland – one of the largest trade fairs in the Nordic region for interiors, design and lifestyle. The school’s stand became an open, vibrant meeting place between design education and industry.
By Marianne Baggesen Hilger

Students presented bachelor projects from their first to third year, giving visitors an insight into design as a process: from research, material experiments and form exploration to finished solutions. The projects were grouped under the themes of materials, form and construction, and showed how emerging designers work strategically with resources, production, quality and responsibility.

- On our Industrial Design bachelor’s programme, students work with a wide range of products throughout their studies. Furniture and interior design make up only a small part of this, but what unites all the projects is the ambition to create strong product experiences through aesthetic and functional approaches, says Per Voss Nielsen, Head of the Industrial Design programme.

A platform for dialogue and new perspectives
During the fair, Kolding School of Design’s stand served as a professional hub where manufacturers, brands and industry professionals engaged in dialogue with students about materials, craftsmanship and how ideas can be developed further towards production. There was strong interest in the projects, and the days were filled with professional conversations – both about concrete solutions and about the role of design in a time marked by transition and a growing focus on responsibility.

- We work with design solutions ranging from the commercial to the more speculative, with a focus on innovation in step with a responsible future for product design. Formland gives students an important opportunity to test their projects in direct dialogue with the industry, and we look forward to bringing these experiences and new perspectives back into our teaching and our ongoing collaboration with the business community, says Per Voss Nielsen.