With a human-centred approach, the Danish creative industries enhance quality of life through sustainable, well-designed products and spaces.
The Danish society is a unique blend of flat hierarchies, high trust, and a strong commitment to work-life balance. This has created an environment where imagination and creativity can flourish, elevating quality of life for the population. Solutions are designed aesthetically and functionally. From thoughtfully designed architecture and urban spaces that foster social interaction and well-being to innovative approaches in healthcare and education, the Danish creative community consistently demonstrates its ability to shape a better future that is beautiful, well-thought-out, and designed for ease of use for everyone.
A human-centred approach
Danish creatives have a strong tradition of applying a human-centred approach to innovation and emphasise a higher purpose in their work.
A core principle of Danish design and innovation is ‘form follows function’. The usability is at the centre of the solution being designed – not as a limitation, but as a creative constraint that ultimately enhances the final product. This leads to new perspectives and different design choices, creating a product that works, while also being easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.
Good examples of this are when Danish designers create medical products, prosthetics, or assistive devices that not only serve a function but due to the design become elevated lifestyle products that blend seamlessly into the user’s daily life, heightening the well-being of the user. We also see architectural solutions that turn functional buildings like a waste plant or a parking structure into attractive public spaces, adding to the liveability of the city, or technology that aids everyday issues while being easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, and practical.
Taking a human-centred approach is about listening to and delivering something for the people who will use the product, space, or solution. When looking at the rapid advancement of technology and the possibilities it leads to within the audiovisual industries, covering digital games, film, TV, animation, and XR, the human-centred approach is helping to define how new technologies and challenges should be approached, since the technological progress itself is not what is interesting. Identifying needs and problems with the user as the focal point and then applying technology to solve them is the distinctive approach that enables creating solutions that are meaningful for the end-user. Audiovisual productions have transcended their initial role as mere forms of entertainment, becoming a catalyst for positive change, with the potential to shape communities, educate, and promote mental health and well-being.
The human-centred perspective is a key characteristic in Danish creativity and storytelling – a foundation, supporting the creation of solutions and entertainment that have the potential to impact people’s lives and drive quality of life.
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”It is about the way in which you use buildings. The use of for example roofs as civic spaces. This generosity of sharing the wealth of the architecture in ways that benefit society even though they may not be the ultimate customer. That is something Danish architecture firms see as part of what their mission is.”
Architecting happiness
Denmark is known around the world as a country that consistently ranks highly in reports on happiness. Factors like high trust, a good work-life balance, flat hierarchies, and a secure welfare state are great contributors to the joy found in Danish society, but furthermore, it is the environments and surroundings in the Danish cities and towns that contribute largely to “everyday happiness”. Design is integrated into everything from transportation systems to kindergartens and is based on a deep understanding of local aesthetics, the surroundings, and user needs. Well-curated public spaces provide people with choices, and the ability to make choices in everyday life gives a sense of agency, ultimately increasing happiness.
For example, the infrastructure of Danish cities is designed in a way that makes it easy to commute by bicycle, giving the citizens a choice of transportation. Many cities are also filled with green spaces, allowing people the choice to find a relaxing space in a pocket park close by, rather than traveling to larger green areas further away. Thoughtful urban design can have a profound impact on people’s well-being, and the notion of ‘comfort’, frequently attributed to Danish cities, can be traced back to the core principles of Danish design, including nature, simplicity, functionality, and elegance. Danish architects and urban planners continue to translate them into the public realm – locally and on a global scale.
Good architecture can connect people and places. For instance, Danish architects have succeeded in increasing the number of cyclists in Copenhagen by up to 20% by designing functional, playful, and beautiful bicycle paths across the harbour. This creates a positive effect on the city’s environment and underlines the importance of designing sustainable architecture and urban planning solutions with people in focus. Architects also focus on the spaces between buildings, encouraging interaction and communities and thereby playing an active part in decreasing loneliness. Small details that foster inclusivity and contribute to a sense of connection are exactly what distinguishes Danish cities and increase quality of life for its residents.
Read more on how creativity can drive quality of life here or explore the cases below to discover more creative and irresistible solutions.
Quote and architectural insights are supplied by The Danish Association of Architectural Firms. The trade association represent the interests of architectural practices in Denmark and work towards fostering collaborations within the industry both nationally and internationally.
The association sheds light on how Danish architectural solutions encourage play, increase liveability, contribute to healing, and improve learning. In other words: how architecture can be a profound source of creating everyday happiness.
