"Sweden at its best: Red Dot Award-winning design from the North"

The Red Dot Design Museum presents the special exhibition “Sweden at its best: Red Dot Award-winning design from the North”. From 27 October 2013 to 2 March 2014, shapely products from the High North, which document the Scandinavian nation’s creative ability, are on show. All of them were honoured in the Red Dot Award – one of the largest and most renowned design competitions in the world, where Swedish designers regularly prove that they internationally belong to the best.

Visitors of the exhibition can look forward to products of different living environments: In the former boiler house of Zollverein Coalmine Industrial Complex, household articles, furniture and working equipments are showcased. A fire extinguisher named “Firephant”, which is vaguely reminiscent of an elephant, a robotic lawn-mower and an extravagant protective mask for welders are only a small part of the innovative Swedish exhibits, which visitors can experience at close quarters, since touching and testing of the exhibits particularly is allowed.  

The “Firephant” by the company GPBM Nordic is a life-saving fire extinguisher and at the same time a fully-fledged design object. With its curved appearance, it becomes an eye-catcher in every room. Also technology fans can discover excellent products from Sweden: The Gardena R40Li is a mixture of lawn-mower and robot. Placed on the ground, the small gardening helper cuts the grass independently. Furthermore, safety at work is another topic: The welding helmet Speedglas SL by the manufacturer 3M Svenska AB is a combination of helmet and safety spectacles and protects the entire head including the eyes against hot and dazzling welding sparks. All exhibits of the presentation “Sweden at its best” impressed the more than 30-headed Red Dot jury with qualities such as design, functionality and innovation.

Swedish design stands for plain elegance, discrete colours and functionality. Characterised by the rural tradition of craftsmanship, it represents the Scandinavian lifestyle, which enjoys great popularity. The success of Nordic designs comes from the use of the most modern techniques combined with traditional arts and crafts. Minimalist abstracts convince with understatement, naturalness and practical usage. Also the design approach to include sustainability heightens the added value as well as the international competitiveness of current Swedish products, which are presented in the midst of old industrial architecture in the Red Dot Design Museum.