Who We Are
The Danish Design Centre was founded in 1978 by the Danish Design Council with the purpose of improving the competitiveness of Danish industry by means of design investments. Since 2000, the Danish Design Centre has resided on HC Andersens Boulevard in the heart of Copenhagen in a building designed by Professor, architect Henning Larsen.
Why does the Danish Design Centre seek to improve companies’ competitiveness?
The primary basis for Denmark’s design policy – “DesignDanmark” – is to improve Danish companies’ value growth through an increased use of design. The ambition is to bring Denmark back into the international design elite, thus improving Denmark’s competitiveness. The Danish Design Centre plays a key role in implementing the design policy, in part through efforts and activities aimed at Danish companies.
What We Do
The Danish Design Centre carries out a variety of activities such as workshops, inspiration and feedback meetings, courses, conferences and exhibitions. Through these activities the participating companies gain a deeper understanding of the potential of design as a tool for innovation.
The Danish Design Centre also carries out an active international branding effort for Danish design focused on profiling contemporary Danish design and Danish design competences. The goal of these efforts is to promote international awareness of Danish design and of Denmark as a design nation and to establish Danish design as a brand that is capable of attracting investments and clients to Denmark.
Who is the target group for the Danish Design Centre?
The Danish Design Centre’s primary target group is buyers of design services, that is, Danish companies and the public sector. Our secondary target group is members of the national and international public who are interested in design.
What happens on HC Andersens Boulevard?
The Danish Design Centre resides on HC Andersens Boulevard in the centre of Copenhagen. In addition to offices, the building contains a shop, a café and a conference centre, which forms the setting for the Danish Design Centre’s many activities. Every year, the Danish Design Centre hosts several exhibitions of Danish and international design. The exhibitions focus on the potential of design as an industrial and business competence and a tool for innovation with the capacity to improve the competitiveness of Danish companies.
Our partners in this effort
The Danish Design Centre works closely with local organisations and individuals around the country, including the Business Link centres and the design ambassadors, who all work to disseminate knowledge about the use of design to companies in the five regions of the country. In addition, the Danish Design Centre cooperates with knowledge and research institutions in Denmark and abroad, Danish trade associations, and design centres abroad with the purpose of generating and disseminating knowledge about design processes, user-driven innovation, international trends, new materials etc. The Danish Design Centre also maintains a close ongoing dialogue with Danish designers and design companies. On 20 May 2008, INDEX: was established as a subsidiary of the Danish Design Centre.