'Denmark by Design' and 'Challenge Innovation' at DDC, Copenhagen

Two excellent exhibitions are held right now in the heart of Copenhagen, at the Danish Design Centre. The Centre was established as a knowledge centre for design. Their primary aim is to help companies grow and develop through the right implementation of design and its strategies. 

First exhibition, taking place on the first and second floors, Challenge Innovation, illustrates how design can lead the way to successful innovation in the area of welfare solutions. Denmark as a country with a well developed welfare system invests large amounts of money in the development of new innovative ways of sustaining its competency levels. The exhibition educates us about challenges that designers are currently facing in order to achieve high levels of efficiency and functionality. Exhibition is a great example of strategic communication between that state, designers and the public. Exhibition strengthens this link through a clever implementation of communication patterns. 

Exhibition displays latest innovations from designers, but also asks a lot of questions about what is it we are all facing in the future, how we can all contribute.. It is a well-designed dialogue that stimulate everyones' thinking and inspires everyone for future developments. Their website perfectly describes its purpose: "Welfare as we know it is under growing pressure, and we need to develop new, innovative solutions – but how do we create innovation that works? Welfare challenges are typically characterised by a high degree of complexity. Solving problems in complex systems requires challenging conventional approaches and adopting a holistic mindset. The designer has the necessary tools and the right mindset for creating innovative and holistic solutions". Exhibition is not only informative in nature, but also functional, which is the case of most Danish installations. The Design Centre uses its space to guide design-driven innovation (the DIN model) and puts it to the test. It is targeted at  private organisations, as well as public sectors, that can potentially guide presented innovation projects to its destination. The space is also a living laboratory, where many seminars and workshops are held to promote design-driven innovations.

Denmark can be a great exemplifying country where design is functional and innovative. Most Danish designs are famous for its innovative approach to solving problems which places Denmark on the top in 'design' world. So as Challenge Innovation examines "the designer’s toolkit and offers an insight into the benefits of design thinking. The exhibition revolves around the Innovation Space “Design Experience Lab”.
Second exhibition, Denmark by Design, is a permanent display of Danish designs and innovations in historical context. Here we can see many famous objects we all very much used to seeing in living rooms, kitchens and gardens. Here we can recognise many objects we see in homes of many Danes, such as kitchen utensils, kettles, pots, bowls and cutlery, to unusual, but still recognisable chairs and lamps. All designs are globally known and exhibition is a great representation of the great passion Denmark has for sleek, simple, colourful and overly clever design.