When SVID, The Swedish Industrial Design Foundation, arranged a field trip within Design Management, I was there representing Swedish Association of Designers. The place for the study was Materia in Tranås; a natural choice, since the company is really skilled within the area. The comprehensive approach of Materia is very impressive, how every little detail is carefully thought out, and how all together bringing out the core values to get very clear – internally and externally.

Design management is also one of my special working areas. To introduce design thinking in the company strategy – management by design. I often have to prove and convince about the importance of design management. What’s the profit? Well, Materia is the perfect example:
Materia was founded in 1992 by Kersti Sandin and Lars Bülow. Materia has quickly grown into one of the most prominent design companies in the industry, with a turnover on 140 mSEK and 62 employees.

It was a very interesting and informative day, with lectures from Robin Edman – CEO SVID, Lisbeth Svengren Holm – Head of Research and Education SVID, Lars Bülow – CEO Materia and Kersti Sandin Bülow Director of Design Materia.