Hi! Just when you thought that I have disappeared from the blog world I am here again with a new post. It has been a long time since my latest post, I know. It has happened so much, and I have not had the time.

A lot of my effort has been focused on the Swedish Association of Designers, where I have been the Chairman since 2011. We have been developing the organization and I have been around at meetings with ministries and institutions, and representing in Sweden and abroad. Besides the nordic countries I have been to Hong Kong for the Swedish partnership in one of the biggest design conferences in the world – BODW – Business of Design Week. I was invited among the honored guests and participated also as one of the moderators; I was responsible for the sustainable design session with keynotes from Catarina Midby and Margareta van den Bosch from H&M, Hans Hassle from Plantagon, Kristoffer Hansén from Scania and C.L. Lam from Hong Kong based Green and Associates. The whole week gathered around two hundred swedes in Hong Kong and BODW had about 100.000 vistors. It was a huge success! Thank you General Consulate of Sweden and Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Read more about the Swedish partnership at www.bodw.com and www.sweden-livingdesign.com

I am also proud to tell that I am member of the board at Form/Design Center in Malmö since one year. During 2014 opened up to work in the Malmö-Öresund region. It is one of the most interesting and dynamic regions in Europe right now; a hot spot for design and creativity. I am very happy that we grasped this opportunity to live and work at another place, it is very inspiring and enriching. This doesn’t mean that the studio in Västervik is closed, I have kept my office and workshop there as well. At the moment we have a house in Västervik and a flat in Malmö.

Since beginning of 2015 I am more in Västervik again. The reason is that I had a new born that arrived in February! I have also accepted an offer from the municipality of Västervik to work half-time as project manager for urban development projects. It is very interesting and I learn a lot from being involved into these contexts. I can contribute with new perspectives, and I can have use from my skills within creativity management, design processes and sustainability. It is a lot about adding methods for co-creation and to enhance the dialogue and communication within urban planning projects. It is a lot of interesting projects going on. So far I have led the work for a new street and I am working right now on a square.

There has been so much happening so I can not write about it all here. As the last thing I will just briefly inform you a bit what is going on with me and Iceland. I have been there many times now, and the visits has become more often. During 2014 Design March I was a part of a group who exhibited the results from a design initiative in Utah, USA. We focused on design for Small Communities. We also held a seminar and a workshop in Hannesarholt in Reykjavik. It is an initiative from the group Designers & Forests where I am one of the co-founders, established in 2013. We were starting up an dialogue on how design can be used as a method and a process for sustainable development. We presented the work process that we have developed; EXPLORE-REFLECT-RESPOND. All the participants on the seminar was invited to take part in some exercises that we had prepared. This initiative will be followed by other projects with a similar approach; next one starts now in end of July and beginning of August 2015 in the forests and communities of upper State of New York. More info www.designersandforests.us

Anyhow, it was Iceland I was about to tell more about. Since 2014 I have two new commissions connected to Iceland. One of them is to develop a couple of new series of lamps for a lamp company. I am working on this with my dear friend and colleague Kristjan Kristjansson who is a Lighting Designer and lives in Reykjavik. During Design March 2015 we were exhibiting the prototype af a new lamp – the Puzzle lamp. It will soon be out on the market. We also showed the conceptual Hollow lamp that is very much appreciated and we have got a lot of attention from. More info about the lamp designs will come during fall 2015.

The main project that I am working on in Iceland is Afangastadurinn Austurland – Destination Austurland. It is a destination design project where eight municipalities in east Iceland have agreed on collaboration for developing a common destination platform. Austurland is the region of esat Iceland. It is a spectacular region. Fantastic nature, fjords, wildlife, culture, a lot to see and do and very nice people. I am very happy to be involved in this initiative. The tourism is one of the new primary industries of Iceland, and a lot of effort is being put into the sector in national contexts. Austurland is now one of the regions who takes the lead are pioneers in many ways. The focus for the initiative is to strengthen the attractiveness and competiveness of the destination, and to create a framework for long term, sustainable and profitable growth for the tourism industry. The focus is also on regional development, and on the well-being of communities and residents. The initiative intends to establish a community movement and a framework for destination development. Everyone are invited to get involved. Methods being used aims for co-creation, dialogue and communication throughout the whole process. Áfangastaðurinn Austurland is initiated by FAUST – Ferðamálasamtök Austurlands, and run by Austurbrú.

As I already said, it is hard to update about everything that is going on. This is enough for now. I promise that next blogpost will come soon.

This summer I will participate in Designers & Forest from July 29 – August 10 in Utah, USA. Designers and Forest will initiate a conversation surrounding problems currently facing the Western United States forest and specifically the forests of Utah.

Who we are: Designers and Forests is a group of invested and interested individuals from around the world and is growing. The forests of the world are connected through climate, international trade, and governmental policies. Through similar traditions of forestry, agriculture, and craft. We feel that our experiences working with and handling forests should also be connected. The founding members of the group are composed of individuals from the United States, (New York, Utah) and Sweden. We are educators, designers, foresters, scientists, storytellers, community organizers, and students.

Who we seek: The project is seeking interested individuals from various backgrounds who wish to join our conversation about forest and community health. We are educators, graphic designers, furniture designers, foresters, and community activists. We seek collaborators, designers, and artisans who are interested in exploring new materials or old materials in new ways. We seek scientists and foresters who can inform and educate about pest, weaknesses, and forest health. We seek community members who are looking for alternative means to traditional economies. We seek storytellers who can share the narratives that bind us to places and teach us lessons from the past.

When it will happen: During the summer of 2013 we will assemble as a small group in the forest and rural communities of Utah to begin the conversation. This event will take place July 29-August 10, 2013 and will include workshops, seminars, and site visits. During these two weeks individuals will meet to define the parameters of the project. Expertise and knowledge will be shared. A solid plan for continued collaboration will be fleshed out.

Interested individuals are encouraged to contact the project organizers directly by email: info@designersandforest.us or daniel@bystromdesign.se. You can also follow the project and read more about it at www.designersandforest.us

designers and forest flyer

Daniel Byström Design / Design Nation participated on the conference – Make it Happen 25-28 September 2012. Daniel was one of the keynote speakers on the topic Destination Design and he also lead a full day workshop for the community of East Iceland. The audience was creative thinkers from East Iceland and also many international attendees, well renowned specialists within design and regional development. More about the project – www.make.is and www.creativecommunities.is

Here is a film about the conference by Alice Masters:

Make It Happen – Creative Thinking Conference in East Iceland from Disegno magazine on Vimeo.

On the 21 of september Sveriges Designer held the conference Design Action in Pukeberg, Nybro – DesignAction 2012. It was a very inspiring day with 140 participants and great speakers! Read more about the conference and watch the videos from the day at www.designaction.se.

The purpose of the conference was to bring together key individuals in Swedish business; design expertise, manufactures, design buyers and organizations – with focus on increasing our understanding of how design efforts can create more innovation, higher level of customer satisfaction and better growth. The conference were planned within the national program for the creative industries and Vinnova’s program “Innovation and Design” to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and growth in Sweden.

As the chairman of the board for Sveriges Designer I am very satisfied with the result. It has been a lot of work though, where I was involved in all parts and responsible for the planning and making of the conference. Very well – now remains only the summary and report. It will be interesting to analyze the reflections that were given from the audience during the day! I will come back with more information.

Key note speaker Magnus Lindkvist on stage. A really great speaker!!

Close before the holidays I just need to write a review from the Generator Conference held in Norrköping 15th and 16th of November. The conference was arranged by Generator Sweden. For the last four years Generator has gathered regional stakeholders at a two-day conference on how Swedish regions can benefit from and support the development of cultural and creative industries.

I was participating on the conference representing The Swedish Association of Designers. Everything were great – the speakers, the facilities at Louis DeGeer, the entertainment, the food and the meetings. My impressions in between is how marginalized design becomes within the discussions on creative and cultural industries, though design really has a vital and catalyzing role to play and should be one of the corner stones to build on.

Swedish musician Jepson from The Ark

Lighting designer Kai Piippo

Pier Luigi Sacco

Dinner and entertainment in Värmekyrkan…

…and after that – party with live Jazz in the bookshop!
Happiest in the photo – Johanna Skantze and Anna Linton

Besides my work with design commissions I am also consulting for Nässjö Träcentrum where I do courses in design. The educations are connected to Jönköping University. As a part of the educations we work close to the industry and regularly do study visits. Recently I arranged a trip to Stockholm for the students, we filled a big bus and left early in the morning. First we visited Materialbiblioteket where Björn Florman took good care of us. Materialbiblioteket offers help and service for students, designers and architects to get knowledge of new materials, and to be updated on development of new materials and technology with opportunity to touch and study samples. A very inspiring place that can be recommended for a visit! Since Materialbiblioteket is situated in the same building as Konstfack at Telefonplan we stayed and had a look in the facilities with guidance of Thomas Herrström who teach industrial design at the school. After lunch we went to the newly built design hotel Nobis at Norrmalms Torg, where the famous bureau CKR has made the interior. That visit really made great impressions on all the students, it is really an amazing building and we also got to see the suite – available from €2800 per night! Before the trip back home we made a last visit on White Architects at Norra Hammarbyhamnen where industrial designer Björn Tegnell informed the students about different projects, about the company’s building which is built and designed by White themselves, and also made an interesting lecture about light design.

As you understand it was a long and exciting day full of new impressions and when the bus returned home to Nässjö and Jönköping all the students where very satisfied and tired.

Materialbiblioteket - The Library of materials

Konstfack – University College of Arts, Crafts & Design

Nobis Hotel – The Lobby, Chandelier from Orrefors, design Gunnar Cyrén, 1960

White Architects

My work within design has taken me to many places. I have seen a lot and learned more! That has given me a sound experience and insight to a lot of different areas, which in my opinion is also one of the key factors to understand and manage the design process. To gather knowledge about market aspects, materials, production techniques, and not at least about the users – the people who respond and connects to the products and services we develop.

My approach is to be open minded and not afraid to get involved in new areas. Besides doing commissions for clients, I also teach and give lectures in design related topics. I am engaged in regional development, creating business networks, promoting culture and creativity, and making meetings and events and so on.  In addition I am a member of the board in the Swedish Association of Designers where I am representative in international networks, and just recently I was elected to vice chairman of the board.

Well what can I say? I like to be involved and affect…  and I am very happy to get the opportunity to meet all the interesting and skilled people. And I look forward to upcoming exciting meetings and projects. But first I will try to squeeze in some holidays… enjoy the summer all of you out there!

Here is a picture of Carina Oscarsson elected to Chairman of the board for the Swedish Association of Designers and me, elected to vice chairman. From the annual meeting in June.

Just before the easter, I contributed in this Phorecast Session – Work Life in 2022 at Almega in Stockholm. The mission was ordered by Almega, Saco and Unionen, aiming to get input to the cooperation for the Swedish service sector - Tjänstesektorns samarbetsavtal. The participants were handpicked and I was one of them. We were divided into three teams, and we worked for three days. My team mates was Eva Ribbenhall and Lars Lundqvist. Very nice and skilled people! It seems we made a good team, since we after the presentations were designated from the jury as the winners! As a part of price we were invited to come back and present our scenario once again – this time for the leadership board of Tjänstesektorns samarbetsavtal. Very honoring…

Here is a pic of all of the participants.

I travel a lot, my clients are spread all over. But mostly to Stockholm, it is a very design intensive region where a lot happens. And because I am engaged in the Swedish Association of Designers I try to attend to important events and meetings. It is quite a lot interesting in the pipe line ahead. Next year Helsinki is World Design Capital 2012, and I last friday I met the committee from Finland at Svensk Form, exploring how we can collaborate more. Also I work close to SVID – Swedish Industrial Design Foundation, right now with a very exciting project –  I tell you more later…

Well – that’s about it at the moment… besides I am also on parental leave allowing me to spend more time together with my son. He is one year old now – time flies!!

It has been a lot focusing on Scandinavian Design for me lately. Last week I was in a article in Svenska Dagbladet, a national newspaper, answering some questions about the Scandinavian Design Alliance. It had an immediate ripple effect with a lot of positive feedback! Here is the article - http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/varfor-behovs-ni_6034499.svd. And also one more from another newspaper - http://www.vt.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=5861618.

Also last week our friends from east Iceland visited us at Nässjö Lärcentrum. Creative Communities, is a project where we exchange knowledge and learn from each other. This time we were focusing at the school in Nässjö and the eductions in design and product development, also sharing knowledge about wood manufacturing.

We visited A2 Design in Husqvarna, STANDARD Design in Jönköping and the Master’s Design program at Jönköping School of Engineering. Some of the group were visiting other wood related industries and small saw mills. To end up with we had this workshop about identifying East-Icelandic design.

Here is a video clip from the visit broadcasted by the Swedish Television.

I just had two very inspiring and informative days. Yesterday we got a visit at Nässjö Träcentrum, the school where I teach, from Materialbiblioteket (The Library of materials in English). Björn Florman showed us exciting new materials and talked about the future trends. He had brought samples of plastics, fibres, fabrics, composites or various metals, and my students had the chance to be inspired and come up with creative thoughts and ideas for new applications. If you are in Stockholm, a visit to Materialbiblioteket is to recommend, situated in the same building as Konstfack at Telefonplan.

And today, I participated on Regiondagarna 2011 – a conference focusing on regional questions and development of the trade and industry. First I heard Karin Voltaire, representing Svenska Turistföreningen – the Swedish Association for Tourism. She presented the new Strategies for developing the Swedish Tourism Industry. I have heard and read a lot of it before, but I got more information and understanding now. Also there was a very good  speech from Cecilia Hermansson, senior economist at Swedbank. Sweden has managed to come out strong from the financial crisis and we are a role model for other countries. Regiondagarna was held in my own hometown Västervik at the beautiful environment at Gränsö Slott.