Courtesy of DAVY DENKE
Photography by LAURA ALVAREZ
Photography by STEFANIA ZANETTI
Photography by STEFANIA ZANETTI
For Signe Byrdal Terenziani, sustainable design is an act of optimism—an ethos that places Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign at the vanguard of progressive thinking. With next year’s dates already announced, Byrdal reflects on why this moment matters.
Signe Byrdal Terenziani envisions vulnerability, transparency, and trust as central to a more sustainable future. Her words are disarmingly candid; a sense of radical humility suffuses her ideas. She offers us her view on happiness, on wanting things. In a time so obsessed with novelty and quantity, we perpetuate a frenzied, vicious cycle of longing and destructive dissatisfaction. Byrdal seeks to interrupt this pattern. Change, she insists, begins when we value the present.
hube: With 3daysofdesign having just concluded, it feels fitting to begin with this year’s theme: Make This Moment Matter. The word matter seems carefully chosen—it evokes materiality and physical substance, but also emotional weight, intention, and value. Previous editions have been guided by themes such as Keep It Real, Dare to Dream, and Hand, Head and Heart. How do these annual themes come into being? What helps determine the ideas or conversations that deserve our collective attention at a particular moment?
Signe Byrdal Terenziani: Each theme is the evolution of a question we ask ourselves long before we ask it of others. We spend a great deal of time listening to designers, architects, curators, interior designers, artists, artisans, manufacturers, students, and journalists. We keep our finger on the creative pulse and stay attuned to the mood shifts in society.
Every year we notice something, an imperative, that we need to focus on next. Sometimes we need courage. Sometimes we need honesty. Sometimes we need imagination.
While many designers reminisce about the past or speculate about a future unknown, this year we wanted to explore that profound place in between. A place most often overlooked: the present. The richness and the rewards of living in the moment, knowing that a moment only becomes significant when we choose to inhabit it fully. We wanted to empower people with the realisation that we can make moments matter. When we design with intent, our actions will have a ripple effect.
We chose the word matter because it implies to two parallel paradigms. It refers to the substance from which design is made, and it’s also what makes our actions significant. Meaningful design has always lived at the intersection of both.
Our festival themes are invitations. Make This Moment Matter is rooted in the power of now. Ultimately, with all of our themes, we want people to feel emotionally engaged, enlightened, and inspired beyond our three days.
h: The Copenhagen Design Week programme celebrates both emerging designers and established voices: community over competition. Yet behind this openness lies a carefully considered selection criteria. How do you balance curation with inclusivity and accessibility?
SBT: We conceived of Copenhagen Design Week as a meeting place for curious minds. Part of what makes 3daysofdesign unique is that we are an exclusive festival that is inclusive of everyone to attend. We are firm believers in democratic design, and that design should be accessible to everyone.
We provide a global platform of exposure for a diverse cross-section of design disciplines, from upstarts to icons; a platform for the unseen and unknown names, alongside well-established designers. Every iconic brand was once an upstart.
We go out of our way to make Copenhagen Design Week an opportunity for designers to be on equal footing. Even our structure for participating in 3daysofdesign is democratic. A young, upcoming designer and a global brand may have completely different resources, but they can ask equally important questions, resulting in completely different creative outcomes.
Our curation process is very inclusive. It’s about ensuring a cohesive framework for these different voices to be heard. Our selection criteria involve honouring originality, authenticity, integrity, and proven sustainable practices. It creates the conditions for meaningful design that encompasses diverse cultures, disciplines and scales.
Unlike other design festivals or events, at 3daysofdesign we actively advocate for community as opposed to competition. When our exhibitors join together as a collective force, they can see that design has more power as a catalyst for change.
Innovation rarely happens when everyone in the room thinks alike. Design truly thrives when it resists becoming an echo chamber.
