Emmy Larsson

GRANT HOLDER 2004

What has the grant meant to you and your career?

The scholarship helped me, as a student, to believe in myself and my future as an industrial designer. It also made my foreign studies possible and I was able to finance my master's thesis without having to compromise. The scholarship was also crucial when I applied for a job as it could viewed upon as a guarantee for who I am and what I can perform. The attention and agnolishment I received also brought me several new important contacts.

What are you up to today?

I’ve been running a design agency, The Makery, together with my partner, Martin Birath for the last 5 years. We have both previously worked at Ergonomidesign and at Veryday which was a fun and educational but after have been spending just under a decade there and had gained wide and good insight into several design areas, we decided to break free and specialise / deepen ourselves in product design. The Makery aim to work as a creative studio that gives us maximum flexibility and enables us to seamlessly switch between working digitally and physically within product design. The business model is based on being able to, our external network and partners, tailor teams with disciplines that can work closely together in The Makery Studio.

What are your two cents on design, today and tomorrow?

Sustainability becomes natural integrated in every process and the customers are beginning to understand that it is a fundamental necessity to minimise the ecological footprint.

Also, cooperation between companies is getting more and more common - sharing and collaborating creates synergies such as knowledge maximisation, new business opportunities and time efficiency.

Other trends that we have noticed are that, after an intensive broadening of the design possibilities after the intensive digitalisation of society, a demand for ergonomics and user-friendly solutions are returning, but in a new outlet with integrated digital smartness.