Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Scandinavian Modern: Low horizontals, generous windows, and room to walk between the furniture
- Type
- Set in Scandinavian Modern's manner (Quiet sans at modest size that never competes with the object), and let Swedish Grace's lettering (Thin roman capitals, generously letterspaced, for inscriptions and titles) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Scandinavian Modern's material (Pale wood, teak, bent plywood, wool, and milky opal glass); bring in exactly one thing from Swedish Grace (Thin glass and porcelain with engraved line, finished pale).
- Colour
- Build on #ece6d8, #9a8b73, #3c514d and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Scandinavian Design, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Scandinavian Modern Copying only the warmth of materials leaves a Nordic surface, so resolve comfort and manufacturing, and check the climate, the welfare state, the craft and industry link, and differences between countries.
- Swedish Grace Too much ornament falls back into heavy neoclassicism, the balance of plainness and grace collapses, and the object looks merely period.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Scandinavian Modern (Style, late 1940s–1960s) and its accent from Swedish Grace (Style, 1917–1930). Structural cues: Lucid function; Natural materials; Body-following curves; Restrained color. Accent cues, used sparingly: Neoclassical bones; Light engraved ornament; Delicacy in glass and porcelain; Balance of plainness and grace. Composition: Low horizontals, generous windows, and room to walk between the furniture. Type and lettering: Quiet sans at modest size that never competes with the object. Let one material quality come from the second style: Thin glass and porcelain with engraved line, finished pale. Mood: Intimacy, Calm, Trust, Luxury. Color: build on #ece6d8, #9a8b73, #3c514d with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Scandinavian Modern late 1940s–1960s / Style / Scandinavian Design
Joins function and mass production to the warmth of natural materials, curves that follow the body, and clear usable form.
- Swedish Grace 1917–1930 / Style / Scandinavian Design
Between the wars, Sweden laid light ornament and craftsmanship over neoclassical poise. Hald's glass and Asplund's buildings showed a graceful modernity that gave Scandinavian modern its running start.
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