Phaze design by Karim Rashid – Skandiform

Skandiform commissioned New York-based designer Karim Rashid to create an armchair that would carry his design language into a Scandinavian commercial context.

The result is Phaze — an easy chair that envelops the person sitting in it and creates a generous sense of personal space.

The idea behind the form was stated plainly by Rashid himself: a design built around his philosophy of sensual minimalism and repetition. Individually, Phaze is a rounded, enveloping seat with a base in chromium. Together, several units can be linked with magnets and lined up to create a continuous, undulating seating landscape — a quality that suits lobbies, waiting areas, and shared spaces where seating arrangement matters as much as individual comfort.

Phaze was awarded the German Design Award in 2018, one of the most closely watched international design prizes, selected by the German Design Council.

The collaboration came as part of a broader initiative by the Kinnarps Group, which owns Skandiform along with the brands Materia and NC. The three brands each commissioned Rashid to design a product: for Skandiform, the brief led to Phaze; for NC, the chair Manhattan; and for Materia, the bar stool Kaloo. The initiative reflected a strategy to bring an internationally recognised voice into the group’s Swedish manufacturing tradition.

Karim Rashid was born in Cairo and raised in Canada. He studied industrial design at Carleton University in Ottawa and later in Italy. His office is based in New York. Rashid has worked with manufacturers across more than 40 countries and has received over 300 design awards. His approach consistently combines organic form with industrial production — a balance he describes as “sensual minimalism.”