Young Swedish Design 2021: Next-Generation Talent at Svensk Form

Ung Svensk Form (Young Swedish Design) is an annual juried award and travelling exhibition that has served as Sweden’s primary platform for emerging designers since its founding in 1998 by Svensk Form and Form/Design Center in Malmö.

The 2021 edition presented 26 young designers working across furniture, fashion, crafts, film and augmented reality.

The award is open to all design disciplines, from furniture and industrial design to graphic work, fashion, ceramics, glass and textile. Submissions do not need to be in production — school projects, prototypes and speculative proposals are all accepted. The jury reviews several hundred applications each year and selects a group of around 25 entries for a nationwide touring exhibition shown at leading cultural centres and design museums across Sweden.

Scholarships are awarded to a selection of participants in collaboration with industry partners. For the 2021 edition, scholarship providers included IKEA, Lammhults Möbel, Kvadrat and Arvet, with new partners Ericsson and Massive Entertainment joining that year. The exhibition plays an important practical role as a meeting point between emerging designers, manufacturers and the public — a forum where professional relationships and collaborations can begin.

Many previous participants in Ung Svensk Form have gone on to establish themselves in the Swedish and international design industries. The annual cycle of applications, jury selection and exhibition has remained consistent since 1998, offering a reliable and well-regarded mechanism for spotting design talent at an early stage.