From Studio to Reality

What does it take to become a furniture designer today? At the Royal Danish Academy, the task is multifaceted for students in Furniture Design – Products, Materials and Contexts. Mastering form and aesthetics is one thing; learning through making, collaboration, and engaging with real-world challenges is another.

During 3daysofdesign, the Egypt Project is on display, illustrating precisely this: becoming a designer today is just as much about process, collaboration, and practice as it is about design. 

When students begin the master’s programme in furniture design at the Royal Danish Academy, they are quickly immersed in a collaborative exercise. Working in pairs, they design a piece of furniture, which they then travel to Egypt to produce together with an Egyptian manufacturer. For Signe Anna Larsen and Otto Raud, the project became an intensive learning process - both professionally and personally. They both highlight collaboration as a central part of their learning, not least because they come from different backgrounds. Signe holds a bachelor’s degree in Design from the Royal Danish Academy, while Otto Raud completed his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design at Lund University.

'We have different strengths. I may have more experience in furniture design, while others have stronger architectural competences,' says Otto Raud.

This is precisely why the Egypt Project makes sense as the first “real” project.

'You work as a team from the outset, and it gives you insight into how we approach a task differently,' says Signe Anna Larsen.

Collaborating in unfamiliar territory

The project is not only about designing, but very much about translating ideas into production within a specific context, and about learning to collaborate and navigate unfamiliar territory - where nothing can be predicted or taken for granted.

'I think a large part of what we learn is how to communicate an idea and produce drawings and instructions so that others can manufacture it,' says Signe Anna Larsen.

The ambition is to strengthen the graduates and equip them with resilience for a constantly shifting and diverse labour market. For Otto Raud, communication proved to be the greatest challenge:

'The hardest part was precision. We had to learn to work their way, and they had to learn to understand what we needed,' he explains.

The stay in Egypt also gave the students a new understanding of design as a culturally embedded practice, where differences emerge through form, materials, and craft traditions.

'You realise that you are in a European bubble. The way they work is completely different. It is often cheaper to have something made locally and fully custom-made. It is a completely different way of thinking about production,' says Signe Anna Larsen.

From student to practice

While Signe and Otto are about to begin their final year of studies, Niklas Fiedler graduated from the programme last year and now works as an Associate Designer at HAY. He is also exhibiting at Here & Now.

Today, Niklas Fiedler works within HAY’s design team, at the intersection of concept, development, and production. His role involves translating ideas into tangible products - building prototypes, refining details, and preparing designs for production: 'I am building first prototypes and work together with suppliers.'

Here, the skills he developed at the Academy - hands-on making, iterative processes, and collaboration - are applied directly.

Looking back, Niklas Fiedler sees a clear connection between his education and his professional life: 'Studying here was really a great help.'

Learning through making

At the Royal Danish Academy, design is understood as process, collaboration, and an understanding of how things come into being - competences that extend far beyond the workshop.

Students work with physical prototypes, continuously testing and refining their ideas: 'You make prototypes  - the first one, then you adjust it, make a second and a third. You learn so much, also from making mistakes, but also from talking about them,' explains Niklas Fiedler.

Workshops become central to learning, where experimentation, dialogue, and mistakes are a natural part of the process. This approach builds both technical skills and a deeper understanding of how design decisions evolve.

For Niklas Fiedler, one of the most important insights was a shift in how he understands objects and construction: 'I developed a deeper understanding of how furniture is constructed, and how I can challenge that.'