“I am diagnosed with ADHD, or as I like to call it, Anne Designs the wHole Day”, Danish designer Anne Boysen reveals in an upbeat fashion. “I knew I had a popcorn brain and these crazy design instincts and ideas nobody understood,” she goes on.
What’s most notably magnetic about her is her ability to emerge victorious and make it look like a cakewalk. You can watch it yourself season 2 of ‘Danmarks Næste Klassiker’ aka The Next Danish Design Classic. Spoiler Alert: She (obviously) wins the show!
The mind behind the Moonsetter Lamp from Louis Poulsen, Anne Boysen, has established a niche brand for herself. Influences of her Danish heritage can be spotted in her honest use of material and appreciation for good craftsmanship. Anne seeks to unlock a deeper understanding of life by inviting interaction, play and focus through her sculptural products. While product design was not her first career choice, her rendezvous with art, architecture and photography seemed to be nudging her in that direction. Add to the mix her background in carpentry, and one can trace the origins of her sensory and intuitive design core and experimental material approach.
The Twisty-Turny Road to Finding Her Calling
Anne Boysen’s career choices are a non-linear path leading her exactly where she needs to be. Having spent most of her childhood in her father’s carpentry workshop, Anne was instantly fascinated by the world of materials. “I was born and brought up in Denmark and carpentry”, she quips. During one detailed discussion, she realised that while her brother favoured the technicalities of construction, she emphasised its aesthetics—especially while handling different materials and surfaces.
Ready to tap into this new-found artistic inclination, she enrolled into the Art School of Southern Jutland. “Art School was interesting, but I missed the hands-on experience of design. To find practicality and function, I soon switched to Architecture, only to be overwhelmed by the scale and intensity of function in it,” she laughs. Powering through, Anne graduated from the Aarhus School of Architecture with a gap year in between, where she explored a photography course at the School of Photography, Aarhus. Anne donned different roles at an Architectural Design Studio for the next two years. While her love for models and prototypes remained intact, architecture’s sheer scale and bulk detailing made her weary. She further explains, “By the time I completed my Masters at the Aarhus School of Architecture, I craved the freedom of self-employment, so I started Anne Boysen Studio in 2012.”
Via @anneboysendk on Instagram
A Case of Motherhood and the Exploring Mind
As fate would have it, opportunity knocked in the form of a job—a unique chance to turn her graduation project into production. So Anne accepted a part-time job with Erik Jørgensen while pursuing design assignments through her own studio. From designing stores and exhibition stands to product development and marketing, she experimented with every opportunity until exhaustion.
Motherhood knocked as a welcome change of pace. Slowing down for the first time, Anne reflected on her journey, wondering if Product Design was the way ahead. “I thought a lot about how I perceived the world around me. I would watch babies play. Something about the way babies notice a difference in material and then reach out and touch and play with it, resonated with my own connection to materials too. While I have always been playful, I believe motherhood rekindled that spirit. I believe babies have this ‘Exploring Mind’ and in many ways, I do too”, Anne chuckles.
Products designed by Anne Boysen for Erik Jørgensen
The call that changed Anne Boysen’s life
Anne wasn’t alone in her opinion of herself. Later that year, she received a call to be one of the five designers competing in season 2 of ‘Danmarks Næste Klassiker’ (The Next Danish Design Classic). While the creators were convinced she was the right amount of quirky and creative for the show, Anne was a little sceptical about being on Danish National television. With a bit of encouragement from the family, she took it up as a personal challenge to define her style.
“I hit the first obstacle during day one of filming. While we worked on our challenges, the filming crew would quiz us on the product, the process and the thought behind it. More often than not, I had the same answer. I always start with my first feeling. Irrespective of how strange or absurd it is, I completely commit to it. For example, during the first challenge to design a sofa, I felt like flying. So I designed a sofa with mirrors for the buoyancy effect,” Anne explains. While she was worried the sofa did not match her practical standards, her creative take won her the ‘Sofa’ episode and the next one. This little boost in confidence played a catalyst in creating her showstopper product: the Moonsetter Lamp.
Competition Submissions from Anne Boysen, From left to right: Ballerina Chair; Levitate Sofa; Moonsetter Lamp
Mirrors, the Moonsetter Lamp and the fame that followed
It was the fourth episode, the competition intense as ever, when they announced the next challenge to design a ‘Lamp’. While her first cardboard prototype raised some eyebrows on set, Anne believed it would work. Again, she modelled the prototype on her first instinct. “I want to touch and sense the light. I knew the form had to be sculptural but, at the same time, inviting and playful. With the concept locked in, I dived in to find some material inspiration. I am kind of a nerd when it comes to craftsmanship. I love to study and train in materials to mould them to my liking successfully,” Anne reveals.
The final result was the Moonsetter Lamp: a statement floor lamp with a rotating mirror disc and an LED light source in the square frame. The delightful play of diffused lighting and the step-less dimming through the cylindrical rotating footswitch charmed the judges. Moonsetter and Anne went on to win the overall competition. Based on the judge’s suggestions, Anne sought a collaboration with Louis Poulsen to turn this prototype into the product we know today. Moonsetter continues to win awards today and is a milestone in Anne’s journey.
If the competition wasn’t evidence enough, Anne candidly admits her attachment, “I am a fan of mirrors; I love working with them because I find the idea of reflections fascinating. When you look into a mirror, you become aware of not just yourself but also of your immediate environment. So I find this momentary pause—a merger between a mirror, a person and the space- very interesting. It also adds an extra dimension to the design. I don’t think I will be done with mirrors anytime soon.”
That said, she is also fully aware of the downsides, “Mirrors come with their own disadvantages. They have sharp edges and are easily stained with fingerprints, but I am confident I will find a way around it. Needless to say, I’m working on a very cool project with mirrors currently.”
Latest from Anne Boysen: The FAB Bench
Her Niche & Her Way Around
The roles of a mother and a designer are never easy to juggle, but Anne has found her solution. “We bought a two-family house and then rebuilt it. So, I have my studio in one half, and then there’s the home downstairs. It works well because I can easily go back and forth. And for inspiration, we have a tiny workshop where I can get my hands dirty,” Anne reveals with a grin.
“I hate sitting in one place, especially in front of a computer. I’d rather be in the workshop surrounded by my models. But research, sketching and endless emailing require me to spend at least a couple of hours on the PC now and then. My ideal day is any day I don’t have to do that,” Anne shrugs.
Via @anneboysendk on Instagram; Photos by @nikolajtr
While Anne relishes her freedom to explore, restraints help her ambition. “I don’t like a rigid brief, but I like working under certain parameters or being time-bound. I usually get ideas quickly, and being on a deadline helps me focus on executing them faster. At the same time, I believe in simple and intuitive solutions. To me, good design is when you are handed a disassembled product, and you can assemble it without an instruction manual,” she explains.
The playful nature of her products appeals to children the most, however, Anne has a different user in mind. “I always visualise my husband as the target audience while fabricating my products—someone who is not inherently attentive to his surroundings, who does not consciously look at the details. We all need a break every now and then, so I would love to design products that distract one long enough to make them aware of their surroundings. I would love to show them how to be playful again,” Anne explains.
Anne thinks out loud when asked about her future: “Apart from product design, I would say my background in architecture pulls me towards space design—something along the lines of an exhibition arena or a store design or a restaurant. I like working with the senses, which may be a promising next step in my journey.”
Featuring Mr. and Mrs. KlipKlap and Funkis Bath
On sustainability and being a woman in design
“I have previously researched sustainable materials, but sustainability is more about crafting long-lasting products. So my take would be you create products with a longer life span in mind and be honest with the materials you use. With minimum adulteration, when the time comes to recycle the product, one can do it so efficiently,” Anne opines.
When quizzed about the difference between men and women working in the design world today, Anne ponders, “While there has been a bias for centuries now, I feel in the past decade or so many companies have been actively seeking women for the sensitive and holistic approach to design they bring to the table. I think it’s cool to be a woman in the design business right now.”
Featuring Kvadrat in Really Module
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Date added:
27 February, 2023
