Nicholai Wiig-Hansen

‘In addition to its functional purpose, design should spark curiosity and invite different interpretations, just like a good painting.’

– Nicholai Wiig-Hansen

Nicholai Wiig-Hansen founded his own design studio in 1990. Since then, he has continued to challenge himself and delight us all with a diverse range of designs: from chairs and tables to lamps and vacuum jugs. Examples include the popular Jules desk chair and the equally popular PS Locker for IKEA, the Sintra table for Frama, the Night Owl lamp for Lightyears and the Geo vacuum jug for Normann. Archetypal products – with a twist. Proportions and colours are always carefully considered, and details are only added if they serve a functional or aesthetic purpose.

Forms and colours from the world of art are Nicholai’s principal source of inspiration, and in addition to their functional purpose, he always seeks to imbue his design with the ability to affect the space around them, like a work of art. Nicholai grew up in a creative family. His mother, Leila Sallyman, was an accomplished ceramicist, and his father was the world-renowned sculptor and painter Svend Wiig-Hansen. Instead of keeping his nose in his school books, Nicholai preferred to stand in front of a display case in a museum. Then, as now, primitive folk art held the strongest appeal to him for its simultaneous functional and decorative character.

Nicholai enjoys being inspired and inspiring others, for example when he teaches future designers at the Swiss art college ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne). Going forward, Nicholai also hopes to be able to offer creative input and feedback to new creative talents at raawii.