Front Design – the Swedish
“avant-gardistes”

Their design is not typically Scandinavian – it is experimental. However, the fact that the Front ladies are a step ahead in the male-dominated world of industrial design certainly reveals their Swedish character. Emancipated and inventive, Anna Lindgren and Sofia Lagerquist are making their mark on the design world. Front Design is a design studio that is in demand all over the world, and one of the country’s most successful design exporters. Customers include Moroso, Porro, Moooi, Established & Sons, Kvadrat, Stelton and IKEA.

Front plays with visual effects and their designs aim to provoke, at the same time creating poetic worlds. The trio use experimental design processes, with rats, dogs and robots generating designs. They love to tell surprising and at times disturbing stories through their works. Inspiration comes from fashion, film and science – with blurred boundaries between interior design and art. Each item they design is also truly magical, because they work with an eye to irony and they relish diagnonals.

The aesthetics of technical installation

Collaboration between Front and Axor began in 2013 with a dream – the Axor WaterDream. “We wanted to highlight the hidden aesthetics of the technology in an elegant way and create a charming design object out of the tubes, vales and funnels”, explained the designers. The installation led to the Axor ShowerProducts, which won Axor and Front the German Design Award 2015. The prize is only awarded to products that represent unique design trends on the international design scene. Other awards won by Front Design: “Designer of the Future” (Art Miami Basel, 2006) and “Designer of the year” (Swedish Elle Deco and German Architektur & Wohnen, 2010).

Friends since uni

Anna Lindgren and Sofia Lagerquist first met when studying industrial design and went on to found Front in Stockholm in 2004 (at that time together with Charlotte von der Lancken). Since then, they have discussed and designed as a team – each member is involved in the entire process, from initial idea to product launch. In addition to objects for mass production, Front Design also creates many one-off pieces for collectors and galleries. Work from the design studio can be found in leading collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.