In the world of design, the creative process is a journey of discovery and innovation. Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Lukas Dahlén from Ringvide, a visionary whose approach to creativity blends traditional craft techniques with modern innovation. This Q&A session delves into the heart of Lukas' creative process, his inspirations, and the philosophies that drive his work.
What is your creative process?
Lukas: Our creative process always begins with an idea of how something could be done differently. An idea to mix craft techniques in an unexpected way, to enlarge or shrink something, to take inspiration from nature or to solve a function in a new way. Often, the initial idea takes on a completely new form or is applied to a completely different product. The more ideas and concepts that are 'in bloom' top of mind, the greater the chance that something can cross-pollinate and lead to a finished product.
After the idea stage, the process begins to refine the idea and find its essence, to identify what makes it special, and to strip away as many visual elements as possible. For me, this happens simultaneously as an idea moves from a hand sketch to a 3D sketch on the computer, where construction and function are tested in parallel with form experiments until a finished product is achieved.
How does your lifestyle influence your creativity?
Lukas: I am not particularly romantic when it comes to creativity. My experience of creativity is that the best recipe is focused, analyzed work with alternating practical and theoretical tasks."
What are you most passionate about?
Lukas: I love shaping ideas and testing them against each other, trying to figure out what might work in real life and what might not. Being able to develop something from a metaphysical idea to a materialized artifact is something uniquely human and beautiful. It is the development itself that ignites my passion and brings me satisfaction.
How do you know when a design is finished?
Lukas: When a design feels obvious but still unexpected, I believe it can be considered finished from an aesthetic perspective. From a manufacturing perspective, the process can often be refined, and a product may never be entirely complete.
What is on your radar right now (books, music, travel)?
Lukas: Right now, I am following the state of the world with dismay. I observe how empirically established truths are being eroded through relativism, how the entire worldview is becoming fluid and subject to mere opinion, and how 'us versus them' is becoming more important than actual facts. I am reading about this in the book 'Philosophical Clarifications in a Murky Time' by Wikfors, published by the Swedish publisher 'Fri Tanke'.
