Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world, based on its high ranking in the World Happiness Report survey. Helene Øllgaard came to work at the Nippon Design Center (NDC) from the local design company Kontrapunkt as part of the ‘employee exchange program’. Listen to her experiences in this four-part series. The final session covers the future of design and creativity in Japan and Denmark. Reflecting back on the experience of living in Tokyo to consider future work and life and considering as follows: what should be conveyed through this ‘learning’ to the next generation that will take on manufacturing?

Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world, based on its high ranking in the World Happiness Report survey. Helene Øllgaard came to work at the Nippon Design Center (NDC) from the local design company Kontrapunkt as part of the ‘employee exchange program’. Listen to her experiences in this four-part series. The third part of the series looks at what spurred Helene to take her present job, what then ensued and the impact on her art and design. What is Helene’s view of what positive creative work entails, given the Danish reputation for excellent products and interiors?

Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world, based on its high ranking in the World Happiness Report survey. Helene Øllgaard came to work at the Nippon Design Center (NDC) from the local design company Kontrapunkt as part of the ‘employee exchange program’. Listen to her experiences in this four-part series. The second part covers the approach to work in Denmark, known for its comprehensive welfare system. We discuss issues such as balancing work and home life, ensuring individual projects progress efficiently and the differences in the work approaches employed in Tokyo and Denmark respectively.

Thanks to its lofty position in the World Happiness Report survey, which rates over 150 countries, Denmark is considered one of the world’s “happiest nations”. Ms. Helene Øllgaard, a project manager from the Kontrapunkt design firm, travelled from this country, famed for its excellence in design, to Japan and worked at the Nippon Design Center (hereinafter referred to as ‘NDC’) on a so-called ‘employee exchange program’ for three months. Listen to her experiences in this four-part series, the first of which tackles differences between the cultures in Denmark and Tokyo, referencing the Tokyo experience.