The Design And Creative Industries Ecosystem In The Region Of Southern Denmark

Description
On this paper talk the design and creative industries ecosystem in the region of southern denmark.

Glenda Napier, Lote Langkilde, Louise Fenger Kornum
REG X – the Danish Cluster Academy
THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE
REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
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Idea & layout: Trine Vu, www.hungogvu.com
2 | ANALYSE AF ØKOSYSTEMET FOR DESIGN OG KREATIVE ERHVERV I REGION SYDDANMARK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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4
5
7
12
28
26
23
20
17
29
30
Foreword
Summary
Recommendatons
Introducton
A Market for the Cluster’s Products and Services
Big Companies Which Act As Flagships, Cooperate and Reinvest Their
Success into the Cluster
Entrepreneurs and Small Innovatve Companies Who Generate
Renewal in the Cluster and Contribute with New Knowledge and
Innovaton in Various Ways
Relevant Knowledge Actors Who Bring New Knowledge to the Cluster
for the Beneft of the Companies in the Cluster
Investors Who Invest Risk Capital into the Companies in the Cluster
Consultants Who Support Companies in Their Development
and Innovaton Work
Strong Network between the Ecosystem Players
List of Interviewees
2 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Clusters are growth engines and – under the right circum-
stances – can stmulate innovaton, entrepreneurship and
employment. A cluster is made up of dynamic ecosystems
with dynamic partnerships between individual cluster par-
tcipants. It is, e.g. the existence of cooperatve companies
and their networks to other companies, growth entrepre-
neurs, knowledge actors, investors and consultants that
creates a strong ecosystem.
The purpose of this analysis is to examine the strengths and
development potentals in the ecosystem surrounding the
emerging design and creatve industries cluster in the Region
of Southern Denmark and use them as a basis, to present a
number of policy recommendatons for the development of
the cluster and its ecosystem.
The analysis is based on qualitatve interviews with 47 cen-
tral players in the ecosystem. The analysis work has been
done prior to and concurrently with new and ongoing de-
velopments among cluster players and has already, prior to
publicaton, been used as an input in the strategic work in
the emerging design and creatve industries cluster.
The analysis is intended for the cluster partcipants in the
emerging design and creatve industries cluster in the Re-
gion of Southern Denmark, but the model and the analysis
results can also be used for cluster development in other
clusters at the same or other development stages.
The model is also used for analysing the ecosystem of the
welfare technology, energy efciency and ofshore clusters
in the Region of Southern Denmark1.
The analysis has been prepared by REG X (the Danish Cluster
Academy) on behalf of the Region of Southern Denmark.
FOREWORD
THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECO­
SYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
“
The purpose of this analysis is to
examine the strengths and deve­
lopment potentals in the eco sy­
stem surrounding the emer ging
design and creatve industries
cluster in the Region of Southern
Denmark and use them as a
basis, to present a number of
policy recommendatons for the
development of the cluster and
its ecosystem.
3 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
1: For the analysis of the welfare technology ecosystem, visit:
htp://www.regx.dk/fleadmin/user_upload/regx/fler/REG_X_analyser/OEkosystemet_i_den_velfaerdsteknologiske_klynge.pdf
SUMMARY
4 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
The Region of Southern Denmark aspires to generate more
growth and employment in the companies in the region. De-
sign and creatve competencies can be a tool for this, and
the Region therefore has a special focus in this area.
Design and creatve components create growth. Analyses
have shown that creatve industries, including design, have
had a higher economic growth than other industries in the
last decade2. Design and creatve competencies are also
important parameters for a company’s innovatve poten-
tal. Companies using design as an integrated part of their
innovaton and business processes generate more value
than companies that primarily use design as an aesthetc
“add-on” at the very end of the innovaton process3.
To make it possible for the design and creatve industries
to contribute to realising the growth vision of the Region of
Southern Denmark, the Region has to reinforce the emer-
ging design and creatve industries cluster in several impor-
tant areas.
One of the emerging cluster’s greatest strengths is the pre-
sence of knowledge actors in the area. The Kolding School
of Design is one of the cluster’s guiding lights. The emerging
cluster is also characterised by the existence of a number
of large, well-established companies that demand and use
design competencies at a local, natonal and internatonal
level. However, these companies do not necessarily consider
themselves to be design companies or to belong to a local
design and creatve industries cluster.
There are also entrepreneurs and small enterprises ofering
diferent types of design and creatve competencies. These
companies exist in many places in the region, and there
seem to be regional hubs for, in partcular, the creatve in-
dustries in and around, e.g. Kolding, Vejle and Svendborg.
Diferent initatves targetng diferent parts of the emerg-
ing design and creatve industries cluster have been
launched. Spinderihallerne (the Spinning Mill), Designande-
len (Designers’ Cooperaton), Fremtdsfabrikken (the Future
Factory) and others work, in partcular, to support providers
of design and creatve competencies. Design2innovate (D2i)
is established, e.g. in order to reinforce the use of design
in companies in other industries as well as create synergy
between them.

However, it is exactly the providers of design and creatve
competencies that should play a more central role in the
emerging cluster. This applies to both companies ofering
design and creatve products directly to consumers (B2C)
and companies ofering design as a strategic method for
innovaton and business development in other companies
or in the public sector (B2B and B2P). In partcular, B2B and
B2P are essental for the cluster’s development as a strong
unit as design methods can contribute to creatng growth by
solving more complex problems, i.e. major global and social
challenges.
Work on improving the use of design in the Region’s compa-
nies should be contnued and supported. Demand for design
and creatve competencies among the Region’s companies
in other industries has grown in recent years. Neverthe-
less, there is stll a large potental for additonally increasing
design use in companies in and outside the Region. At the
same tme, when it comes to demand for design and crea-
tve competencies, the emerging cluster should see the po-
tental in the public sector. The public sector is namely facing
challenges that cannot be solved by the public sector alone
and that require making room and creatng possibilites for
using design and creatve competencies for solving major
and complex challenges.
The analysis also examines internal relatonships in the
emerging cluster’s ecosystem. The conclusion is that the
ecosystem’s many partcipants need to cooperate more
closely to achieve synergies and avoid internal rivalry in the
cluster’s development. Cluster partcipants have certain ex-
perience in cooperatng on cluster development, but there
is a need for a strong push when it comes to the emerging
cluster’s strategic development. A strong cluster organisa-
ton should lead the way of unitng the cluster partcipants
and formulatng a joint profle based on the cluster’s unique
resources when it comes to design and creatve industries.
The cluster’s knowledge insttutons also need to take beter
advantage of the potental in high geographic concentraton
and develop jointly a clear common identty regarding the
cluster’s cutng-edge design expertse.
2: Creatve Economy Report, 2010, UNCTAD, Richard Florida, 2011.
3: Tether, 2005; Erhvervsstyrelsen, 2008; FORA, 2011, Jensen, 2013
The recommendatons for creatng a strong design and crea-
tve industries cluster have been formulated on the basis of
an analysis that is primarily based on interviews with more
than 40 players who have a relatonship with this area.
Based on this, it can be pointed out that there are three
main challenges the recommendatons are supposed to
solve and should be considered in the context of:
RECOMMENDATIONS
5 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Implement an involving cluster development strategy
process for players in the whole ecosystem and use it as
Establish an actual cluster organisaton aimed at sup-
portng the emerging cluster’s development and unitng
Strengthen cooperaton with other relevant clusters
– also across regions.
Recommendaton 3:
Strenghten the role of design and creatve entrepreneurs
in the emerging cluster
The emerging cluster needs stronger corporate partcipa-
ton. The providers of design and creatve competencies and
entrepreneurs should have a more central and actve role
as strategic cooperaton partners, innovaton actors and role
models in the cluster.
Recommendatons:
Increase the visibility of the cluster’s successful designers
and creatve entrepreneurs and their products and solu-
Strengthen the competence development of the cluster’s
design and creatve entrepreneurs, in partcular, when it
A
A
A
B
B
B
C
C
Recommendaton 2:
Contnue the efort on promotng design use in other
industries
The contnued development of the cluster’s market is de-
cisive for the cluster’s growth and development ambitons.
Det anbefales at:
Gather the newest and most successful experiences from
other regions and countries which have worked on the
Develop and implement an updated model for how the
cluster will address design use in companies in the fu-
Put together strong new company-powered teams of
successful regional, natonal and internatonal design
>>
The design and creatve industries cluster is an emerging
cluster facing the challenge of unitng and streamlining
the ecosystem’s many partcipants and strengthening
cooperaton between them.
It is stll necessary to show and disclose the value of de-
sign, design processes and creatve competencies con-
currently with the cluster development actvites that
take place within the cluster.
The cluster is considered to be an organisaton driven by
knowledge actors. In this connecton, the role of compa-
nies needs to be strengthened and the cluster to become
more of a company-driven cluster where, in partcular,
providers of design and creatve competencies (entre-
preneurs and small innovatve companies) take part in
shaping up the cluster.
Recommendaton 1:
Reinforce cooperaton in the cluster’s ecosystem
If the design and creatve industries are to have a substantal
contributon to the Region of Southern Denmark’s vision of
creatng economic welfare, the Region needs to reinforce
the development of the emerging design and creatve in-
dustries cluster. This requires close cooperaton between
the partcipants in the cluster’s ecosystem, a common ap-
proach in the work on cluster development and cooperaton
with other relevant clusters.
Recommendatons:
a basis for forming a smaller group of central, local and re-
gional players who will take on the strategic leadership of all
subsequent development in the emerging cluster.
all partcipants in the cluster. Just like other cluster organisa-
tons, the cluster organisaton must work on cluster deve-
lopment on behalf of the whole cluster, including, e.g. on
strategy development, fundraising, natonal and interna-
tonal marketng and development of a strong cluster pro-
fle, internatonalisaton, matchmaking/facilitaton of clus-
ter cooperaton between partcipants within and outside
the cluster, efect measurements, etc.
development of initatves for promotng use of design in
companies.
ture. The model is based on the eforts made hitherto in the
region and on experiences from other regions and countries.
The partes should consider the development of an actual
design exchange and the extended use of a design coupon in
the work on promotng design use in other industries.
providers who can provide highly qualifed level of design
consultng and contribute to the development of design use
in other industries.
tons. One way for this to happen is by means of an annual
“award” for designers and creatve growth entrepreneurs in
the cluster.
comes to strategic growth-based growth partnerships with
other companies, use of design methods for solving more
complex tasks and general competence development in the
area of professional business development.
6 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Recommendaton 4.
Build on the knowledge insttutons and strengthen
cooperaton between them
One of the cluster’s strengths is its concentraton of know-
ledge insttutons. There are many related knowledge ac-
tors present in the cluster and they ofen link together the
ecosystem’s many partcipants through diverse cooperaton
projects. The partes should build on the future eforts to
develop the cluster.
Recommendatons:
“
The cluster’s knowledge and com­
petencies in the design and creatve
industries can be used as a means for
developing new solutons to major,
complex and far­reaching challenges
in the private and the public sector.
This way (…), the cluster’s companies
can also act as innovaton partners
to larger clusters of companies facing
complex common challenges or to the
public sector.
>>
Map the newest knowledge on how design methods
can develop innovaton processes that can be used for
C
A
A
B
B
C
C
Examine the possibility for establishing new forms of
fnancing of the cluster’s entrepreneurs in the design and
Visualise the unique competencies and professional
knowledge of knowledge actors at both natonal and
Recommendaton 5.
Take advantage of the emerging cluster’s unique know­
ledge and competencies as a means for developing new
solutons to major, complex challenges
The cluster’s knowledge and competencies in the design
and creatve industries can be used as a means for develo-
ping new solutons to major, complex and far-reaching chal-
lenges in the private and the public sector. This way, in addi-
ton to contributng to greater design use in other industries
(recommendaton 2), the cluster’s companies can also act
as innovaton partners to larger clusters of companies facing
complex common challenges or to the public sector.
Recommendatons:
creatve industries – e.g. crowd funding or venture capital.
Players are recommended to search for inspiraton in other
places, e.g. in the Copenhagen Municipality, which is wor king
with new forms of fnancing of the creatve industries.
internatonal level. Strengthen cooperaton between know-
ledge actors in the cluster and establish strong relevant stra-
tegic alliances with natonal and internatonal knowledge
insttutons with the purpose of developing new relevant
knowledge. Visualising the new knowledge to the surroun-
ding world and disclosing it within the cluster for the beneft
of the cluster’s companies is decisive for the cluster’s deve-
lopment.
Strengthen the existng design educatons so that they
support the cluster’s needs for knowledge and compe-
tencies. This must happen in close cooperaton with the
cluster’s providers and the market, i.e. the business and the
public sector.
Extend the role of students in the cluster and develop a
strong alumni environment around the cluster’s know-
ledge insttutons, including, e.g. enter into cooperaton
with the surrounding business environment on for instance
higher employment rate of students. Former students can
become ambassadors for the cluster and an innovatve stu-
dent environment can be established in close cooperaton
with the business.
the development of new solutons for major, complex chal-
lenges that are common for several companies in a cluster
or in the public sector. The partes should incorporate ex-
periences from, e.g. the Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster, the
Health Innovaton Centre of Southern Denmark and possible
internatonal experiences from, e.g. NESTA and the Helsinki
Design Lab.
Identfy some major, complex challenges in close
cooperaton with other clusters (within or outside the
region) and develop an experimental model for developing
new solutons.
Implement one or more experiments/pilot projects focus-
ing on the development of new solutons and involve the
cluster’s design and creatve competencies in the develop-
ment of the solutons together with several other companies
from other business areas or the public sector.
4: Kreatve Erhverv og Design, Regional Udviklingsplan, Region Syddanmark, 2014. 5: Udenrigsministeriet.
6: Creatve Economy Report, 2010, UNCTAD, Richard Florida, 2011.
7: Tether, 2005; Erhvervsstyrelsen, 2008; FORA, 2011, Jensen, 2013
8: The Danish Design Centre developed the Design Ladder in 2002. In connecton with their involvement in D2i, SDU has worked
on further refning the Design Ladder. More info is available on på www.cdcm.dk.
INTRODUCTION
The design and creatve industries are one of the strong-
holds of Denmark and form a signifcant part of the Danish
economy. The creatve industries employed around 108,000
persons and had a turnover of more than DKK 200 billion in
both service and producton in 20134. The creatve indu stries
thereby stand for approx. 6 to 7 per cent of the Da nish econ-
omy’s overall turnover and employment. The sector is also
an important exporter. Furniture, design, fashion and archi-
tecture stands for a signifcant part of the overall Danish ex-
ports and amounted to DKK 75 billion in 20125.
Design has traditonally been linked to the shaping and sty-
ling of products, and Denmark has a long and proud tradi-
ton, e.g. in furniture and industrial design. However, the
use of design has developed signifcantly over the course of
the last decades. Design has become a tool that is used in
the companies’ innovaton processes. This has also brought
about a wider understanding for and use of design. Design
today spans over many disciplines, for example, industrial
design, graphic design, interior decoraton design, fashion
and textle design, acoustc design, digital design, interacton
design, communicaton design and service design.
Design and creatve competencies create growth
and innovaton
Design difers from other art forms in that it has direct and
specifc importance for a company’s growth and compet-
tveness. Design and creatve competencies can contribute
to greater growth, and the creatve industries, including
design, have experienced greater growth rates and have
weathered the global fnancial crisis much beter than other
industries6.
The sector’s large growth potental is well understood in
Denmark7. Design and creatve competencies have proven
to generate growth, and the advanced use of design is an
important parameter for a company’s innovatve potental.
Companies using design as an integrated part of their in-
novaton and business processes generate more value than
companies that primarily use design as an aesthetc “add-
on” at the very end of the innovaton process Companies
that take advantage of advanced design methods such as,
7 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
DESIGN EVERYWHERE e.g. user-driven innovaton and design-integrated business
development and that have an actual design policy are more
innovatve than corresponding companies which do not en-
gage in design actvites. This means that, in partcular, more
advanced design methods contribute to greater innovaton
in the companies using them.
Companies can therefore use design at diferent levels in
their work. The concept of “Design Ladder” is used in this
connecton (see box 1 for a detailed descripton of the De-
sign Ladder)8.
There are many ways to describe design. This report refers
to “design” as processes and actvites placed on all the
steps of the Design Ladder. When we refer to design that
is exclusively characterised by processes at the top level of
the Design Ladder, we refer to “strategic use of design” or
“design methods”. The concept of “design use” is used to
describe a company or a public organisaton’s use of design.
Design in both the private and public sector
In line with the companies’ quest for answers as to “what”
should be produced and not just “how”, the share of com-
panies using design strategically is steadily growing. Nowa-
days, there are many excitng examples of the diferent use
of design methods in a company’s innovaton and business
processes.
Companies like ECCO, LEGO, Grundfos and Coloplast in
Denmark are famous for using design for more than just
“aesthetc fnish”. A design-based company like ECCO has
always used designers, but now also uses design competen-
cies for fnding new ways to positon their concepts on the
market. In a similar fashion, LEGO has long used designers
for designing new versions of already existng models. How-
ever, in recent years, LEGO has made considerable eforts
to build up solid user understanding as a basis for under-
standing beter LEGO’s products and for the development of
completely new concepts.
Design can also create value and innovaton in the pub-
lic sector where demand for design is on the rise in both
>>
8 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Box 1
WHAT ARE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND DESIGN?
There is no joint, internatonal defniton of “creatve in­
dustries” yet, and “creatve industries” does not exist as a
concept in ofcial statstcal publicatons. The frst country
to systematcally work with defning “creatve industries”
was the UK in the 1990s.
In 2002, Richard Florida defned “the Creatve Class”
as painters, authors, flm directors, actors, musicians,
dancers, photographers, etc. However, this defniton is
ofen extended to also include IT and media people, tech­
nologists, architects, teachers, natural scientsts, corporate
managers, fnancial and legal experts as well as doctors.
Many people in Denmark have since worked to defne
and map “the creatve industries”, e.g. FORA, the Danish
Business Authority and the Danish Building and Property
Agency.
In The Creatve Class Revisited from 2013, Richard Florida
concludes that many of the workplaces lost in producton
in the USA have been replaced by creatve workplaces and
that creatve workplaces and ways of organisaton are de­
cisive for a company’s growth.
There is agreement today that the following 11 industries
comprise “the creatve industries”: Architecture, books &
publishing, design, flm & video, content producton & IT,
arts & crafs, music, fashion & clothing, furniture & interior
decoraton, radio & TV and advertsing. What the 11 indu­
stries have in common is that a copyright is associated with
the fnished product.
Design is part of the “creatve industries”, but the design
concept could be difcult to defne more closely. The mul­
ttude of proposals and suggestons for what design is may
hamper the common understanding of the importance of
design for companies.
Many people have worked on the development of the
design concept. The Danish Design Centre (DDC) was
established in 1978 to act as the surrounding world’s ac­
cess portal to industrial design in Denmark. In 2000, DDC
changed its focus to also consider design as a tool for the
general development of society and business. They opened
a discussion that led to a radical change in the design con­
cept. Design could no longer be considered to be exclu­
sively a fnal result or a ready product created through a
symbiosis of art and industry. It was just as important to
focus on the process. This led to a new and broader design
concept that also comprised system design, service design,
co­creaton and user­driven innovaton.
Product development is turning more and more into a
product of advanced user involvement, and developing
new products and services in close cooperaton with the
users is paying of beter and beter. User and lead user in­
volvement requires special processes that have developed
to become a special part of the design industry. Speciali­
saton in user­driven processes has gradually developed
into the concept of “design thinking” where design and
design processes are a central part of a company’s form of
manage ment, strategy and manner of business develop­
ment. Design thinking therefore refers to the way a com­
pany – in cooperaton with designers within or outside the
organisaton – works strategically with design.
The design concept today therefore covers both the tra­
ditonal understanding of design and the more advanced
use where design is a sort of a development tool. This has
led to the development of the “Design Ladder” (see fgure
below). It has four steps, and companies can fnd them­
selves on diferent steps depending on how systematcally
and at what level they use design.
The Design Ladder
Companies at the botom level make no systematc use of
design. Design at level two is used at the very end of the
innovaton process as an aesthetc “fnish”. Companies at
level three use design as an integrated part of the whole
innovaton process, but design is not governing for the
company. Companies at the top level use design in the
whole innovaton process, and design is governing and of
strategic importance for the company.
The use of design as a strategic instrument for reinforcing
a company’s innovatve and growth potental is therefore
a queston of moving up the Design Ladder. The develop­
ment over the last many years in the area of design has not
rendered superfuous the traditonal use of design. Quite
the reverse, the development shows that companies are
gradually climbing up to higher levels afer they frst try
out the Design Ladder’s botom step.
SOURCE: INPUT FROM, E.G. POUL RIND,
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK.
Product design – design as fnish and “styling”
No systematc use of design
Design is a central and governing
element of the business
Design is an integrated part of the company’s
innovaton processes, but is not governing
SOURCE: DANISH DESIGN CENTRE, 2002.

9: Design for Public Good, 2013.
10: Erhvervsudviklingsstrategien 2012-20, Region of Southern Denmark.
11: Kreatve Erhverv og Design, Regional Udviklingsplan, Region Syddanmark, 2014.
12: Handlingsplan 2012-13, Region Syddanmark.
13: Napier & Rosted, 2012.
9 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
“
Nothing indicates that demand for de­
sign and creatve methods will wane.
Quite the reverse, society contnues
to experience a steady rise in the use
of design. The development of new
technology will allow changes, but
this alone cannot be expected to be
able to keep compettors at bay.
>>
Denmark and abroad. Design methods can be used for sol-
ving more or less complex social challenges. Areas where
the public sector has had solutons developed using design
methods – in several countries – include climate and the en-
vironment, urbanisaton, elderly people’s eatng habits and
hospital violence. Design is also used as a method and tool
for policy development9.
The future requires more design and creatve
competencies
Nothing indicates that demand for design and creatve
methods will wane. Quite the reverse, society contnues to
experience a steady rise in the use of design. The develop-
ment of new technology will allow changes, but this alone
cannot be expected to be able to keep compettors at bay.
The major global and social challenges will have decisive
importance for business development and for companies’
use of design. This concerns both the climate and resource
challenge and the rapid populaton development, but also a
large number of problems faced by the welfare state in our
part of the world.
Companies can adapt to this development by implementng
the necessary changes necessitated by global competton
and government regulatons. They can also view challenges
as new business opportunites and use radical innovatons
to create new solutons. The use of design as a method is
expected to come to play a decisive role in the development
of new, complex solutons through new and more open in-
novatve partnerships between companies across clusters.
A growth strategy for design and creatvity in the
Region of Southern Denmark
Design is also on the Region of Southern Denmark’s agenda.
The Growth Forum of Southern Denmark has formulated an
ambitous vision of economic growth untl 2020. The stra-
tegic objectve is to reach a productvity level that exceeds
OECD average by 10 per cent and an employment rate on a
par with OECD’s top 5, which corresponds to a positon for
the Region among OECD’s 20 leading regions.10
The design and creatve industries can contribute to reali-
sing Southern Denmark’s vision of generatng economic
welfare. The Region has a large untapped potental

when it comes to design and the creatve industries. There
are strong design-related knowledge insttutons headquar-
tered in the Region, and the Growth Forum has launched
a number of initatves aimed at promotng design as inno-
vaton and growth driver and at increasing turnover in the
creatve industries. Such initatves include, e.g. D2i, Design-
andelen (Designers’ Cooperaton) and Fremtdsfabrikken
(the Future Factory).
At the same tme, the Region of Southern Denmark is also
confronted with challenges in this area. Despite growing de-
mand, Southern Denmark has too few companies using de-
sign for strategic and business development. At present, 2/3
of the companies in Southern Denmark are seeking compe-
tencies in the area of design11. This fgure was signifcantly
lower only a couple of years ago. Southern Denmark is also
the region in the country where the share of the creatve
industries in the economy is second to last among all other
Danish regions12.
This analysis
The purpose of this analysis is to examine the strength of
the emerging design and creatve industries cluster in the
Region of Southern Denmark and to map out opportuni-
tes for developing the cluster’s ecosystem. This is aimed at
contributng to the cluster’s ability to develop its positon
from an emerging to mature design and creatve industries
cluster. Yet another objectve is to contribute to realising
Southern Denmark’s vision of generatng growth and em-
ployment.
The analysis has been conducted based on a model for clus-
ter ecosystems that, in turn, is based on studies of successful
ecosystems in, e.g. the USA, including in Boulder, Chicago,
the Silicone Valley, North Carolina, Austn and Seatle13. The
strength of an ecosystem manifests itself in a close network
and cooperaton between the partcipants in the ecosystem
who consider each other to be part of the same food chain.
14: Napier & Hansen, Ecosystems for Scalable Firms, 2012.
10 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
SOURCE: MADE IN-HOUSE BASED ON NAPIER & HANSEN, 2012.
SEE MORE: WWW.CLUSTERECOSYSTEM.COM
CONSULTANTS
ENTREPRENEURS
& SMALL COMPANIES
ESTABLISHED
COMPANIES
NETWORK
(CLUSTER ORGANISATION, BRIDGE-
BUILDERS, SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS
Value
creaton
Value
creaton
Value
creaton
Talents
Market
Capital
Value
creaton
Value
creaton
A CLUSTER’S ECOSYSTEM
Value created in a cluster
FIGURE 1
Successful companies reinvest
into the cluster’s ecosystem
The strength of and challenges to the ecosystem for the
design and creatve industries cluster in Southern Denmark
have been mapped using qualitatve interviews with partci-
pants in the ecosystem, including private companies, public
players, knowledge insttutons, consultants, investors and
others. In this context, we have conducted 46 interviews
with key players in the ecosystem in 2013 and 2014.
The analysis work has been done prior to and simulta-
neously with new developments in the cluster and has
already, prior to publicaton, been used as an input in the
strategic work in the emerging design and creatve industry
cluster. The players met for the frst tme in the autumn of
2013 and have since atended together a number of work-
shops to discuss and further develop the cluster’s potental.
The analysis model: An ecosystem
An ecosystem is the existence of diverse players in a cluster
– all of whom support growth across the cluster’s compa-
nies. The ecosystem refects the network and cooperaton
among partcipants in the cluster, including companies,
educatonal insttutons, knowledge actors, public insttu-
tons and authorites, investors and consultants14.
A cluster’s ecosystem
According to the ecosystem’s model (cf. fgure 1), strong
clusters have an ecosystem comprising:
>>
A market for the cluster’s products and services. A clus-
ter’s market is driven by private or public demand or by
both.
Major cooperatve companies that act as fagships,
coope rate and reinvest their success into the cluster
This contributes to involving other companies in possible
growth developments.
Entrepreneurs and small innovatve companies who
gene rate renewal in the cluster and contribute with new
knowledge and innovaton in various ways.
Relevant knowledge actors who bring new knowledge to
the cluster for the beneft of companies in the cluster.
Investors who invest risk capital into the companies in
the cluster. There should preferably be strong involve-
ment of private venture investors.
RISK CAPITAL
KNOW / DEALMAKERS)
15: REG X’ cluster defniton.
11 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>

The work with the cluster’s ecosystems assumes that the
greater the insight the cluster’s players have in each other
and their respectve roles and incentves in the cluster, the
greater the potental for further development of the clus-
ter’s strengths and challenges. All partcipants in the eco-
system contribute in diferent ways to generatng growth
in the companies. However, what is most important is the
network and cooperaton between them. Partcipants in the
ecosystem have been weighted the same even if some of
the players – e.g. large, established companies and entre-
preneurs – are decisive for the strength of the cluster and
can therefore be devoted more atenton in the analysis.
The ecosystem’s model has been developed based on stu-
dies in the USA afer customisaton to Danish conditons. For
example, unlike Denmark, there is not a partcularly strong
public involvement in the development of clusters and
growth companies in the USA.
Important cluster concepts
A cluster
A cluster is a concentrated group of companies situated
close to each other by choice and working on a strategic lev-
el with other companies, public authorites and know ledge
insttutons because this renders compettve advantages
which the individual company cannot obtain on its own15. A
cluster’s strength may vary. We can therefore not talk about
a strong cluster just because its companies are situated
close to each other. It is frst when the partcipants in a clus-
ter create, develop and take advantage of the value chain’s
potental together that we can describe a cluster as strong.
The geographic concentraton of the partcipants in the eco-
system (companies, knowledge actors and others) can be
described as the cluster’s epicentre. The epicentre is ofen
a city or a region, but this is not defning in any way. An epi-
centre may be anchored in one city, yet the cluster itself can
work with and atract companies from all over the country
and from abroad. A strong cluster is open, cooperates, and
has development relatons with clusters and markets in the
rest of the world.
Cluster organisaton
A cluster organisaton facilitates cooperaton between the
partcipants in the cluster’s ecosystem in order to strengthen
and take advantage of the existng synergies among the par-
tcipants. Many clusters have a cluster organisaton the dif-
ferent partcipants in the cluster can become a member of.
A cluster organisaton defnes the cluster’s profle and visua-
lises the cluster’s cutng-edge competencies as well as in-
dustry- and knowledge specialisaton. Cluster organisatons
also cultvate new business possibilites and cooperate for
the beneft of the partcipants in the cluster.
Consultants who support the companies in their deve-
lopment and cooperate on innovaton. Consultants in
Denmark are ofen lawyers, auditors, authorised tech-
nological service insttutes (GTS insttutes), business de-
velopment centres, etc.
Strong network between the partcipants in the eco-
system. The network can be facilitated by diferent
private and public players. Private players include, e.g.
serial entrepreneurs and dealmakers, whereas the pub-
lic players are ofen cluster organisatons and diferent
types of network organisatons.
“
The epicentre is ofen a city or a region,
but this is not defning in any way. An
epicentre may be anchored in one city,
yet the cluster itself can work with
and atract companies from all over
the country and from abroad. A strong
cluster is open, cooperates and has de­
velopment relatons with clusters and
markets in the rest of the world.
12 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
A MARKET FOR THE CLUSTER’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
All clusters are characterised by demand which serves as a
driver for the development of the cluster’s products and ser-
vices. A compettve cluster usually targets global demand.
A solid understanding of the cluster’s market is decisive for
the realisaton of the cluster’s growth potental, the deve-
lopment of its ecosystem and its positoning with regard to
the surrounding world.
Based on interviews with a large number of diferent buyers
of products and services of the design and creatve indu-
stries cluster in the Region of Southern Denmark, the design
and creatve industries cluster is assessed to be driven by
demand from three main target groups:
Private consumers (B2C)
The design and creatve industries cluster in the Region of
Southern Denmark includes a number of designers and
creatve companies that ofer diferent forms of creatve
products and services in the area of clothes design, media
and art. What is common for these companies is that their
market is driven by demand from private consumers in and
outside Denmark. The B2C market consttutes an important
part of the cluster’s market.
Companies (B2B)
Another group of the cluster’s customers is made up of
large companies or small and medium enterprises (SMEs),
e.g. Lego, ECCO, FLEXA and Easy Food. These partnerships
are known as B2B relatons as design providers cooperate
directly with the customers on design use.
Large and medium companies use the cluster’s knowledge
of design methods and thinking to generate innovaton,
product development and other forms of business develop-
ment (a more detailed descripton of the major companies
in the cluster is available below). The introducton to de-
sign methods has been a decisive factor for the commercial
survival of some of the companies. The company FLEXA in
Hornsyld is an example of a company in Southern Denmark
that has made a successful turnaround through its close co-
operaton with a Swedish design frm. FLEXA’s focus on de-
sign methods as a compettve parameter has transformed
it from a company near bankruptcy to a global success (cf.
box 2 on p. 14).
Since design methods can reinforce a company’s work with
innovaton and renewal, interested partes have launched
initatves which are supposed to reinforce demand for
design methods and thinking in companies across dife-
rent industries in the Region of Southern Denmark. Spe-
cifc, publicly fnanced programmes ofered via, e.g. D2i
and Design andelen are aimed at promotng design use in
companies and thereby reinforce their innovatve potental
and growth. The objectve has been toinspire companies
in Southern Denmark to move up the “design ladder” by
taking advantage of design, while simultaneously increasing
the strategic use of design.
Based on interviews with companies which have used the
programmes, these are assessed to have contributed to a
greater understanding among companies in Southern Den-
mark of how design methods can strengthen them and
improve their growth opportunites. There is a number of
good examples of companies which have improved the un-
derstanding of their markets, developed new solutons or
adapted existng products and services by means of design
methods. The good examples are typically young companies
with management that is open to embrace changes brought
about by the use of design16.
The growth of the importance of innovaton and design for
companies’ compettveness is also refected in corporate
organisaton and the competencies necessary in the compa-
nies’ management. There are good examples of companies
where the use of design methods has become an integral
part of the company’s innovaton processes and the com-
panies focus on upgrading their employees’ competencies
so that they can use design methods for solving diferent
problems. Some companies have began to hire designers
and appoint design teams in their development and innova-
ton departments, and more companies are under way with
or are getng ready for work with multdisciplinary innova-
ton teams.
An example of such a company is Easy Food, which is Den-
mark’s largest producer of convenience foods. The compa-
ny, which is headquartered in Kolding, has 110 employees.
16: Interview with Povl Rind, SDU. Former Head of Research of the Kolding School of Design and representatve of SDU in
Design2Innovate.
“
Interviews with design providers in­
dicate they take a strong interest in
being involved in the actvites for
propagaton of design methods and
design thinking in companies in other
indu stries. Design providers have an
obvious opportunity to bring their
main competencies and experiences
into play and simultaneously get in
touch with potental customers.
>>
13 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
“
Design is also being incorporated
more and more into the companies’
strategic management where design
methods have become an important
factor. Large companies have begun to
appoint Chief Design Ofcers (CDO) on
their top management teams.
Easy Food has used design methods to rethink its products
and map out a course for the company’s strategic develop-
ment and its positon in the value chain.
Another example is Viking, a company that develops mari-
tme and ofshore rescue equipment for safety at sea. The
company has 1800 employees, 350 of whom work at the
headquarters in Esbjerg. Viking has started to use design
methods for the development and customisaton of its
products.
Design is also being incorporated more and more into the
companies’ strategic management where design methods
have become an important factor. Large companies have
begun to appoint Chief Design Ofcers (CDO) on their top
management teams.
The transformaton of innovaton and more radical innova-
tons into important competton parameters is scarcely a
feetng phenomenon, but rather a conditon that has come
to stay. Seen in this light, it is stll necessary to work on re-
inforcing demand for design method and design thin king
among companies in the Region of Southern Denmark. Bar-
riers to the spread of design as a method include, for exam-
ple, lack of insight at the company’s management as to what
design is and how design can contribute to innovaton and
growth in the company. This is ofen a problem in compa-
nies that have many years under their belt and companies
where the management has no understanding for the op-
portunites ofered by strategic design.
The contnuaton and further development of the eforts for
reinforcing design use in the companies in the region has a
lot of potental. This is possible by means of closer coope-
raton with design providers from within and outside the
cluster. Interviews with design providers indicate that they
take a strong interest in being involved in the actvites for
propagaton of design methods and design thinking in com-
panies in other industries. Design providers have an obvious
opportunity to bring their main competencies and experi-
ences into play and simultaneously get in touch with poten-
tal customers. There is also a positve efect for the cluster
as a whole in appointng design providers to be “design am-
bassadors” as the design providers may come to subscribe
to the cluster and infuence its development more this way.
This can be complemented by a simultaneous reinforce-
ment of the competence level of the cluster’s members in
Southern Denmark and supplemented by design providers
and design frms outside the region.
>>
14 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Box 2
STRATEGIC USE OF DESIGN LEADS TO DECISIVE TURNAROUND FOR
A FAMILY­OWNED DANISH FURNITURE COMPANY
Afer going bankrupt, Danish children’s furniture maker
FLEXA launched a strategic design process at the beginning
of 2012 as an important part of the company’s turnaround
strategy. The process proved to be decisive for the com­
pany’s frst growth afer six consecutve years of falling
revenues in 2013.
FLEXA was established in 1972 as a traditonal children’s
furniture producer in Hornsyld outside Horsens. FLEXA
developed well untl 2007 when it was afected by the
global fnancial crisis. According to Carsten Dan Madsen,
who was appointed company CEO in February 2012, the
original design was instrumental in the company’s success,
but year­long neglect of product development caused the
company to come under substantal pressure in 2007.
Strategic designers changed FLEXA’s business mindset
FLEXA started cooperaton with a design frm from Swe­
den, BAS, which launched the strategic design process that
would eventually lead to FLEXA’s turnaround. BAS was se­
lected as FLEXA’s cooperaton partner because of its enor­
mous success and experience with similar jobs done for
major retail chains in Sweden, including IKEA.
BAS introduced a strategic change process and a new mind­
set in the company. All employees were invited to take
part in the process. For example, BAS organised a work­
shop with, e.g. designers, pedagogues and nurses who met
to generate ideas for FLEXA’s product range. As a result of
the process, the core of FLEXA’s products nowadays is cur­
rently described as a modern, Scandinavian design, and
product development and innovaton are decisive for the
company’s development. A secondary efect of this was
the additon of a baby collecton to FLEXA’s product range.
FLEXA realised that product development and contnuous
focus on innovaton mean everything for the company’s
success. The new strategy has therefore comprised the
involvement of external designers into product develop­
ment. Cooperaton with external designers has resulted,
for example, in an award­winning FLEXA Baby high chair,
which was awarded a Red Dot Design Award and has con­
tributed to opening new doors for FLEXA in both Denmark
and abroad. For example, FLEXA’s new collecton has been
exhibited in BabySam and Illums Bolighus.
Extensive strategy process
In additon to the notable redevelopment of its pro duct
range, FLEXA’s strategy development also focused on
adaptng the organisaton to the tougher internatonal
competton. The company shut down its factories in Asia,
and all producton was concentrated in Estonia. This has
strengthened FLEXA’s positon on the Chinese market as
the fact that all of FLEXA’s furniture is now assembled in
Europe has led to a seal of approval among Chinese con­
sumers.
FLEXA has also made some new and fresh appointments
on its HQ management team. The new CEO, Carsten Dan
Madsen, came to FLEXA in 2012 afer occupying executve
positons at both Tvilum and KOMPAN. FLEXA has also re­
armed itself with a new Product Development Manager
(Kristne Schmidt, from LEGO), a new Marketng Mana­
ger (Louise Witng, from KOMPAN), a new Retail Mana­
ger (Kevin Chan, from 7eleven) and a new Sales Manager
(Lars Dalsgaard, from Innovaton). The company has also
appointed new managers of the factories in Estonia (Jens
Gammelby, from Tvilum) and of the sales organisaton in
Asia (Brian Tuson who comes from a positon as CEO of
IKEA Hong Kong).
The design process FLEX implemented by FLEXA has been
an eye­opener for the company. According to Louise Wit­
tng, the strategic design process has made FLEXA aware of
who they are and what they should focus on. It has been
of decisive importance for the company’s turnaround. By
introducing design methods at all levels, FLEXA has gained
a completely new mindset, which has been decisive for
improving the company’s innovatve potental and com­
pettveness.
At present, FLEXA has 375 employees, 60 of which in Den­
mark. Producton Manager Kristne Schmidt has coopera­
ted, for example, with Designandelen on fnding designers
for the work on the new strategy – and Marketng Mana­
ger Louise Witng has subsequently taken part in D2i’s
“Design Introducton”.
SOURCE: INTERVIEW WITH FLEXA’S CEO CARSTEN DAN
MADSEN AND MARKETING MANAGER LOUISE WITTING.

>>
15 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
BOX 3
DESIGN IN THE KOLDING MUNICIPALITY
The Kolding Municipality has been giving design a priority for
years. In 2012, the Municipality drew up a design strategy which
described design as the focal point of municipal growth. The
strategy is a vocalisaton of the Kolding Municipality’s desire
to become a European design city, with design permeatng all
ways of generatng municipal growth and where service design
and design processes are incorporated into all aspects of the
services provided by the Municipality.
In 2013, the Municipality established a design secretariat with
four employees in aid of the strategy. The head of the secre­
tariat, Design Manager Ulrik Jungersen, is considered to be the
frst municipal Head of Design in Denmark (probably even in
the world). The secretariat’s job is to support the Municipality’s
strategy and ensure internal coordinaton of all design­related
eforts at the Municipality. The design secretariat ofers, e.g.
feedback to municipal employees who want to conduct a design
process. The secretariat also provides assistance with project
applicatons where design is included as a method. In additon,
the secretariat is also responsible for the training of 30 munici­
pal design and innovaton consultants who are supposed to fa­
cilitate design processes in the municipality.
The design secretariat’s work untl now has resulted in a num­
ber of specifc actvites. Children have been involved in the
deve lopment of a playground in a municipal kindergarten.
The Municipality has established a welfare workshop where
citzens, municipal employees, experts and representatves of
other industries develop and test new ways of meetng citzens
in the municipality. A new health centre is on the way. It is sup­
posed to provide the framework for the Municipality’s health­
care, health promoton and parts of rehabilitaton. The centre
will be built in close proximity to the Kolding Hospital. The
Municipa lity, in cooperaton with local design bureau MADE,
has involved users and employees in the work on furnishing
and ftng out the new health centre, which is expected to be
operatonal at the end of 2014.
In 2013, the Kolding Municipality applied design processes
in the development of tender documentaton for a new nur­
sing home that is publicly fnanced, but privately built and
run (“Vonsildhave”). The tender documentaton was prepared
using a design process where the Municipality, in cooperaton
with the innovaton consultants from KL, involved users, rela­
tves and employees for identfying the needs for functonali­
tes in the new nursing home. The contract was awarded to a
private Danish consortum that met all aspects of the tender
requirements – constructon, care and nursing for rent. The
project is considered to be among the frst “360 degree” PPP
(public private partnership) projects in Denmark where a pri­
vate consortum is in charge of all functons in connecton with
the constructon and operaton of a municipal nursing home.
The public sector (B2P)
The public sector has also transformed into an important
part of the market for design solutons in many places
throughout Denmark – and also in many of the Da nish
regions, including the Region of Southern Denmark.
There is more and more demand for and use of design
methods and design thinking by players in the public
sector, e.g. municipalites and regions. As a result, some
of the cluster’s design providers are about to specialise
in partnerships with the public sector. Such partnerships
can be designed as B2P (Business to Public).
The reason for the growing demand for design in the
public sector is that the public sector is facing major
challenges that require the development of completely
new solutons in areas such as welfare, environment,
climate, and food. The welfare state nowadays is under
pressure from, e.g. an ageing populaton, new and ex-
pensive treatment optons, growing requirements for
individual and tailored services, and challenges to the
fnancing of the public part of the welfare state by taxes.
The pressure on the welfare services also translates into
pressure on all companies – both public and private –
that provide welfare services. However, it simultaneous-
ly creates new business opportunites for the companies
that can create new and beter welfare solutons at the
right price.
These are complex problems neither the public, nor the
private sector can handle alone. This requires coopera-
ton and close dialogue between the private and the
public sector as well as user involvement. This also re-
quires new working methods and competencies that do
not necessarily exist in the public sector nowadays. Stra-
tegic designers can play an important role here as both
facilitators of a development process and as developers
of new solutons in close cooperaton with other players.
Partnerships between companies and the public sector
are known nowadays as public private innovaton (PPI).
We have many experiences with PPI in Denmark, but far
from all PPI partnerships are successful and far from all
of them create commercial solutons.
In the Region of Southern Denmark, it is, in partcular, the
Kolding Municipality that has taken steps to strengthen
the work on developing usable and sustainable solu-
tons in the public sector in close cooperaton with the
private sector. Design plays an important role here. The
Kolding Municipality aspires to incorporate design into
all aspects of the Municipality’s services, which is why
the Municipality has developed its own design compe-
tencies via an internal design corps in the Municipality.
(See box 3 for a descripton of design use in the Kolding
Municipality).
SOURCES: INTERVIEW WITH THE KOLDING MUNICIPALITY’S CHIEF
EXECUTIVE, RIKKE VESTERGAARD, AND THE HEAD OF DESIGN OF THE
KOLDING MUNICIPALITY’S DESIGN SECRETARIAT, ULRIK JUNGERSEN.
16 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Conclusion
Market and demand play a decisive role for the develop-
ment of each and every cluster.
There is demand for the products and services of the emer-
ging design and creatve industries cluster from private con-
sumers and companies as well as the public sector. All three
markets are important for the development of a strong de-
sign and creatve industries cluster.
Demand for design methods in the Region of Southern
Denmark is characterised by the fact that the companies in
need of design methods are located in the region. The large
companies that demand design methods therefore contri-
bute to the development of the cluster’s suppliers of design
methods.
The work on promotng demand for design methods among
individual companies has had a positve efect. However, it
is stll necessary to further develop the eforts for reinfor-
cing design use across large company groups and industries.
There is stll a need to reinforce the use of design methods
as an element in the development of new solutons in the
public sector. The Region of Southern Denmark has a num-
ber of formal cluster organisatons that represent the large
regional business concentratons and positons of strength,
including CLEAN (the former Lean Energy Cluster), Ofshore-
energy.dk and Welfare Tech. These cluster organisatons
can contribute to facilitatng access to companies in their
respectve clusters.
As regards the future development of the emerging design
and creatve industries cluster, we assess that there is a large
potental in the work on promotng design use in the areas
where the region has strong positons. Design methods here
can make a diference and raise the cluster’s overall poten-
tal for innovaton and development of solutons to major
and complex challenges for large groups of companies. In
this way, the creatve competencies in the design and crea-
tve industries cluster can promote innovaton, business de-
velopment and innovaton in areas that are unique for the
Region of Southern Denmark.
Access to regional and municipal demand may also play an
important role for the development of the emerging cluster.
In partcular, if the public sector takes initatve for using de-
sign methods as a tool for new solutons in the public sec-
tor. The Kolding Municipality is considered to be a pioneer
municipality in this area.
“
As regards the future development of
the emerging design and creatve in­
dustries cluster, we assess that there
is a large potental in the work on pro­
motng design use in the areas where
the region has strong positons. Design
methods here can make a diference
and raise the cluster’s overall poten­
tal for innovaton and development of
solutons to major and complex chal­
lenges for large groups of companies.
In this way, the creatve competencies
in the design and creatve industries
cluster can promote innovaton, busi­
ness development and innovaton in
areas that are unique for the Region of
Southern Denmark.
17 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
BIG COMPANIES WHICH ACT AS FLAGSHIPS, COOPERATE
AND REINVEST THEIR SUCCESS INTO THE CLUSTER
17: Review of DDA members conducted in February 2014.
Strong clusters ofen include one or more well-established
and successful companies that cooperate with other com-
panies in the cluster, act as fagships, shape and contribute
to the development of the respectve cluster. In the light
of this, we have examined the presence and involvement
of well-established companies in the emerging design and
crea tve industries cluster for the purpose of identfying
possible fagships and driving forces in the cluster’s deve-
lopment.
To assess the existence of major fagships in the cluster, we
have examined frst if there are any large, well-established
companies among the providers of solutons and products in
the area of design and creatve industries. There are “large
and famous” companies, in partcular, in the creatve indus-
tries ofering B2C solutons – e.g. Georg Jensen Damask,
LEGO, Nümph and Bianco sko. However, these companies
are not strongly involved in the cluster and its development
at this tme.
It has also been examined if there are large well-established
companies among the companies that work with design as
a method, i.e. B2B solutons. It has not been possible to in-
vestgate this with quanttatve data. However, a quick re-
view17 of the Danish Design Associaton’s (DDA) 120 mem-
bers indicates that very few DDA members are physically
located in the Region of Southern Denmark (two out of 120
companies). The other DDA members are concentrated in
the areas of Copenhagen and Aarhus. Even if DDA is Den-
mark’s largest independent professional organisaton which
comprises everyone who works with design for a living and
therefore counts many of the major design providers among
its members, DDA does not necessarily include all relevant
design and creatve companies in the cluster. Nevertheless,
this is an indicaton that the cluster does not comprise many
large consultants and suppliers of design methods (consul-
tng frms).
This is why there is a lack of a certain critcal mass of major
fagships when it comes to providers of design and creatve
competencies, and the major providers who are currently
part of the cluster are not involved in the cluster’s develop-
ment. A reason for that could be that providers of design
and creatve competencies have not been considered be-
fore to be part of the main focus of the cluster organisaton.
However, based on our interviews, we assume that compa-
nies have relatvely high motvaton to act as fagships as the
providers form the core of the design and creatve compe-
tencies and are therefore strategically dependent on the
strength of the design cluster.
The queston is if there are other obvious candidates for
fagships elsewhere in the cluster. In connecton with the
assess ment if there are any large, well-established com-
panies present in the cluster, everyone familiar with the
emerging design and creatve industries cluster in the Re-
gion of Southern Denmark think of companies like LEGO
and ECCO. Both companies are excitng examples of large,
globally oriented Southern Danish companies that have
been using a broad range of design methods in their innova-
ton and business processes for years. As described in the
secton about the cluster’s market, there is no doubt that
large global markets are important as buyers of the cluster’s
design solutons and that they contribute to establishing a
focus on design in other companies by showing them and
telling them about the value of design. (See box 4 for a more
detailed descripton of design use in LEGO).
LEGO and ECCO are also important for the cluster’s develop-
ment in other contexts. In additon to actng as a market for
the cluster’s products and services, large, well-established
companies also functon as nestng boxes for the develop-
ment of new entrepreneurs in the cluster. Many of the new
companies in the cluster are spin-outs from LEGO, which
typically means that former LEGO employees have chosen
to start up their own companies in the local area. They ofen
cooperate closely with LEGO on design development un-
tl they eventually fnd other customers. Examples of such
spin-outs are Developa (strategic design) and Sennov De-
sign (web design). The vast majority of the entrepreneurs in
Spinderihallerne are former LEGO employees.
Both companies take co-responsibility for the cluster’s de-
velopment. For example, both LEGO and ECCO hire stu-
dents from the cluster’s knowledge insttutons, take part
in coope raton projects and have contnuously taken advan-
tage of the “innovaton camp” organised, e.g. by the Kolding
School of Design in aid of the development of new concepts.
By developing local and atractng external talents, the two
companies also support the development of a creatve and
professional design-related environment. For LEGO, it is
important to have a local design cluster as it contributes to
crea tng a creatve environment that LEGO’s employees can
be a part of. This creates job opportunites for LEGO’s em-
ployees who want to stay in the local area, yet try out some-
thing else. Based on interviews with ECCO, ECCO is also
assessed to be interested in having access to a design cluster
in the local area. The reason for that is, for example, the ac-
cess to testng new, technological solutons in new, creatve
companies. The cooperaton with knowledge insttutons in
>>
18 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
“
Even if both LEGO and ECCO are very
actve and visible in the cluster and re­
invest their success in various ways for
the beneft of the other companies in
the cluster, we assess, based on the in­
terviews, that the two companies are
not strategically dependent on a local
design and creatve industries cluster.
the local area is also important here – including, in partcu-
lar, the Kolding School of Design.
Both LEGO and ECCO are also on D2I’s board of directors,
and LEGO’s representatve is the board’s chairman.
Even if both LEGO and ECCO are very actve and visible in
the cluster and reinvest their success in various ways for the
beneft of the other companies in the cluster, we assess,
based on the interviews, that the two companies are not
strategically dependent on a local design and creatve
industries cluster.
This is primarily owing to three conditons that may have
major or minor importance for the companies:
First of all, large companies primarily represent demand in
a cluster. It is primarily demand that atracts their interest
and draws them to the cluster. They play an important role
as buyers of the cluster’s design and creatve competencies.
In additon, users of design represent very diferent indu-
stries, e.g. toys, clothing and food. The companies consider
themselves to be, e.g. a footwear producer using design and
a toy producer using design. This is why, on the face of it,
putng them together in a cluster that does not traditon-
ally represent their core interests may look like a challenge
– even if they are strongly interested in networking and
cooperatng with companies from other industries for the
purpose of discussing and developing their design use. Con-
versely, they are interested in more related clusters orien-
ted towards their industry/main product. For example, Lego
and the LEGO Foundaton are actvely involved with the
>>
>>
esta blishment of a “Capital of Children” whose purpose is to
develop a toy cluster centred in Billund.
Finally, the companies are global. They use and atract the
best designers and competencies from all over the world.
For example, when LEGO recruits new employees and co-
operaton partners, regional designers and design provid-
ers are not necessarily given a priority. The company seeks
the best design competencies globally and is not necessar-
ily dependent on a cluster in the local area. However, their
attude is that it is certainly positve that such a cluster does
exist.
So even if a number of the global companies are very visible
and valuable in the cluster, their main focus and motvaton
seems to be the role as buyer of the cluster’s competencies
and knowledge rather than to act as fagships and commit
to creatng a strong design and creatve industries cluster.
Nevertheless, such companies are important in the cluster’s
ecosystem. Not just as a market. As discussed here, their
existence has a number of derived, positve efects for the
cluster. Their role in the cluster should therefore be main-
tained and developed additonally in close cooperaton be-
tween the cluster organisaton and other cluster members
for the beneft of both the large companies and the cluster.
However, it is not only among these companies that we can
identfy possible candidates for a strong driving force for the
cluster’s development. This is why it is reasonable to invest-
gate other company groups for possible design buyers.
The area also has a large undergrowth of SMEs, 2/3 of whom
use design, thereby forming an important target group for
the cluster’s products and services. Companies like Easy-
food, Viking and FLEXA have used diferent types of design
consultng ofered by the cluster’s consultants, getng inspi-
raton for using design methods in their idea and innova-
ton processes. This has led to diferent forms of business
development and innovaton. The assessment based on the
interviews is that there are no pronounced fagships among
the SMEs. The reasons are as mentoned above. However,
there is no doubt that the design market stll needs matur-
ing, i.e. propagatng design maturing actvites for the pur-
pose of spreading design use among the region’s SMEs. A
design cluster in the local area plays an important role for
this purpose, and it can be advantageous, e.g. to have more
systematc visualisaton of success stories where knowledge
that design methods have made a diference for the compa-
ny’s botom line and compettveness is used for illustratng
value created by means of design use.
19 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
Conclusion
Strong clusters usually include one or more large, well-
established companies actng as fagships and a driving
force in the cluster’s development.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster includes
a number of large companies that demand the cluster’s so-
lutons locally. However, for diferent reasons, the compa-
nies do not act as a driving force for the cluster’s develop-
ment or as fagships for the emerging cluster. Even if the
large global companies in the cluster do not necessarily see
a dire need for a local design cluster, their presence in the
region is never theless a decisive parameter for its develop-
ment.
The reason why is that they cooperate with the others. The
reinvestment of their success is decisive for the cluster’s
development, just as the close strategic cooperaton be-
tween the large, well-established companies and the young
companies can give an additonal boost to the cluster’s de-
velopment. Large companies are important in the cluster’s
ecosystem, but they are not an obvious driving force for
the part of the cluster that forms the cluster’s competen-
cies. As regards the cluster’s strengthening, it is decisive to
identfy other “locomotves” that can contribute – together
with companies such as, e.g. LEGO and ECCO – to orientng
the cluster’s development towards a more company-driven
cluster rather than a cluster driven by knowledge insttu-
tons.
In the light of this, in order to be able to identfy the cluster’s
fagships and driving forces, the cluster organisaton has to
reassess its focus on the cluster’s members. There should
be greater involvement of the design and companies into
the cluster’s development since their motvaton to build a
strong cluster is big enough for them to endorse the cluster
publicly and contribute to it as a fagship and engine. Untl
now, these companies have played a minor role in the clus-
ter organisaton. The challenge here is that many of these
companies are new and recently started and that they are
yet to develop as companies that could assume the role of
“cluster engines”. The presence of design and creatve in-
dustries providers should be used more efciently for the
beneft of the cluster’s development.
BOX 4
DESIGN USE IN LEGO
LEGO is the third largest toy manufacturer and one
of the most famous brands in the world. With a to­
tal turnover of DKK 23.4 billion in 2012, it is one of
Denmark’s most successful companies. At present,
the company has some 10,000 employees all over the
world, and its products are sold in not fewer than 130
countries. LEGO is partcularly famous for developing
children’s creatvity through learning through play,
and the company currently produces toys, experien­
ces and training materials based on the famous LEGO
building brick. The LEGO brick has been elected toy
of the century twice – frst by Fortune Magazine and
then by the Britsh Associaton of Toy Retailers.
LEGO has used design since the very beginning, frst
only for shaping the LEGO brick. However, LEGO’s de­
sign use has evolved to be much more complex now.
The way LEGO develops new products is driven by a
sophistcated use of design. Concept and product de­
velopment are localised mostly at the headquarters in
Billund where researchers map out the newest design
trends based on intensive research. LEGO’s creatve
core is made up of 164 designers from 22 diferent na­
tonalites, most of whom are graduates of design, art
or architect schools all over the world.
The essence of the design process is systematc obser­
vaton of both children and parents by a staf of de­
signers, engineers and experts in, e.g. anthropology,
psychology and marketng whose objectve is to get
acquainted with, e.g. playing habits, family paterns
and housing conditons. Among other things, LEGO
invites children from kindergartens and schools all
over Billund to observe how they play. As a result of
the systematc process and user involvement, LEGO is
always capable of developing new concepts and pro­
ducts that are superior to those of many of its com­
pettors.
Because of its great success and traditon of using
design, LEGO is considered by many to be the lea­
ding fagship in the area of design in the Region of
Southern Denmark. LEGO is not only represented on
D2I’s board of directors, but its Head of Product In­
novaton and Marketng, Ulrik Gerow, is the board’s
chairman. In this way, LEGO is up to date on what hap­
pens in the cluster and contributes to putng design
on the agenda of the companies in the region.
SOURCES: INTERVIEW WITH ULRIK GERNOW. LEGO’S
ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012.
20 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
“
There should be greater involvement
of the design and companies into the
cluster’s development since their mo­
tvaton to build a strong cluster is big
enough for them to endorse the cluster
publicly and contribute to it as a fag­
ship and motor.
decisive for the development of a strong design and creatve
industries cluster.
As long as the ambiton is to use the cluster to propagate
design methods in the region and make them an important
part of the emerging cluster’s DNA, the interviews indicate
a need for reinforcing the critcal mass of companies that
can work with design methods. As mentoned before, we
have conducted a review of the locaton of the members
of the Danish Design Associaton (DDA) in Denmark. Only
few of them are located in the emerging cluster’s centre
around Kolding and Vejle. Even if DDA’s member database
does not include all design and creatve industries compa-
nies in Denmark, this could indicate that the cluster’s share
of companies that can work with design methods is small
and needs reinforcement. This has also been confrmed in
the interviews.
Reinforcing the critcal mass may include atractng more
external providers of design methods, e.g. by making design
agencies commit to the cluster’s actvity, e.g. also to market
development. However, it may also include upgrading of the
competencies of existng companies in the cluster, i.e. deve-
lopment of the companies’ knowledge and methods in stra-
tegic design. This may result in the extension and develop-
ment of the design concept among providers who otherwise
work with a simpler design concept, cf. the Design Ladder.
For example, a company may be capable of supplementng
website development with more strategic corporate con-
sultng. The extension of the design concept may also lead
to greater cooperaton of the company with Design Den-
mark (the former DDA), DDC and other players who work on
the development of design methods in Denmark.
The other category of providers is found more in the crea-
tve industries that address private consumers directly by
developing, e.g. fashion, games, applicatons and media.
This group of companies is important in its role as a founda-
ton of the design and creatve industries cluster – as innova-
tors, growth drivers and job creators in the region.
The interviews indicate that creatve companies are an im-
portant part of the cluster’s DNA, but are not visible enough
in the cluster. A company like, e.g. Panuu sells fashion wear
on large global markets, but is not necessarily known in its
“own backyard”. The success, network and experience of
these companies could be a constructve building block in
the development of the cluster, but many of them are not
aware of the cluster’s existence even if they themselves are
part of it.
>>
ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL INNOVATIVE COMPANIES WHO
GENERATE RENEWAL IN THE CLUSTER AND CONTRIBUTE WITH
NEW KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION IN VARIOUS WAYS
Entrepreneurs and small innovatve companies can play an
important role as growth and innovaton drivers in the clus-
ter. They are faster and more agile at commercialising new
technology and innovatve solutons than larger companies.
New, small and innovatve companies can also be a result
of the commercialisaton of new knowledge by the cluster’s
knowledge insttutons and larger companies.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster includes
a number of entrepreneurs and small, innovatve compa-
nies. Entrepreneurs and small, innovatve companies seem
to play diferent roles in the cluster, but what many of them
have in common is that they provide design and creatve
solutons. A number of them are also partcularly innova-
tve and forward-looking (see examples of providers in box
5). The likely reason why providers are typically small and
young companies is that the design and creatve industries
are relatvely new industries. Many of the companies have
been established in the last 10 years.
Small and young companies work with design and creatvity
in diferent ways – e.g. clothes design, graphic design, de-
sign methods and strategic design – either directly to private
consumers (B2C), to other companies (B2B) or to the public
sector (B2P). Their role in the cluster is to develop design
and creatve solutons for private consumers or companies/
organisatons, and they can be described as the cluster’s
actual carriers of cutng-edge competence. Based on this,
they should be considered key players in the cluster’s eco-
system, and their presence and contnued development is
21 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
Another characteristc of the cluster’s entrepreneurs and
small innovatve companies is their growth patern. Based
on the interviews with the companies and their environ-
ments around the cluster, the assessment is that many de-
signers and creatve companies are one-man businesses
that ofen choose to remain small. Design companies and
creatve companies do not necessarily possess all required
competencies in-house, but instead enter into alliances
and strategic partnerships with other companies on solving
more or less complex tasks. This can be described as net-
work-based growth and is typically a conscious choice and a
strategic alternatve to hiring new employees. (See box 6 for
a more detailed descripton of network-based growth based
on fgures from Fremtdsfabrikken in Svendborg.)
The advantage of network-based growth is that companies
can scale their business up and down relatvely quickly,
which helps them remain fexible also in, e.g. tmes of crisis.
Network-based growth can also have a positve efect on the
nature of the companies’ jobs. The network allows compa-
nies to use each other as supplementary sparring partners
and levers and thereby solve more extensive and complex
tasks than if they worked alone
There are several examples of companies that work using
supplementary alliances and networks. Many of the 60
companies situated in the “Spinderihallerne” corporate en-
vironment in Vejle experience that they are awarded new
jobs on a daily basis only because they have a common loca-
ton with other companies.
In the light of the need for upgrading provider competen-
cies, network-based strategic partnerships are regarded as
an opportunity for companies to expand their knowledge
and competencies in, e.g. strategic design.
The emerging cluster’s entrepreneurs and small innovatve
companies can proft from using network-based growth
strategies. These strategies can help companies in at least
two ways. They are capable of doing more jobs as well as
larger and more complex jobs, e.g. in the use of design
methods. In this way, they can develop their own compa-
nies by cooperatng with supplementary partners and com-
panies.
Network-based growth is a new way of work for many
people. Knowledge of work in virtual networks, business de-
velopment in networks and soluton commercialisaton are
all areas that can be brought into focus in the cluster.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurs and small innovatve companies can play
an important role in clusters as they are faster and more
fexible to add innovaton and innovatve thinking to a clus-
ter than larger companies.
>>
BOX 5
EXAMPLES OF CLUSTER ENTREPRENEURS AND
SMALL INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
Developa: Developa in Kolding is an example of a
design company that does jobs for larger custo mers
through alliances with other companies (see box 4
for a more detailed descripton). Developa, which
was founded in 1993 by Englishman Andrew Nagel,
is engaged in product and concept development for
customers like B&O, Coloplast, LEGO, Sony Playstaton
and Nike.
MADE: MADE is a strategic innovaton and design bu­
reau that was established by three partners in 2012.
MADE specialises in user insights and their use ofen­
sively in the design of products and services which are
sustainable from a business perspectve.
Panuu: Panuu designs streetwear for people aged 15
to 26 and is an example of a B2C company. The com­
pany, which is situated in Kolding, was established in
2005 and currently has nine employees. The frst col­
lecton was launched in 2006 and resulted in a coope­
raton agreement with TOPSHOP UK. Celebrites like
Rihanna and Lady Gaga have worn clothes from Panuu
via TOPSHOP, which has had an enormous impact on
the company’s growth. Panuu’s clothes are sold in 15
countries, with a main focus on Denmark, the UK and
Germany.
Intertsement: Intertsement is an example of a B2B
company that lies at the intersecton of IT and de­
sign. The company was established in Esbjerg in 2007
as a fnal project at the Aalborg University. The com­
pany currently has nine employees who primarily
design sofware solutons. The company designs, e.g.
augmented reality solutons for other companies and
is one of the leading companies in this area in Den­
mark. Its clientele includes BoConcept, Christan Dior
and design companies in Copenhagen and Aarhus. The
company is headquartered in Esbjerg, but has strong
growth ambitons and sees big opportunites in a
rising global demand.
PlayAlive: PlayAlive is an innovatve company specia­
lised in developing intelligent computer­based play­
ground equipment. PlayAlive was the frst company
in the world to launch outdoor climbing tools that
combine children’s fascinaton with the virtual world
of IT with the important need for physical games and
movement. The intelligent playground equipment ca­
ters for diferent age groups and skills of children of
both school and preschool age.
SOURCES: INTERVIEWS WITH COMPANIES.
22 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
BOX 6
NETWORK­BASED GROWTH
Designers and creatve companies do not necessarily
possess all required competencies in­house. Such compa­
nies tend to enter into alliances and strategic partnerships
with other companies on solving more or less complex
tasks. This can be described as “network­based growth”.
This type of growth is found, in partcular, in micro envi­
ronments like Spinderihallerne in Vejle, Stjerneskibet in
Odense or Fremtdsfabrikken in Svendborg.
New fgures from Fremtdsfabrikken in Svendborg indicate
that their creatve companies both work and grow through
their networks. As they are awarded jobs and increase
their turnover, the companies also get more cooperaton
partners. Fremtdsfabrikken had 49 companies and 134
cooperaton partners in 2010. The number of cooperaton
partners had grown to 330 by 2012. At the same tme, total
turnover had more than doubled, and total employment
had grown by 50 per cent – from 40 to 60 employees.
One creatve company in 2012 cooperated, on average,
with six other companies in order to be able to do its jobs.
The companies’ cooperaton partners are typically other
creatve companies, e.g. graphic or IT companies, but also
companies in related industries such as audit or other sub­
contractors.
Growth in the design and creatve industries is therefore
not necessarily measured directly as growth in employ­
ment at the companies themselves, but as derived efects
in other companies.
>>
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster includes
a number of successful entrepreneurs and small, innovatve
companies lying on diferent steps of the Design Ladder.
Many of them are providers of design and creatve compe-
tencies, and they bring innovaton in the area of design and
creatve industries to the companies in the cluster and in the
region. They also contribute, to a certain extent, to shaping
the emerging cluster.
As regards companies that have come out on the global mar-
kets, their global success seems to be more widely “known”
outside the cluster. Other partcipants in the emerging clus-
ter are not always familiar with their products and solutons.
The assessment is that there can be greater value created
within the emerging cluster if successful entrepreneurs and
small innovatve companies are involved more in the clus-
ter’s development and become key players in the cluster
organisaton. They can play a role in specifc cluster actvi-
tes, and they can, in partcular, contribute to shaping and
strengthening the emerging cluster’s profle by marketng
their commercial success through the cluster and contribu-
tng to creatng more innovaton, growth and employment.
Future demand for design as a method is also likely to
deve lop in such a directon as to raise the interest of other
indu stries in competencies at the intersecton of design
methods, technology and creatve industries, cf. the sec-
ton regarding market and well-established companies. This
means that the cluster’s unique DNA can be combined in
new ways and contribute to developing new services for the
beneft of other industries.
However, the realisaton of this growth potental requires a
reinforcement of the number and quality of the emerging
cluster’s design and creatve companies, i.e. entrepreneurs
and small innovatve companies.
Companies tend to cooperate in strategic networks in order
to boost their growth. By taking part in strategic networks,
companies can complement each other professionally and
simultaneously climb up the Design Ladder. In this way, they
can do larger and more complex jobs together than if they
worked alone and can thereby meet the growing demand
for design methods and other forms of creatve competen-
cies and knowledge.
Our recommendaton is that strategic network partner-
ships should spread as a method among entrepreneurs and
small innovatve companies in the emerging cluster in or-
der to reinforce the critcal mass of qualifed providers in
the emerging cluster. Partnerships can boost the volume of
strong compettve design and creatve companies and the
complexity of design jobs in the cluster.
SOURCE: BASED ON FIGURES FROM
FREMTIDSFABRIKKEN

23 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
“
Companies tend to cooperate in stra­
tegic networks to boost their growth.
By taking part in strategic networks,
companies can complement each other
professionally and simultaneously
climb up the Design Ladder.
18: Examples of the university’s work in D2i can be found on www.cdcm.dk
Access to relevant and leading knowledge and research
plays an important role in strong clusters. This is an impor-
tant role for universites and other knowledge actors in a
cluster. They can also contribute to the cluster’s develop-
ment by training talent relevant for the cluster and bringing
new knowledge to the cluster’s companies. The commer-
cialisaton of new knowledge creates a breeding ground for
corporate innovaton, and knowledge actors can contribute
to putng a cluster on the map at both natonal and global
level.
This is the basis used for analysing knowledge actors in the
emerging design and creatve industries cluster. There is a
high concentraton of design-related degrees and know-
ledge actors in the cluster. The assessment based on inter-
views with companies is that knowledge of design is the
emerging cluster’s absolute core competence that contri-
butes to the outward shaping of the cluster. Many compa-
nies experience that the cluster’s knowledge actors are the
cluster’s strongest atracton.
Educatonal insttutons like the Kolding School of Design,
the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), the Internato-
nal Business College (IBC), the University College South Den-
mark and the Lillebaelt Academy of Professional Educaton
ofer diferent forms of design-related and creatve trainings
and integrate design methods into the educatonal process.
The Kolding School of Design is considered to be one of the
emerging cluster’s undisputed fagships (see also box 7). The
Kolding School of Design has four study programmes: indu-
strial design, communicatons design, fashion and textle
as well as accessory design. The Kolding School of Design’s
cutng-edge competence covers the crafsmanlike part of
design, but by cooperatng closely with the cluster secreta-
riat, D2i, and by ofering consultatons with introducton to
design methods for companies, the Kolding School of Design
has also moved to the part of design that has to do more
with business development.

SDU – in partcular, campus Kolding – is considered to be
another fagship in the emerging cluster. The university
ofers degrees in design and engages in design-related re-
search (see also box 8). SDU has a bachelor’s programme in
Integrated Design and Interacton Design. SDU in Kolding has
been ofering bachelor’s degrees in both Design Culture and
Design Culture and Economics since 2013. The university
also ofers the following master’s programmes: Design Stud-
ies and Design Management, partally in cooperaton with
the Kolding School of Design. Thanks to its focus on design,
SDU has more than 70 researchers and scientfc assistants
under SDU Design, and conducts a lot of relevant research
in the area of design. SDU Kolding has been actvely involved
in, e.g. D2i and Designandelen where researchers from SDU
have followed up on the projects and provided professional
feedback and follow-up research in some of the actvites,
e.g. D2i18.
IBC ofers vocatonal training, upper secondary educaton,
adult and contnuing educaton in the area of commerce.
IBC also ofers contnuing educaton in design. For exam-
ple, 50 of Easyfood’s employees have atended a project
manage ment course that employs design methods to put
the company’s day-to-day work in perspectve and turn it
upside down. Employees are also taught how they can
use design methods in their day-to-day work. IBC has also
esta blished Innovatonsfabrikken (the Innovaton Factory),
which is a platorm for cooperaton projects and test facili-
tes between students and companies. For example, compa-
nies can test their products here.
The University College South Denmark in Haderslev of-
fers two degrees in design: Graphic Communicatons and
Acoustc Design (Media and Sound Communicatons). Both
degrees are manned by guest lecturers from Denmark and
abroad. Lecturers include, e.g. specialists from Skybrud in
Vejle, but also important, internatonal names. Dialogue
with companies is an important part of the training, but a
special challenge is creatng job opportunites for the stu-
dents. More than 50 per cent of the students have practce
abroad in connecton with their training. The school works
with integraton of design methods into the training.
The Lillebaelt Academy of Professional Higher Educaton
integrates design and design methods into many of the 28
degrees it ofers. The focus is on teaching the students to
convert design into specifc products and services. This ap-
plies, e.g. to food design, consumer experience design and
product development and service design.
>>
RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE ACTORS WHO BRING NEW KNOWLEDGE
TO THE CLUSTER FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMPANIES IN THE CLUSTER
24 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Despite the high concentraton of knowledge actors in the
emerging cluster and their contributon to the area of de-
sign, the insttutons are not assessed to utlise, to a suf-
fcient extent, the great potental ofered by their close
geographic concentraton. This means that, e.g. knowledge
actors do not take advantage of the community in order to
strengthen the visibility of their own core competencies, re-
sults and research in the area to the surrounding business
and other players in Denmark.
There is also a possibility to cooperate on the development
of a joint and strong knowledge cluster profle, e.g. with an
emphasis on the emerging cluster’s unique design-related
knowledge aspects and thereby contribute more actvely to
shaping the emerging cluster’s profle. The close geographic
concentraton also means that there is a potental for crea-
tng an excitng campus environment that can atract other
companies, investors and consultants to the emerging clus-
ter. Furthermore it is pointed out that knowledge actors can
take advantage of the geographic concentraton for sharing
lecturers, researchers and introductory speakers. It is also
obvious that the Kolding School of Design acts as a locomo-
tve for atractng students to the other educatonal insttu-
tons in the region.
Knowledge insttutons are generally good at recruitng and
training students from outside the region. Many students
come to the region from other regions and cites within and
outside Denmark. However, what seems to pose a special
challenge is keeping students employed and/or in student
jobs in the cluster. Students ofen leave the cluster upon
completng their training. They move to Copenhagen or
Aarhus and are no longer involved with the design cluster.
This means that Kolding and the region as a whole lose
many of their design competencies. A reason for this can be
lack of sufcient integraton of the students into the local
business and insufcient availability of / interest in student
jobs, which means that regional companies do not seek stu-
dent design competencies to a sufcient extent. The inter-
views also showed that there is a large unused potental in
involving alumni in a more actve role in the cluster’s deve-
lopment. For examples, students could act as ambassadors
for the cluster’s knowledge insttutons and for the geo-
graphic area upon completon of their studies. This is why it
is important to create close relatons and good experiences
during their studies to both knowledge environments and
companies so that the cluster over tme becomes a natural
atracton for these talents. Initatves like STARS are a step
in this directon.

>>
Conclusion
Knowledge insttutons play a central role in the cluster as
they can provide access to relevant knowledge and research
in the area.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster has a
strong knowledge foundaton, and there is a high concen-
traton of knowledge actors in the area. This is owing to,
e.g. the Kolding School of Design, SDU and other knowledge
actors. However, what is important for the future develop-
ment of the cluster is to ensure a closer interacton between
knowledge environments. The partes can cooperate, for
example, on the development of a joint professional profle
in the cluster that can contribute to putng the emerging
cluster on the map at natonal and internatonal level.
“
Despite the high concentraton of
knowledge actors in the emerging clus­
ter and their contributon to the area of
design, the insttutons are not assessed
to utlise, to a sufcient extent, the sig­
nifcant potental ofered by their close
geographic concentraton. This means
that, e.g. knowledge actors do not take
advantage of the community in or­
der to strengthen the visibility of their
own core competencies, results and re­
search in the area to the surrounding
business and other players in Denmark.
BOX 7
25 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
KOLDING SCHOOL OF DESIGN
The Kolding School of Design is a self­governing insttu­
ton under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Science,
Innovaton and Higher Educaton. It was founded in 1967
as part of the Technical School in Kolding. The school sub­
sequently became independent and was renamed the
Kolding School of Arts and Crafs. The school was given its
current name in 1998 and was awarded university status
in 2010.
The Kolding School of Design conducts research under the
“Sustainable Futures” moto with a focus on sustainability,
social inclusion and cultural diversity.
There are eight researchers associated with the Design
School, and it is atended by some 390 undergraduate and
a number of PhD students. 90 new students are admited
to the school every year.
The Kolding School of Design ofers bachelor’s and mas­
ter’s degrees in two insttutes, the Insttute of Product
Design and the Insttute of Communicatons. The Insttute
of Product Design ofers design degrees in the areas of
fashion, textle and industrial design, and the Insttute of
Communicatons in interacton design, graphic design and
illustraton. The school also ofers a master’s degree in De­
sign Management in cooperaton with SDU and hosts the
Copenhagen Insttute of Interacton Design’s (CIID) mas­
ter’s degree in Interacton Design.
The vision for the Design School is to be developed into
a leading internatonal design insttuton – in cooperaton
with SDU and a number of internatonal partners. The
school’s focus is to contribute to promotng innovaton
and growth based on research, professional design deve­
lopment work and cooperaton with the business.
The Design School has a number of partnerships with
the surrounding business community. One example is
the cooperaton with ECCO where the bachelor students
in year 5 develop new shoes in cooperaton with ECCO.
ECCO gets new inspiraton from the cooperaton and, in
exchange, the company organises a shoe seminar with
guest lecturers, tools and materials. ECCO also provides
external examiners for exams held at the Design School.
The Kolding School of Design also has professional part­
nerships with, e.g. LEGO, Copenhagen Fur, Swarowski and
the Lillebaelt Hospital.
By partcipatng in the D2i project, the Design School is
also in contact with the business. The Design School pro­
vides consultants who tell companies about the advan­
tages of using designers strategically, who facilitate design
processes and ofer design courses.
SOURCE: INTERVIEW WITH ELSEBETH GERNER,
VICE CHANCELLOR THE KOLDING SCHOOL OF DESIGN.
What is also important is to make research visible and prac-
tce-oriented for the regional and natonal business com-
munity. Students here can play an important role for bring-
ing new, research-based knowledge to the private sector.
Knowledge environments like SDU and the Kolding School
of Design can also contribute to disseminatng relevant new
knowledge and research results from the emerging cluster
to the cluster’s members by means of diferent events.
Knowledge insttutons are good at atractng students from
the outside. However, the challenge they are faced with is
that the students ofen leave the cluster afer graduatng.
The knowledge insttutons contribute to training students
who have practcal skills in the area of design methods and
who can indirectly contribute to market maturaton and de-
velopment of the cluster by drawing on their design know-
ledge in the regional business community. The cluster’s
development will be strengthened if more students can be
kept in or act as ambassadors for the emerging design and
creatve industries cluster.
“
The Design School has a number of part­
nerships with the surrounding business
community. One example is the coope­
raton with ECCO where the bachelor
students in year 5 develop new shoes
in cooperaton with ECCO.

26 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Access to risk capital in a strong ecosystem plays an impor-
tant role for company growth, just like strong involvement
of private investors and funds indicates the creaton of value
in the companies.
We have analysed if there is available capital in the emer-
ging design and creatve industries cluster. The region has
public investors, e.g. SDTI (Syddansk Teknologisk Innova-
ton), which can invest in young growth companies, inclu-
ding also in companies within the cluster.
However, there are not so many venture investors in the
emerging cluster. There can be diferent reasons for this.
First of all, companies in the emerging cluster (and other
similar clusters) do not necessarily ofer obvious opportu-
nites for venture investments. The reason for this is that
design and creatve companies possibly need a diferent
form of capital than companies in other clusters such as,
e.g. cleantech where companies need substantal start-up
investments. Companies are ofen small (typically one or
two-man businesses) and have a limited scale-up potental.
They usually grow using own fnancing and typically need
small or no start-up costs whatsoever.
Another possible reason is that the emerging design and
creatve industries cluster is in development and does not
market its companies.
However, there is no doubt that because of the nature of
the emerging cluster, in partcular, the nature of the com-
panies (small companies without signifcant start-up costs),
the type of capital the cluster needs is diferent from the
type of capital needed by other clusters. The cluster may
have a greater need for business angels with some capital
and experience in running successful companies.
BOX 8
DESIGN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN
DENMARK AND CAMPUS KOLDING
The University of Southern Denmark (SDU) hopped on
the design train a couple of years ago in response to
growing the corporate demand for applicants who have
an understanding of strategic design and management
within the creatve industries. This is why there are
many design­related programmes in SDU. The campus
in Odense, for example, ofers a degree in Integrated
Design and the campus in Sønderborg a degree in Inter­
acton Design. The campus in Kolding has a partcularly
strong presence with the following bachelor’s degrees:
Design Culture (2013), Design Culture and Economics
(2013) and Economics and Business Administraton – De­
sign (2013) and the following master’s degrees: Design
Studies (2013) and Design Management (in cooperaton
with the Kolding School of Design).
SDU has started strategic cooperaton with the Kolding
School of Design– through design management and its
involvement in D2i – which is supposed to bring the two
knowledge insttutons even closer together over tme.
The cooperaton will be given a new boost in the coming
years when SDU Kolding will move to its new building
situated opposite the Kolding School of Design.
SDU is also involved in the development of the new cam­
pus area that will bring physically together a number
of design knowledge actors. The IBC, the Internatonal
Business Academy (IBA) and the Educatonal Centre of
the Kolding Municipality are already there. The area also
includes DesignCity, a constructon project that is sup­
posed to create over tme a vibrant and inspiring area
with creatve companies and insttutons that cooperate
in all ways possible. The frst buildings have been built
and the frst companies have already moved in.
SDU Design is an initatve at SDU Kolding aimed at pro­
motng interdisciplinary cooperaton in design research.
SDU Design fnances and supports a growing number of
research projects, four labs and a number of open space
workshops where researchers exchange experience and
insights with people from outside the respectve spe­
cialised design­related research area. SDU Design num­
bers around 70 researchers and research assistants from
three facultes: Engineering, Social Science and Humani­
tes. SDU Design is the largest single investment in SDU
ever and has a special focus on design research in three
areas: 1) Decision­making processes 2) Design as crea­
ton of value and 3) Explaining design to companies.
SOURCE: INTERVIEW WITH SDU. OWN RESEARCH.
“
Access to risk capital in a strong eco­
system plays an important role for com­
pany growth, just like strong involve­
ment of private investors and funds
indicates the creaton of value in the
companies.
>>
INVESTORS WHO INVEST RISK CAPITAL INTO THE
COMPANIES IN THE CLUSTER
27 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
>>
BOX 9
BJERT INVEST INVESTS
IN THE AREA OF DESIGN
The investment company Bjert Invest is a private in­
vestment company based in Kolding. It was established
in 1980 by a successful local businessman with a capi­
tal of half a billion Danish kroner.
Bjert Invest has developed an investment profle
that supports local design development. Bjert Invest
actvely uses design in the company’s marketng in aid
of the City of Kolding’s focus on design, e.g. through
actve partcipaton in the development of CAMPUS in
Kolding, the development of DESIGN CITY, as well as
by partcipatng in and infuencing a number of design
initatves and processes that are currently under way
in Kolding as part of the City’s marketng as a DESIGN
CITY.
The company has also co­fnanced the development
of D2i with three million Danish kroner and is on D2i’s
board of directors.
SOURCE: INTERVIEW WITH BOARD CHAIRMAN ERIK
JØRGENSEN AND HEAD OF DESIGN TINA THOMSEN
Corporate partnerships and constellatons formed through
more long-term network-based growth lead to greater com-
mercial successes.
As detailed above, the emerging cluster has a number of
creatve B2C companies among its members; these have
been successful and should be an important part of the
cluster. Some of these may be suitable for venture capital
investments. An interview with Kolding-based investor Bjert
Invest has shown that it could be interestng to create a ven-
ture fund for the cluster’s companies. This can be an oppor-
tunity for the cluster and for investors to try out the area,
but such a fund should be created simultaneously with the
cluster’s development and the creaton of a framework for
development of strong and compettve companies in the
design and creatve industries.
Conclusion
Strong cluster ecosystems are capable of atractng private
investors. Access to fnancing and professional venture capi-
tal can be decisive for the development of a cluster’s com-
panies.
There is capital available in the emerging design and crea-
tve industries cluster, but the emerging cluster does not
have much experience in creatng commercially successful
companies suitable for venture capital investments. One of
the possible reasons for this is that the cluster is stll under
development, but also that the DNA of the companies is dif-
ferent from the DNA of the companies in other clusters.
It may be useful in the cluster’s future development to de-
velop models of fnancing that can contribute to genera-
tng growth in the cluster’s companies. In this context, it is
necessary to make a distncton between providers working
with design methods (B2B) and providers working in the
creatve industries (B2C). The later may be more suitable
for venture investments.
“
As detailed above, the emerging clus­
ter has a number of creatve B2C com­
panies among its members; these
have been successful and should be
an important part of the cluster. Some
of these may be suitable for venture
capital investments. An interview with
Kolding­based investor Bjert Invest has
shown that it could be interestng to
create a venture fund for the cluster’s
companies. This can be an opportunity
for the cluster and for investors to try
out the area, but such a fund should be
created simultaneously with the clus­
ter’s development and the creaton of
a framework for development of strong
and compettve companies in the de­
sign and creatve industries.
28 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
Strong ecosystems ofer access to diferent types of consul-
tants who aid companies in their development in a num-
ber of ways. It is typically lawyers and auditors who ofer
manage ment consultng in more practcal maters. Coun-
tries like Denmark also have insttutons like business deve-
lopment centres, authorised technological service insttutes
and others who work with the more professional and tech-
nical part of corporate development. What is partcularly
distnctve for strong clusters is that the more private the
consultng segment becomes, the greater the value created
by the cluster and the more the money that can be earned
through corporate development.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster includes
a number of consultants who work in diferent ways with
the development of, in partcular, design and creatve com-
petencies providers. Some of these are Spinderihallerne,
Designandelen, Fremtdsfabrikken, IDEA, the Kolding School
of Design and Væksthusene. Consultants are mostly public
and fnanced with funds from the Growth Forum and other
public sources. There are few private consultants in the
cluster. Companies like Playalive act as consultants for com-
panies that want to try out and develop new design. Other
companies like Developa act as role models in the cluster,
but are not actual consultants for other design and creatve
companies.
The consultants ofer basic corporate consultng, with a fo-
cus on business development and by promotng provider
competencies in the design and creatve industries. How-
ever, they also work to support the use of design in the com-
panies in the region, e.g. by telling companies that do not
traditonally work with design thinking about the value of
using design as a method for generatng business develop-
ment and innovaton in companies.
The consultants operate in a couple of strong micro eco-
systems situated in diferent places in the cluster, e.g. Vejle,
Kolding, Odense and Svendborg.
An assessment based on the interviews is that it is necessary
to create a common vision in the consultng area. By means
of closer cooperaton and exchange of experience, consul-
tants can develop and implement a vision and a stra tegy for,
e.g. the consultants’ work by upgrading providers’ know-
ledge and competencies in, e.g. use of design methods,
network-based growth strategies, etc. Companies in the
creatve industries and, to some extent, design companies
ofen grow through network-based growth strategies. It is
possible to strengthen work with network-based growth
strategies in order to make it a real method for business de-
velopment in the cluster, and providers can be introduced
to the strategies based on the experience that is locally avai-
lable in the cluster.
Conclusion
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster includes
a number of public consultants who support the companies’
network creaton, business development and growth. The
consultants have developed excitng concepts for how crea-
tve industries can contribute to the development of remote
areas in Denmark. This has aroused major natonal interest.
Nevertheless, the consultants are simultaneously confron-
ted with the challenge of supportng the weakest link in the
emerging cluster. Consultants work, in partcular, to develop
the providers, which is why they have an enormous respon-
sibility for the sufcient upgrade and competence develop-
ment of supply.
An assessment based on the interviews is that the cluster’s
consultants cooperate on mapping out the directon of the
cluster’s strategic development and that they jointly de-
fne a forward-looking vision for the type of consultng the
supply needs. Such a discussion can focus on the develop-
ment and implementaton of network-based cooperaton
allian ces and the contnuaton of the eforts to introduce de-
sign methods into the providers’ work so that they are bet-
ter equipped to take part in B2B cooperaton partnerships.
“
An assessment based on the interviews
is that the cluster’s consultants coop­
erate on mapping out the directon of
the cluster’s strategic development
and that they jointly defne a forward­
looking vision for the type of consultng
the supply needs. Such a discussion can
focus on the development and imple­
mentaton of network­based coopera­
ton alliances and the contnuaton of
the eforts to introduce design methods
into the providers’ work so that they
are beter equipped to take part in B2B
cooperaton partnerships.
CONSULTANTS WHO SUPPORT COMPANIES IN THEIR
DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION WORK
29 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
As detailed above, an ecosystem comprises a number of dif-
ferent players who work in a number of ways to create va lue
in the cluster. The presence of the players alone is not enough
to create a strong ecosystem. A cluster may have many
of the players it needs in its ecosystem, but if they do not
cooperate and network with each other, they will not crea-
te the necessary added value and synergy that contributes
to creatng growth in the cluster’s companies. Strong cluster
ecosystems are characterised by close connectons between
the partcipants in mutually dependent partnerships. It is in
the partcipants’ own interest to take part in networks and
cooperate with other cluster partcipants because coopera-
ton contributes to more innovaton and growth in the com-
panies. However, a prerequisite for good cooperaton is also
that the partcipants in an ecosystem are familiar with cluster
theory/experience and that they believe in the advantages of
cooperaton rather than in independent work.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster has
many of the right ingredients for creatng a strong network
between the partcipants in the ecosystem. There are a num-
ber of diferent players who contribute to network facilita-
ton, e.g. Spinderihallerne, Designandelen, Fremtdsfabrik-
ken and Stjerneskibet. The knowledge actors and D2i also
contribute to network creaton and cooperaton, and there
are many freballs and dealmakers who contribute to the
greater cohesion of the ecosystem.
However, the interviews also indicate that there are a num-
ber of actually existng micro ecosystems and that these mi-
cro ecosystems do not necessary cooperate or take advan-
tage of each other’s core competencies. The partcipants in
the ecosystem need to view each other more as cooperaton
partners and take part in partnerships across various micro
ecosystems in order to jointly take advantage of the syner-
gies and develop a stronger joint ecosystem in the cluster.
It is necessary to develop a stronger common cluster under-
standing and take joint responsibility for the cluster’s deve-
lopment across its segments. This is decisive if the ambiton
is to create a strong cluster and build on the unique compe-
tencies and knowledge existng in the area.
Networking and cooperaton between the partcipants in
the emerging design and creatve industries cluster may, e.g.
comprise joint facilitaton of specifc corporate partnerships
and innovaton projects for the beneft of the companies
in the cluster, cooperaton on the strategic development of
the emerging cluster, various joint actvites, including e.g.
workshops and conferences, joint campaigns aimed at sprea-
ding design use, development of competence development
courses for providers in the cluster, development of a joint
cluster profle, partnerships with other clusters, internatonal
actvites, etc.
Moving ofce, i.e. the relocaton of diferent partcipants in
the cluster (in partcular, consultants and network players)
so as to share a common ofce space and ongoing dialogue
meetngs may contribute to more networking between the
players.
In line with the cluster’s development and preparaton of a
common vision and directon of development for the emer-
ging cluster, it could be necessary to have a strong, common
cluster organisaton that can unite the diferent partcipants,
enable joint actvites and visualise the cluster as a whole to
the surrounding world.
The establishment of cluster organisatons is a trend deve-
loping in many places in Denmark that is the result of the
professionalizaton of clusters and networks in Denmark. A
cluster organisaton is not the same as a trade associaton as
it unites companies across traditonal industry boundaries,
and its primary focus is on facilitatng networks, partnerships
and visibility on behalf of the whole cluster. A cluster organi-
saton can be a means of creatng the necessary network
in an ecosystem. Efectve cluster organisatons contribute
to the creaton of networks across the ecosystem’s players
and otherwise help visualise the unique knowledge and core
competencies existng in the cluster to the surrounding world
at natonal and internatonal level. It can therefore make a
really good sense to create a formal, recognised and uni fying
cluster organisaton for the emerging design and creatve in-
dustries cluster in the Region of Southern Denmark.
Conclusion
Network and cooperaton between the partcipants in a clus-
ter’s ecosystem are decisive for the development of a strong
cluster.
The emerging design and creatve industries cluster has
many of the right ingredients for creatng a strong network
between the partcipants in the ecosystem. There are a
number of partcipants who contribute in diferent ways to
the networking between the partcipants in the ecosystem.
There are also micro ecosystems in the emerging cluster that
seem to functon really well. However, there is not necessa-
rily any cooperaton across network players.
A formal unifying cluster organisaton has not been
established yet even if there is experience in the area. It is
necessary to establish a cluster organisaton that leads the
cluster, unifes the partcipants in the ecosystem and visua-
lises the cluster at both natonal and internatonal level. A
cluster organisaton can be a means for more networking and
cooperaton in the emerging cluster, but the cluster’s success
presupposes broad support among the multtude of partci-
pants in the ecosystem.
We recommend that the diferent partcipants in the cluster
(in partcular, consultants and network players) strengthen
their cooperaton, e.g. along moving-ofce principles and
specifc cooperaton projects, but also through ongoing dia-
logue meetngs between the players.
STRONG NETWORK BETWEEN THE ECOSYSTEM PLAYERS
LIST OF INTERVIEWEES
Andrew Nagel Creatve Director Developa
Ann Clarke Head of IER (Department of Entrepreneur-
ship and Relatonship Management) SDU
Ann Plejdrup Co-owner DK3
Birthe Mortensen Vice Chancellor University College South Denmark
Carsten Bech School of Design Project Manager D2I – School of Design
Diana Arsovic Nielsen Director Health Innovaton Centre
of Southern Denmark
Elsebeth Gerner Vice Chancellor Design School
Erik Jørgensen CEO Bjert Inverst
Flemming Paasch CEO Easy Food
Hans Mikkelsen Chief Consultant IBC Innovaton Factory
Henrik Andersen Partner Reformo
Henrik Lorentsen Head of Drawing Ofce Sønderomme Life
Hugo Nielsen Head of Graphic Communicaton Dept. University College South Denmark
Ivan Tyrsted Director IDEA
Jacob Hoilund Founder and CEO panuu
Jakob Møller Hansen Vice President for Research & Development Ecco
Jakob Weigand Goetz Head of Acoustc Design Dept. University College South Denmark
Jørgen Rosted Former head of department Ministry of Business of Denmark (subse-
quently Ministry of Business and Growth)
Karen Marie Madsen Head of Educaton University College South Denmark
Karsten Lumbye Jensen Head of Innovaton Insero
Kim Bleshøy Nielsen Managing Director, Partner Intertsement
Klaus Baggesen Hilger Senior Innovaton Manager Dong
Klaus Kjær Hansen R&D Manager Epoke
Lau Kierstein Partner PlayAlive
Leenert Bjerg Secretariat Project Manager D2I
Lene Lawaetz Director Spinderihallerne
Liselote Hohwy Stokholm Director Business Development Centre
- Southern Denmark
Majbrit Chambers Projektleder Designandelen
Merete Erenskjold Kristensen Head of Design Viking
Mete Dalby Head of Culture and Design School of Design
Mete Thybo Director Capital of Children
Mikkel Jespersen Partner 1508.dk
Per Krogh Hansen Head of the Department of
Design and Communicaton SDU
Peter Grønfeldt Senior Designer Kompan
Poul Rind Head of Research for D2I at SDU D2I – School of Design
Rikke Vestergaard Chief Executve Kolding Municipality
Simon Skafdrup Director/Partner 3 Part
Stephan Schonert Owner Stefan Schonert
Susanne Linnet Aagaard Manager Fremtdsfabrikken
Thit Juhl Madsen Head of Secretariat D2I
Thomas Nielsen Director Design City
Tina Thomsen Project Developer Design City
Torben Damgaard Vice-Dean SDU
Torben Lindegaard Hansen Head of Development Lillebaelt Academy of Professional Educaton
Ufe Thorup Thomsen CEO MADE
Ulrik Gernow Head of Product Innovaton and Marketng LEGO
Ulrik Jungersen Head of Design Kolding Municipality
NAME TITLE COMPANY/ORGANISATION
30 | THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
THE DESIGN AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ECOSYSTEM IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
REG X – THE DANISH
CLUSTER ACADEMY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK
UNIVERSITETSPARKEN 1
6000 KOLDING
WWW.REGX.DK
[email protected]
TEL.: 6550 1319

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