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By Louise Witt
Emotions can be the reason why people keep old, worn-out products for many years. This was one of the topics which was debated as VOLA hosted a talk about “long-lasting design” at the museum Kunsten in Aalborg.
How on earth can it add value to a rocking chair that the chair has bite marks from a dog?
This was one of the topics which was discussed by several experts whom VOLA had invited to a talk about “long-lasting design” at the museum Kunsten in Aalborg.
The participants were professor of general psychology at Aalborg University Svend Brinkmann, research manager at Aalborg University's Design Lab Linda Nhu Laursen, and independent business philosopher Kasper Warming.
Moderator of the event was the director of Kunsten, Lasse Andersson. He opened the discussion of the concept of long-term design with a brief introduction to Kunsten: The listed museum building, designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in 1972, contains works by, among others, Le Corbusier and Picasso.
"My job is to preserve things for all eternity, but also to make these things relevant for all of you who walk through the door every day," he stated and drew attention to the upcoming 2026 exhibition: Late Picasso.
Basically, there are three different kinds of durability when it comes to design, stated researcher Linda Nhu Laursen:
“Physical durability, which is tested by engineers. Will it last long? Then there is emotional durability. What makes you think something is beautiful and want to keep it? If you get something from your late grandmother, you keep it, take care of it, repair it. The last kind of durability, strategic durability, we rarely talk about,” she said, later elaborating on this.
Independent business philosopher Kasper Warming, who is affiliated with VOLA, was particularly preoccupied with emotional durability:
“When thinking about long-term durability, one of the first things that came to mind was friendships. Can we create products that contain the opportunity for a friendship?” he asked.
“If a product appears razor-sharp forever, not being worn by time or weather at all, we feel alienated. We can’t really connect. If a product ages with us, then we can have a relationship with it,” the business philosopher stated.
Psychology professor Svend Brinkmann referred to a theory developed by an older colleague of his: adjunct professor of psychology at Aalborg University Jens Mammen.
“In the 1980s, Mammen discovered and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the fact that there is a special human sense for concrete connections between time and space. This means that we’re not only in this world by virtue of sensing the surface properties of things, but we can also go beyond the perception of the superficial and understand the historical depth of, for example, things,” said Svend Brinkmann.
It could, as he said, be a coin from Svend Brinkmann’s own birthyear: 1975, which his grandmother had hidden in the kitchen drawer to give him as a confirmation gift – and when the coin was unfortunately used a means of payment in an amusement park, another identic looking coin could not replace it. Because it was not that exact coin.
Another example was a Wegner rocking chair with bite marks originating from Brinkmann’s wife’s childhood home. The bite marks were left by the family’s German shepherd dog when his wife was a child, and she has kept the chair ever since.
"It's incredibly illogical that we have a chair like that. A few years ago, we used quite a lot of money to have it repaired. The legs are shorter. We haven't done anything about that, but it has been upgraded with a new wicker seat. Why didn't we just buy a new one? I’m in the top paying tax bracket. I could afford to buy a new Wegner rocking chair, and in every objective parameter it would be better than this old, leg-gnawed rocking chair that we have. But the point is: It wouldn't be that rocking chair. The rocking chair that my mother-in-law and father-in-law and their dog sat in and filled with bitemarks, and this is something uniquely human," said Svend Brinkmann, who is interested in the field that he calls "the psychology of long-term durability".
Research leader Linda Nhu Laursen and her colleagues conduct research about inherited things. Their research indicates that non-physical factors can significantly affect a product's lifespan. For example, the recipient's relationship with the person who formerly owned the product, she said.
“We have found that inherited products gain more value if the person you inherited from has died,” she said.
Svend Brinkmann added:
“We did a project on grief a few years ago and found that all people who lose a loved one will attach importance to objects in one way or another,” said the psychology professor.
Design researcher Linda Nhu Laursen also wanted to draw attention to the fact that the companies behind the products can make a big difference when it comes to the long-term durability of a design – and not just in terms of functionality.
“We rarely talk about what is called strategic sustainability, which Vola, for example, has been particularly good at: How to, in the long term, create a sustainable design for the company, the market and the user,” she said.
Linda Nhu Laursen explained how she in her research has been concerned with examining products that have stayed on the market for many years – longer than their comparative products. Among other designs a car brand such as the Mini Cooper, which consumers typically hold on to for a longer period than many other cars.
“With the Mini Cooper, they have continuously worked on a strong strategic fit in relation to the other market players. What kind of dreams are they selling to the user? Most people who drive a Mini Cooper give it a name. Why? Because they have designed it to look like a bulldog. Users love the driving experience because you sit a little lower than in other cars. A bit like in a go-kart,” she explained.
Summarizing – on the theme of design that consumers are attached to for a long time – Linda Nhu Laursen said:
"It is created using design principles that embody long-lasting dreams."
