Design Dialogues: Simon Legald

Simon Legald approaches design as a dialogue between idea, material, and everyday life. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, where he graduated in 2012, he has spent more than a decade refining his understanding of how objects move from concept to reality.

For Simon, design is never about self-expression. Instead, it should relate to something beyond the designer: function, context, and the people who will ultimately use the object. Whether designing furniture, lighting, or other everyday pieces, he is drawn to creating objects that become part of daily routines and gradually gain meaning through use.

What interests him most is the process itself. Shaping an idea, understanding materials, and translating a vision into production are the most compelling parts of the work.

“Once a design is finished, it begins its own life elsewhere.”

In that sense, Simon sees objects as small reflections of their time—much like furniture from the 1950s reveals something about the society that produced it.

Over the years, his practice has developed through a growing knowledge of materials and production techniques. While contemporary manufacturing relies on machines, Simon remains interested in preserving traces of craftsmanship.

“I value details that suggest the presence of a human hand behind the production, rather than objects that feel purely machine-made.”

Designing within real-world constraints is also central to his thinking.

“Creating an expensive object can be simple, but designing something accessible while maintaining quality and intention presents a more difficult challenge—and ultimately a more rewarding one. Balancing material use, production, and function is where the process becomes valuable to a broader audience. In that sense, I like to think my designs are for people—accessible to most.”

Inspiration often appears in small, unexpected moments: a curve in a drainpipe (Pipe Pitcher), the shape of an old electrical socket (Amp Lamp), or a material detail encountered in everyday surroundings. These observations gradually translate into new forms and ideas.

Outside the studio, time spent at his summer house offers an important counterbalance. Surrounded by nature, the slower rhythm and sensory calm provide space for reflection—something he values as much as the act of designing itself.

If design had not become his path, Simon reflects:
“I think I would have liked to pursue landscape architecture. It’s another way of shaping environments and working with form, function, and atmosphere—but you also get to spend a lot of time outside, working with nature.”