Before founding interdisciplinary design firm Komplot Design, both Poul Christiansen and Boris Berlin gained expertise across several academic fields, business environments and world cultures – all of which they would eventually channel into their deeply personal work by approaching a project from several angles simultaneously. Christiansen graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture in Copenhagen in 1973 and became a freelance designer for companies such as Kevi and Herman Miller. He also worked for Le Klint, where he transformed the company’s traditional pleated lampshades into sculptural shapes through his application of mathematical curves. Berlin graduated in 1975 from the Institute of Applied Arts and Design in Leningrad and was soon working as a freelance designer, producing industrial products and graphics for VNIITE. In 1983, he started Boris Berlin Design in Denmark and worked with Penta Design to develop a computerized workstation for the Danish Post and Telegraph.
Christiansen and Berlin established Komplot in 1987, with the belief that “design is an intermediate body – a link that appears into existence in the tension of no-man’s-land: Tension between art and engineering, between manufacturer and consumer/user... between these polar contradictions is the condition of a design’s successful performance.” Over the course of their partnership, Christiansen and Berlin have produced critically acclaimed work for clients including Fora Form, Gubi and Hay. The Gubi Chair, one of their more notable products, has won several prestigious awards including the Innovation Award, Best of NeoCon in 2003; the Danish Design Prize in 2004; the RED DOT Design Award 2004; and the 100% Design / Blueprint Award in 2003 for Best Product.
Christiansen and Berlin established Komplot in 1987, with the belief that “design is an intermediate body – a link that appears into existence in the tension of no-man’s-land: Tension between art and engineering, between manufacturer and consumer/user... between these polar contradictions is the condition of a design’s successful performance.” Over the course of their partnership, Christiansen and Berlin have produced critically acclaimed work for clients including Fora Form, Gubi and Hay. The Gubi Chair, one of their more notable products, has won several prestigious awards including the Innovation Award, Best of NeoCon in 2003; the Danish Design Prize in 2004; the RED DOT Design Award 2004; and the 100% Design / Blueprint Award in 2003 for Best Product.