Stig Lindberg

Stig Lindberg is one of Sweden’s most beloved designers. He worked in various fields such as illustration, sculpture, textile patterns, and industrial design. Stig Lindberg played with shapes and added color to everyday objects.

Stig Lindberg was born as the youngest of five children in Umeå in 1916. His father, Helof, was a professional soldier, and his mother, Lydia, was a teacher. Initially, Lindberg aimed for a future as a musician, but after an accident in his teenage years, his artistic path changed.

He left behind a rich body of work filled with shapes, colors, and illustrations that do not reflect the typical Scandinavian design language, which is often strict and cool, but instead are more playful, colorful, and humorous.

He graduated in 1935 and started the same year at the Technical School (now Konstfack) in Stockholm. The following year, he contacted the porcelain factory Gustavsberg outside Stockholm. The factory was struggling, and the then manager couldn’t even promise him a summer internship. Lindberg responded, “If you hire me, I’ll make sure there’s work at the factory.” The company’s artistic director, Wilhelm Kåge, was impressed by the confident Lindberg and hired him shortly afterward. Lindberg went on to succeed Kåge as artistic director in 1948 and remained at Gustavsberg for nearly his entire career, until 1980. Two years later, he passed away at the age of 66 in his home in Italy.

Stig Lindberg, Coffee Plate Berså, Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory, 1960.

Color and form on everyday objects

Stig Lindberg was also the head teacher at Konstfack from 1957 to 1970. He worked in various fields such as illustration, sculpture, textile patterns, and industrial design, becoming one of Sweden’s foremost designers of the folkhemmet era and one of our greatest international names.

Stig Lindberg, Textile Print Printemps.

Stig Lindberg played with shapes and added color to everyday objects. He left behind a rich body of work filled with shapes, colors, and illustrations that do not reflect the typical Scandinavian design language, which is often strict and cool, but instead are more playful, colorful, and humorous.

You can find more objects by Stig Lindberg in our digital collection.