How independent designers and NORNORM collaborate to create future-ready workspaces

When Coop Trading set out to create a new home for its team in Copenhagen, the ambition was bigger than simply filling a space with furniture. The goal was to create a workspace that balanced Nordic calm with bold brand expression, and could evolve as the organisation did.

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For independent interior designer Karen Toft and NORNORM’s Range Innovation Manager Mathilde, that ambition sparked a close collaboration. Together, they combined creative vision with circular design principles to create a space that felt cohesive, flexible, and unmistakably on-brand.

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“The collaboration worked exceptionally well,” said Karen. “Since both NORNORM and I needed to accommodate the client’s wishes, we maintained direct contact throughout the project to make sure everything came together successfully.”

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Aligning around a shared vision

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Karen’s role was to translate the client’s communication ambitions into a visual concept, while Mathilde focused on spatial planning and ensuring that NORNORM’s circular furniture system could support and enhance the design.

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“I wanted the furniture to feel like it was chosen for the visual design, rather than the other way around,” Karen explained. “We found a great balance between the client’s bold identity and NORNORM’s softer Nordic Light aesthetic.”

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For Mathilde, the project called for an approach that could seamlessly complement this creative direction.

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“Karen and the client did great work in finding ways to incorporate strong concepts and colour without it becoming overpowering,” said Mathilde. “Our goal was to complement that with a furniture system that felt cohesive, functional, and flexible enough to evolve over time.”

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Making collaboration work

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With two distinct perspectives and processes, strong communication became key to success.

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“Having an external designer as part of the process meant we needed to be really good at communicating our circular system and design methods,” Mathilde reflected. “And that’s what made the collaboration so strong.”

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Staying closely connected ensured that design decisions - from materials and layout to subtle visual cues - aligned across every layer of the office. Together, they created a space that was not only practical, but intuitive and welcoming for its users.

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A flexible foundation for the future

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The result is a workspace that balances brand identity, user needs, and design continuity, without compromise.

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“Nothing is final,” Mathilde said. “That’s the comfort of circularity. We can continue to adapt the space over time to meet changing needs.”

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This project shows what happens when two design perspectives are given the space to work together — each one strengthening the other.

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Collaboration as a design principle

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At NORNORM, flexibility isn’t just about furniture. It’s about how we work: with clients, with partners, and with designers like Karen.

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Because the best outcomes happen when creativity and circularity work side by side.