Jacob Jensen (29 April 1926 – 15 May 2015) was a Danish

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

best known for his work with

Bang & Olufsen Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures Sound recording and reproduction, audio products, television sets, and telephones, originally from Denmark, founded in 1925 by Peter Bang (enginee ...

. Jensen designed numerous popular high-end consumer products, developing a functional

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

style that formed a prominent part of the

Danish modern Danish modern also known as Scandinavian modern is a style of minimalist furniture and housewares from Denmark associated with the Danish design movement. In the 1920s, Kaare Klint embraced the principles of Bauhaus modernism in furniture de ...

movement. In 1958 he founded the ''Jacob Jensen Design Studio.'' Jensen designed for other brands including

Alcatel Alcatel SA was a French industrial conglomerate active between 1963 and 2006. It has roots to ''Compagnie Générale d’Electricité'' (CGE), a conglomerate founded in 1898 as an early state owned cable and telephone equipment company that lat ...

, Kirk, Boform,

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, International Gift Corporation, JO-JO, Labofa, Rodenstock, Rosti (Rosti Mepal), and Stentofon. His works have been featured at the Museum of Modern Art (

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and have received numerous design awards.

Life and career

Jacob Jensen was born in 1926 in Copenhagen. Son of Olga and Alfred Jensen, he left school after the seventh grade and completed training as an

upholsterer Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chair, seats, with padding, Spring (device), springs, webbing, and textile, fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' com ...

. In 1947 he began working in his father's shop where he designed chairs. In 1948 he attended the School of Arts and Crafts (

Danmarks Designskole The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, more commonly known as the Danish Design School (Danish language, Danish: ''Danmarks Designskole''. often abbreviated as DKDS) is an institution of higher education in Copenhagen, Denmark, o ...

) where he enrolled in the furniture design department. In 1952 he became the first student to graduate from the institution's

Industrial Design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

program (founded by

Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the b ...

), which focused on mass-produced objects for everyday use. From 1952 to 1958, Jensen worked at Copenhagen studio Bernadotte & Bjørn (the first industrial design drawing office in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) as an industrial designer. During his time there he designed various works including the Margrethe Bowl for company Rosti (Rosti Mepal), which became Jensen's first financial success. This was followed by a period in

working with

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...

. He also spent some time in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with industrial design firm Latham, Tyler & Jensen. In 1964 he started working as a designer for

. During this time Jensen became known for designing audio components of characteristic styles that involved 2-dimensional flattened surfaces with streamlined silver and black designs. He also worked in collaboration with various other companies where he designed

wristwatch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

es,

kitchen appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

s, and other products. Jensen is credited with developing the B&O design style, which is still used today. Many of Jensen's designs have been included in permanent design collections at museums around the world. Jacob Jensen died on May 15, 2015, in Virksund,

Bang & Olufsen

In 1964 Jensen started working as chief product designer for

, an established Danish manufacturer of high-end home electronic products. By 1970s,

had received numerous awards for its product designs. The company devised a new slogan, “We think differently,” which was meant to embody the characteristics that made

different from other companies at the time. The company's new products and slogan led to an identification of what

referred to as the ''Seven Corporate Identity Components''. These principles, which underpinned an approach to the company's product design, included ''Authenticity'', ''Autovisuality'', ''Credibility'', ''Domesticity'', ''Essentiality'', ''Individuality'', and ''Inventiveness''. Through his time at

, Jensen developed over 200 products for the company. During this time he established a

minimalistic Minimalism is a movement in visual arts, music, and other media that began in post–World War II Western art. Minimalism may also refer to: *Minimalism (computing), a philosophy of programming and configuring computers *Minimalism (philosophy), ...

, horizontal, and severe design style that became characteristic of his product designs. His style involved using brushed

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

, white and black plastic, smooth surfaces, futuristic controls, and simple shapes for products including

amplifiers An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power suppl ...

speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

, tuners,

turntable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

s and other products. He redesigned standard knobs and dials, replacing them with clear-plastic panels, wafer-thin push buttons, and other innovative elements. Jensen is recognized as

’s minimal design idiom, and worked with the company until 1991.

The Jacob Jensen Design Studio

In 1958 Jensen opened his own studio in

Strandgade Strandgade () is one of the principal streets in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs along the full length of the neighbourhood, following the waterfront of the Inner Harbour, Copenhagen, Inner Harbour, from Christian's Ch ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. During this time Jensen designed for

. In 1966,

Jacob Jensen Design Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Patriarchs (Bible), Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older frate ...

moved to its present location in Hejlskov (

Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in northwest Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as an inlet ever since Viking times. However, it now has entries both ...

), where he designed over 200 products. This included

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

s, and other artefacts. Jensen’s son,

Timothy Jacob Jensen Timothy Jacob Jensen (born 27 April 1962) is a Danish industrial designer. He was best known as CEO and Chief Designer of Jacob Jensen Design (Scandinavia’s oldest design studio) from 1990 to 2018. Jensen was also the founder of the Scandina ...

, became his father’s apprentice in 1978. In 1990, his son Timothy Jacob Jensen became chief executive and chief designer of Jacob Jensen Design, and expanded the company internationally. He left Jacob Jensen Design in 2018 and is no longer connected to the company. The studio continues to focus on

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

, and has branches in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. In 2011 Lars Kolind became Chairman o
Jacob Jensen Design
and in 2018 became a majority shareholder.

Design style

Jacob Jensen is considered a prominent contributor to the mid-century

Danish Modern Danish modern also known as Scandinavian modern is a style of minimalist furniture and housewares from Denmark associated with the Danish design movement. In the 1920s, Kaare Klint embraced the principles of Bauhaus modernism in furniture de ...

movement, alongside Danish artists including

Mogens Koch Mogens Koch (2 March 1898 – 16 September 1992) was a Danish architect and furniture designer and, from 1950 to 1968, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Early life and education Mogens Koch was Koch in the Frederiksberg d ...

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, Hon. FAIA (; 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to functionalism (architec ...

, and

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Wor ...

. Using influences from

’s ''consumer-friendly'' designs and his experience designing for

, Jensen merged ''International design'' (an architectural design from the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

) and the ''Maya principle'' (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable). He labeled this design language “Different but not strange.” Jensen applied this design language to brands including

, Kirk,

, JO-JO, Labofa, Stentofon. Jensen's maxim was that household objects deserve the same attention as luxurious of high-end consumer gadgets.

Working method

Jensen described his approach to design as analogous to: “constructing a fountain pen, writing a poem, producing a play or designing a locomotive, all demand the same components, the same ingredients: perspective, creativity, new ideas, understanding and first and foremost, the ability to rework, almost infinitely, over and over. That ‘over and over’ is for me the cruelest torture.” “The only way I can work,” he continued, “is to make 30-40 models before I find the right one. The question is, when do you find the right one? My method is, when I have reached a point where I think, O.K., that’s it, there it is, I put the model on a table in the living room, illuminate it, and otherwise spend the evening as usual, and go to bed. The next morning I go in and look at it, knowing with 100 percent certainty that I have 6-7 seconds to see and decide whether it’s right or wrong.” “If I look at it longer, I automatically compensate. ‘Oh, it’s not too high,’ and ‘It’s not so bad.’ There are only those 6–7 seconds; then I make some notes as to what's wrong. Finished. After breakfast, I make the changes. That's the only way I know.”

MoMA exhibition

In 1978, New York’s Museum of Modern Art (

) featured a full exhibition on Jacob Jensen’s designs for

. The exhibition was titled “Bang & Olufsen—Design for Sound by Jacob Jensen”, and featured 28 audio artefacts. Critic

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born December 4, 1950)Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Cfp.87on Paul Goldberger

described the exhibition in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

as “among the most beautiful mass-produced objects ever made available in the United States.” 17 of Jensen's works have remained part of the museum's permanent collection.

Works

Jacob Jensen's most renowned works include Beolit radio (1970), Beogram 4000 (1972) and Beomaster 1900, BeoVox 2500 speakers (designed for

). Other well-known works include office chairs (designed for Labofa A/S), Margrethe Bowl, Kirk 76E telephone,

kitchen appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

designs, the Jensen-One cars for Max Rene Ltd., and loudspeakers for Dantax A/S.

Awards

* Chair Bronze medal by HRH King Frederik IX of Denmark (1949) * IF. Industrie Forum Design Awards (various from 1966 – 1991) * ND Norsk Design (various from 1969 - 1991) * Japan Grand Prize (1976) * Fortune Award (1977) * I.D.S.A. Award (1978) *

Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal The Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal () is an award granted annually by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for excellence in the fields of applied art and industrial design. The medal was established in 1979 in connection with the 75th anniversary of ...

(1983) * International Design Award (1985) * Good Design Award (various from 1985 - 1990) * ID Industrial Design (various from 1972 - 1996) * Knighted with the Knights Cross of the Order of Dannebrog (1996) * Foreign Ministry's list inclusion of “Great Danes” (1999) * The Prince Eugen Medal awarded by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Sylvia (2006) * Lifelong honorary grant from the Danish Arts Foundation (2008)

References

External links

* http://jacobjensendesign.com/

External links

Jacob Jensen Holding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Jacob 1926 births 2015 deaths Danish furniture designers Danish industrial designers Designers from Copenhagen Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen

Life and career

Bang & Olufsen

The Jacob Jensen Design Studio

Design style

Working method

MoMA exhibition

Works

Awards

See also

References

External links

External links