A circular shelf used for displaying deeply personal objects featured in designer Anker Bak's 3 Days of Design exhibition, which was also used to launch an initiative focused on designing for people in vulnerable situations.

The furniture designer and cabinetmaker partnered with creative strategist Jonas Sølberg to establish the Dignity Design platform, which develops products, spaces and rituals to support dignity in everyday life.

The initiative is an evolution of the design projects Bak has completed over the past 15 years, which are guided by a desire to improve people's lives through the creation of dignified and necessary furniture.

The exhibition, titled The Design We Hide Away, featured 15 of Bak's products, including a lightweight coffin and an aestheticised pill box that were previously presented during a 3 Days of Design solo show in 2024.

Also on display at the show in Copenhagen were a range of walking aids including a cane with a fold-out seat, as well as a bathing stool designed to feel like a piece of quality furniture and a funeral urn inspired by Japanese lanterns.

Alongside several other existing prototypes, Bak presented a new circular shelf called Cyklus that can be used like a home altar for displaying items with strong personal associations.

As part of the exhibition, contributors including actor Claes Bang and Designmuseum Danmark director Anne-Louise Sommer selected objects to represent their thoughts on life, death and meaning.

A key part of the show was a manifesto outlining how Dignity Design will use exhibitions, design projects and shared knowledge to build a movement aimed at encouraging others to rethink how design shapes dignity, participation and everyday life.

Bak told Dezeen that his interest in designing for vulnerable stages of life was informed by personal experiences and his awareness of how objects like canes or walking aids affect how people are viewed.

"As a cabinetmaker and designer, my instinct was to give these objects the same attention to form, materials and detail as any other piece of furniture," he said.

"Of course they have to work, but they should also feel like a natural part of your body, your home and the way you move through the world," Bak continued.

Throughout his career, Bak has completed numerous projects for brands including Karimoku, OneCollection and Fredahl Rydéns that confront issues such as ageing, loss and changing abilities.

According to Sølberg, who has worked closely with the designer for the past five years, the ideas explored in these projects formed the framework for Dignity Design and present a template for others to follow.

"Design shapes what people desire, what they feel proud to live with and, over time, what society considers normal," he said.

"With that kind of superpower comes responsibility," Sølberg continued. "We want to work with people who have the will, imagination and ability to change how these products, spaces and rituals look, feel and become part of people's lives."

The organisation is looking to partner with foundations, researchers, designers, industry and social practitioners to work on projects that help to create more dignified futures for people living through vulnerable stages of life.

The manifesto states that they will continue to develop objects and environments that support dignity, participation and self-determination in everyday life, while encouraging others to collaborate and contribute to the Dignity in Design movement.

"When you give real attention to an object's form and character, the relationship to it changes: it can become something you choose and identify with, something that belongs to your life rather than separating you from it," said Bak.

"The exhibition was our first way of showing what that shift looks and feels like, and of inviting others to help us take it further."

Other exhibitions that took place during this year's 3 Days of Design event included a showcase of innovative 3D-printed cutlery and a group show that saw designers create products related to bathing and sauna culture.

The photography is courtesy of Dignity Design.