The Needle in the Haystack: Cecilie Manz’s design process at DAC
The Needle in the Haystack in 2021 offered a close look at designer Cecilie Manz’s design process. The exhibition featured a “treasure cabinet” of references, inspirational objects and material samples, with a focus on detail and colour work. It was shown at DAC in connection with Cecilie Manz’s 2021 Honour Award and opened alongside 3daysofdesign.
As a fan of Danish design brands, chances are that you already own or covet a product designed by Cecilie Manz. This exhibition was an immersive experience in Manz’s design process; to behold, sense and appreciate her elaborative approach to realizing the ultimate product.
Presenting the diversity of her work in prototypes, industrial projects and one-offs – spanning bathtubs, cutlery and furniture to stepping stones, porcelain, lighting and bags – the exhibition focus was on the details, with a cabinet of treasures showcasing eclectic references, inspirational objects, samples and an insistent dedication to coloration.
Based on Manz’s personal design process, the show homed in on selected projects to recount the stories behind them. Manz’s work evoked a sense of finding the needle in the haystack, a circuitous approach to the solution; a laborious minutiae of contemplations, doubts, templates and quirky prototypes. A painstaking and persistently iterative process.
Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj 
Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj
In the exhibition you could gain a unique insight into Manz’s work processes; into commissioned designs created in close collaboration with a manufacturer versus her experimental, “freewheeling” projects. The design processes may be brief, lengthy, lavish or lean, but the methodology is essentially the same in the trajectory from intuition to a finished design.
For Manz, the outcome, be it a loudspeaker or a bathtub, is an accomplished summation of the stages that went into its making. Superficially, each design holds instant, straightforward – often archetypical – appeal, but the considerable efforts that go into them are what make great design so compelling. Here we have the needle in the haystack.
Discover Cecilie Manz
One of Denmark’s most acclaimed designers, Cecilie Manz, unites the Scandinavian tradition of clean lines and functionality with contemporary, global style. Each design is a thing of beauty, executed in sustainable materials with consummate craftsmanship. She has deservingly received numerous awards and accolades for her works, capturing the hearts of design fans worldwide with her products for the likes of B&O, Fritz Hansen and Duravit.
Honorary award 2021
Nationalbankens Jubilæumsfonds Hæderspris is an honorary award made by the design and architecture foundation of the central bank of Denmark, and was conferred in 2021 on the designer Cecilie Manz, who for almost three decades has produced industrial design on diverse scales, from impressive tables through fascinating lamps to sensuous applied art objects. True to tradition, the annual awardee mounted a solo show, and in 2021, DAC did the honors as the exhibition venue.
The exhibition opened to tie in with 3daysofdesign.
Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj
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What was The Needle in the Haystack?
The Needle in the Haystack was an exhibition at DAC offering insight into Cecilie Manz’s design process, letting visitors see and experience how she works towards a finished product.
When did the exhibition take place?
The exhibition ran from 17 Sep 2021 to 9 Jan 2022.
What kinds of work did the exhibition present?
The exhibition presented the diversity of Manz’s practice through prototypes, industrial projects and one-offs, spanning objects from furniture and lighting to porcelain and bags.
What was the “treasure cabinet” in the exhibition?
A “treasure cabinet” highlighted references, inspirational objects, material samples and the persistent work around colour.
What is the context of the 2021 Honour Award and 3daysofdesign?
Cecilie Manz received the Nationalbank’s Anniversary Foundation Honour Award 2021, and as the award recipient traditionally creates an exhibition of their own works— it was shown at DAC and opening alongside 3daysofdesign.
What should I know if I only read one thing?
The Needle in the Haystack (17 Sep 2021–9 Jan 2022) focused on Cecilie Manz’s painstaking path from idea to finished design, with prototypes and materials at the centre.