Interview with former students

Ellen Albin, Clara Höglund, Hanna Magnusson Berglund, and Dea Gashi are students in the Product Development with Furniture Design programme at Jönköping University. During the spring semester of 2026, they collaborated with GARO on a project focused on showroom design.

Tell us about your education and what you find most interesting within furniture and interior design.

We are studying the Product Development with Furniture Design programme at Jönköping University. The programme is two years long and includes a wide variety of courses, including CAD, sales, marketing, furniture design, strength of materials, and interior architecture.

There are many aspects of the programme that we find both interesting and educational, but what we appreciate the most are the courses in furniture design. These allow us to follow the entire design process, from concept development and sketching to construction and manufacturing in the workshop.

What made you want to work on a project related to showroom design?

What attracted us to a project in showroom design was the opportunity to create an environment that both highlights and clarifies GARO’s products. Since the products are primarily technical and functional by nature, we saw it as an exciting challenge to create an inspiring and attractive exhibition environment around them.

We wanted to design a space where visitors could easily gain an overview of the product range while also having a positive experience of the brand.

Why did you choose to carry out the project together with GARO?

It is always fun to challenge yourself and try something you have not done before. We chose to carry out the project together with GARO because it gave us the opportunity to work with a type of product that differs from what we had previously worked with. During our studies, we have often had a great deal of freedom to choose what we wanted to design, which makes it easy to stay within areas that are close to our own interests.

GARO’s products are primarily technical and functional and are perhaps not the products you would immediately associate with design and aesthetics. That is exactly why the project became especially interesting to us. It was an enjoyable challenge to find ways to highlight the products and present them in an attractive and inspiring way. The contrast with our previous projects made the collaboration both rewarding and educational.

What did your design process look like – from the initial idea to the final concepts?

We began by brainstorming ideas and searching for inspiration to find the atmosphere we wanted to create in the showroom. We then developed a mood board and a material board that we could use as guidance throughout the project.

Once the concept was established, we started building the rooms in 3ds Max. We then continued working with colour schemes, furnishing, and the placement of GARO’s products. Finally, we designed the lighting to create the right atmosphere and showcase the products in the best possible way.

What challenges did you encounter during the project, and how did you solve them?

One of the biggest challenges during the project was working within a realistic budget. Estimating costs for materials and labour is something we have not worked with very much during our studies, which made it challenging. At the same time, it was very educational, as we had to contact different professionals, including painters, to gain a better understanding of the overall cost picture.

What was the most enjoyable or rewarding part of the project?

The most enjoyable and rewarding part of the project was gaining insight into what it might be like to work with this type of assignment in professional life. It was also the first time we had carried out a project together with a real company, which made it both exciting and challenging.

Another rewarding aspect was having the opportunity to work with products and within an area that we might not have chosen ourselves from the beginning. It challenged us to think in new ways and provided us with valuable experience. In addition, GARO has been very helpful and accommodating throughout the entire project, which made the collaboration both smooth and reassuring.

What will you take with you from the collaboration with GARO into your future studies or working life?

We are taking everything with us! From the contact with GARO to understanding how a design process works in a real-world project. One important insight is that it can sometimes be more rewarding to work on something that you would not necessarily have chosen yourself from the outset.

The project challenged us to find creative ways to highlight technical and functional products, which has given us new perspectives on design and spatial design. Above all, we will take with us the importance of stepping outside our comfort zone and seeing new assignments as opportunities to grow and learn something new.