Common cultural features
Social policies, climate, economics and geography are all aspects which link the Nordic countries together.

Another consequence of the climate is an emphasis on home comforts. Instead of meeting in squares and streets, people in the Nordic countries gather in their homes, which are generally well-furnished and decorated.

Compared with the Continent, the Nordic countries used to be relatively poor, with the exception of Denmark which was richer and better developed than its Nordic neighbours. Industrialization arrived late in the nineteenth century, and compared with many of the European neighbours, it developed more slowly in Scandinavia. Architecture and design reflected the economic situation in that simplicity, functionalism and natural materials and colour schemes were dominant. Local handicraft survived industrialization and circumstances did not allow for large-scale industries. Geographical isolation and individualism, as dominant characteristic features of the Nordic people, also had a big role to play. Some critics even go as far as to say that those features have hindered cultural development and made provincialism a lasting feature of the Nordic character.

During the golden age of Scandinavian design (the 1950's and 60's), it acquired a standard of an internationally known concept. Handicraft traditions became industrial art, with world famous Scandinavian artists and architects leading the way. Glass, furniture, stainless steel products and textiles, all designed in the functional modernistic style, became design classics. International competition and economic problems hit Scandinavia at the same time as the rest of the world and placed industry under considerable strain. In the following years, individualism, small-scale workshops and historical awareness became the dominant ideology.