Hirameki
Finnish design looks eastward
19.10.2009 13:58
Hirameki Design × Finland event brings an authentic attitude of Finnish design and lifestyle to the Tokyo Designers Week in autumn 2010. It is a unique Finnish export platform comprising of series of activities that deliver key actors - the most talented designers, design-oriented companies and current phenomena of Finnish life - to the Japanese audience. The main event will be an extensive exhibition in Living Design Center Ozone.
Hirameki is curated by well-known Finnish designers Harri Koskinen and Ilkka Suppanen, both appreciated and noticed in the Japanese design market. Both designers have also received not only Finnish but also international acclaim: the Japanese Axis magazine recently wrote about their success in the Fennia Prize 2009 design competition. Both are known as the avantgardists of design. Their creativeness is flourishing for example in prints for Marimekko and in lighting and furniture solutions for national and international design brands. Industrial designer Harri Koskinen will receive the world's biggest design prize, the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize 2009 this November.
Finnish design for everyday use
Design is something familiar for us Finns. At home we use the popular Arabia and Iittala tableware every day. Alvar Aalto's Savoy vase is often placed on the table for special occasions. At leisure we wear Marimekko prints and Rukka outdoor clothing. We decorate our homes with Marimekko textiles and furniture made of Finnish wood or some innovative new material. Young people often choose recycled design by Globe Hope or exciting new fashions by IvanaHelsinki or Tiia Vanhatapio - just to mention only a few examples. In Finland, design is ever-present in everyday life.
Finnish design has a long and highly regarded history that features many internationally renowned names: Alvar Aalto, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva and Kaj Franck, among others. The Finnish Society of Crafts and Design maintaining the Design Forum Finland has promoted Finnish design for over 130 years. From the same tradition stem Helsinki's popular Design Museum and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The latter, of high international repute and with around 23% of its students coming from abroad, is presently part of the new Aalto University. Finland is also the home of corporate brands that have been successful in the field of design: Artek, Fiskars, Iittala, Kone, Marimekko, Nokia, Rocla, Suunto and Vaisala. Traditions obligate in a positive manner!
Sparkling Finnish design
The time has now come to present the bold new future of Finnish design. There are many experienced names in the field, motivated by their skills and consideration of ethics, recycling, the inventive use of materials and user-friendliness. Industrial designer Hannu Kähönen, the receiver of several distinguished design prizes, aptly comments on the present situation: "Design is no longer the creation and development of new models. Instead, it has become a notable competitive factor. At present it is difficult to find any significant innovations with reference to old concepts. Design today must take note of the ecological and environmental issues - the requirements of sustainable design and changing needs of people and a population that is ageing. In order to develop, we must proceed from a new basis, for example from design service concepts of different kinds."
Design is now becoming an important means of competition for Finnish products and companies to stand out in the international market. Also in the future, design will be a high-quality cultural export passing on the image of our national identity. "Pure Finnish materials and products are definite expectations abroad. This is a good starting point even in the future for Finnish design, industry and new jobs," continues Hannu Kähönen.
Design as a connecting bridge between Finland and Japan
The perspective of platforms such as Hirameki is on renewing the international awareness of Finnish design and its marketing, but also creating new business opportunities and contacts. The image of Finnish design is still to some degree dominated by the icons of the 1950s and 1960s. But the new and innovative Finnish design is now sparkling more and more brightly.
In recent years, Finnish design has been on show at Tokyo Designers Week and also at renowned exhibition centres such as Axis. Japanese tourists and media have already found the new Finnish design - besides the ever-popular Moomin figures. Design enthusiasts, like Masayoshi Kosugi who introduced Finnish design at his Quico design shop in Tokyo, are important mediators between our countries. Some Finnish brands, such as Iittala and Marimekko, already exist in the Japanese market. This autumn's Tokyo Designers Week is for example introducing industrial designer Harri Koskinen with Iittala, interior architect Samuli Naamanka with the furniture company Piiroinen and creative agency Kokoro&Moi. Also the Finland-based glass designer Kazushi Nakada is exhibiting at the Living Center Ozone.
Honoured traditions leading to inspiring new challenges
What then is typical for Finnish design at present? We Finns are often described as slightly introverted and taciturn, feeling at home in nature and in the sauna. We don't care for empty words or ornament. Natural and ecological materials and simple functional forms are valued. The best Finnish design springs no doubt from these characteristics even in the future, refining honesty into high quality. International interest in Finnish design is clearly on the rise again.
"Hirameki gives a current and versatile section on today's Finnish Design. We wanted to update and collect together today's phenomena and design know-how for tomorrow's purposes," says industrial designer Harri Koskinen, one of the two curators of Hirameki.
Aila Kolehmainen
