Have you ever wondered where all those nifty city bikes you see in Amsterdam and Copenhagen come from? And why there is no similar bikes for sale here in Finland?

There must be a demand for affordable, easy-to-use, trustworthy, no-bullsh*t bikes. Of course there is ye good olde Jopo, but (at least for me) it's a bit too small and somehow... not robust enough. Naturally it's possible to order something from abroad, but who wants that hassle? I am not that interested in bikes that I would spend hours online searching for the perfect bike.

But hallelujah. Now there is a solution. A friend of mine has launched a company that sells affordable, easy-to-use, trustworthy, no-bullsh*t bikes. And the bikes look darn good, too. As does the graphic identity of the company.

Check it out!

The first Finnish illustration agency Pekka is opening a pop-up showroom in Helsinki’s Design District on the 1st of June.

During the four months every illustrator will have their own mini exhibition for a week. I had the honor to start with my colleague Antti Uotila. We made some summerish pillows with a colorful psychedelic navy print. Please come by to see them!

The Picture Room is located at Pursimiehenkatu 3 and it is designed by the talented Tuomas Toivonen and Nene Tsuboi of NOW.

"Open only for a limited time, The Picture Room will showcase the work of Pekka’s illustrators through exhibits, launches and other events. It will also sell select merchandise; from products designed by the artists in partnership with brands like Marimekko, Vallila Interior and Tunto to original art pieces and limited edition items."

The showroom is open for four months starting from June 1st, Mon-Fri 11-18
For updates and exhibition schedule visit The Picture Room.

See you there!

I did the last chance MoA09 on Sunday. Not only diploma works. I always look forward to see MoA's visual identity and spatial design – exhibition architecture, as much as the annual overview of the freshly graduated. Wholeness. Processes. 

Annual Highlights

♥ Exhibition Coordinator Ia Ekman's fresh waffles with traditional apple sauce & whipped cream and lingonberry juice.

♥ MoA Library compiled the written parts of the thesis works

1. The Designers Words: The graphic designer as Artist, Political designer and Visual problem solver an ambitious book project by Ulla Ryynänen. Props! A must read. Self help. 

2. Tuukka Kaila's Based on Truth

3. Napin Mandharachitara's Pictograms & Signage system for Suvarnabhumi International Airport

 P.S. More fun on Friday! Don't forget the SHOW09!  

Napin Mandharachitara

I don't always follow the domestic vintage designers – Why do they (some of them) have to sew sloppy and leave their products without the final touch? Is that some kind of originality stamp on our domestic recycling products? cred matter?

Italian Monica Battistella and Sergio Gobbi, creatives behind the brand Pijama have succeedes take it to the maxxx. Pijama is based on quality wool and cotton vintage fabrics. Home made feeling is gone. 12 points goes to Milan. Say it with your laptop sleeve!

Henrik Vibskov, Fjällräven, H&M, Ordning & Reda, Pijama; Just to mention some of the new wave representatives. Attitude and worker's truths has moved from t-shirt graphics to laptop sleeves.   

Inside: Neoprene padding, cotton jersey lining and a secure Velcro closure.
Via PijamaVia Pijama

Via Pijama

Paper Magazine invited 15 of the best (in their mind) visual communicators to redefine the image of US. The list includes Kevin Roberts from Satchi & Satchi, Alex Bogusky from CP+B and W+K12 (Wieden Kennedy's in-house ad school). The brief is here.

When just briefly looking the creations, one could summon that America is still a place full of intolerance and arrogance. May be so, but aren't those international human features? What do you think? 

Scanned from one disorganized desk & from my notebook and loose stickies. Paper and cardboard cut-outs. Have a nice weekend!

What design is all about? There has been a lack of exhaustive definition(s) capturing the entirety. The aftermath of this is that the whole concept of design is played out.

Fred Collopy has been a primus motor at Weatherhead School to find at least a foundation for further defining what design is. No small feat.

Here is a list of three they have come up with:

1. Design is the process of finding and solving non-routine (wicked) problems, often with a focus on bringing new products or services to market
2. Design is the intentional assembly of systems with interacting parts to achieve some objective
3. Design is a collection of methods and techniques, often drawn from the fine arts, to creatively solve problems

Fred is the first admit that these serve as a starting point for further defining. More in-depth blog-post from Fred Collopy can be read from Fast Company site. 

There are theories behind what we do every day. Colors, typograhy, white space etc are always there for a reason. We take a great pride in actually explaining and reasoning the design decisions to our clients.

This reasoning is based on education and existing theories. They create a foundation and framework for what great graphic design is. You cannot bend these rules if you cannot understand, reason and explain why you do it.

For anyone interested, there is an article which gives you 50 Totally Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory. Read them and suddenly you're professional too. Or not. 

"Lucy in the mountains" by Fikon

Our friends Johanna Lundberg, Jenna Sutela and Timo Koro came up with the most fun concept of a playground of colours and sound for people to play within the computer screen.

"The digital sandbox on thisissand.com takes after the physical one. The user is allowed to do what he or she wishes with the elements in the sandbox. Sometimes the resulting pieces are expressive, sometimes they become more abstract. And just as a real world sandbox, the one on thisissand.com can be smoothed out and re-sculpted again time after time."

The website has been open for a year now and has gatherer over 80 000 works on to the website gallery. They are also exhibiting selected work at My o My starting from May 13th.

This is a perfect way to spend your (spare) time! Try it at www.thisissand.com.

Annual spring show season is on! I had a special reason to attend Wetterhoff’s third year footwear design students’ show at G18 yesterday. My talented friend Saara Kivimäki proudly released her first official shoe and accessories collection. Sense of style and colours – Pradas, not Ladas.

Minna Parikka gave a realistic shoe designer welcome speech before the ceremony. Very honest power speech. She frankly couraged these new designers reach the skyes. "Designers are always and forever safe in our bird home Finland. We love and take care of our national stars. It’s easy to get too comf in the national limelight."

But if you are goal-oriented, heading over the borderlines, you should also know that you are there alone. No one helping you. Zero export interest. Zero support.
Hard work and lonely all nighters. Still, Minna said that she would never change a day. Freedom to fullfill one’s wildest dreams and visions. It's passion.

Go Saara! 

My super faves! Out of collection "In Colours"

peach/beige platforms! i luv.

So we have moved. The new office is in a pretty good condition, freshly painted white walls, ceilings and all - which is nice. But did you know that human eye can detect literally hundreds of different shades of white? It can. So finding a matching carpet (to all those shades of white) is actually a pretty brain-and-eye-twisting job.

Did you know that bees can see only four colours? Those lucky bastards.