At Balihai 

A couple of weeks ago I met mr. Du Qin and mr. Zhao Yu from well-known international Design 360^o magazine during their journalistic trip in Helsinki. That was their day 7/10 in Helsinki and already before our date they've had over 60 design-related meetings all over the metropolitan area! Including all the prestigious Finnish design institutes, corporate giants, the most interesting Helsinki based design agencies, collectives and illustrators.

That night their host Professor Tapio Vapaasalo from the Aalto University had convened a group of passionate people to have a get-together at Balihai and to discuss about the special sense of community you can feel in Helsinki among the small graphic design studios, design collectives and illustrators. Those vital vibes. 

Also, it's always very interesting to hear others' points of view and notes about Finnish design scene. Actually I found it VERY fascinating to spend some time thinking about our unique Finnish vibes and state of mind. Like update one's own mind every now and then in the best possible company according to topic (Kaarle Hurtig, Lotta Nieminen, Johannes Ekholm, Janine Rewell).

I'm really looking forward to see the coming soon Finland Design Issue for Design 360°. That was the reason of Sandu Publishing guys' Helsinki trip of course. Now let their minds and eyes browse over & over and inside out all their Helsinki materials – Books and notes, interview tapes and pics, they managed to carry home and create a killer issue about our creativity!

Internal fruitful Werklig discussions, yesterday's Grafia's and Aalto University's 'Future of graphic design'- seminar (We went to see how brilliant minds see it!) and for example Aiga's 'defining the designer of 2015' research shows that there is a one huge hot topic over the others. And that's the most relevant and inspirational issue that lead us, too, forward:

The ways of thinking & doing, processes, defining design, defining graphic designer and the content of art and design degrees in Finland, present and in future, keep our eyes and brains busy. We want to think that our influence is important. We need to speak out. 

In addition, there is a bunch of potential customers and the public who insistently asks questions of concrete profits they can reach by means of design, questions of added value. Lots of good argumentation work is done daily by us. I'm proud of us. 

In the past few weeks, I have found Werklig and our team to be a great success, because i think that already since Werklig's first baby steps over two years ago we have been searching solutions to right kind of questions, or more correct, we have asked the right questions and the very same ultimate ideal and goal that is in every institute's and great minds' lips now leads us forward.  

"Better vision leads to better solutions" as Marco Steinberg from Sitra puts it.

Random note page