Helsinki-Tokyo based design studio Musuta has won a gold lion in Cannes in Design category. Congrats!

The winning piece, called "Urban Abstract", is "a journey across urban space that unfolds in forty, 5 second parts. The journey, in one, two and three dimensions, is a bit like abstract surfing in which the original destination is only reached after a number of seemingly random yet linked detours occur. Points, lines, planes and other abstract elements create a journey through an Urban Abstract." (quote from Musuta)

The piece was shown last November as break bumpers on Finnish TV channel Nelonen.

Check out the video here and set yourself on a laid-back Midsummer mood.  

Still screenshot taken from Musuta's "Urban Abstract" 

We are open. There will be always, even in July, someone at the office you can contact. Don't hesitate. Please, drop by, call or email.

Werklig summer holiday plan ↑

"Men’s month. – Basically life couldn’t get any better”

Midsummer – Hot topic at home: “What, there is no TV on that island?!” 

(Brazil – Portugal, 25th June, 5 pm) Panic.

As usually, and even in this case, after all, there really seem to be a possibility to find the bright side of things. Bright side of life. I, accidentally, as a result of very random googling and after browsing couple of FIFA-related pages, succeed to start to see this very strongly more as a women’s month. 

Personally I chose to follow following players for one month:

Tsuneyasu Miyanoto (Japan) Photo via Daily Telegraph



Claudio Marchisio (Italy) and Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay)

Conor Casey (USA) and Marco Borriello (Italy)

Thierry Henry (France)

Mourad Meghni (Algeria) and Miguel Torres (Portugal)

AND of course Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) Ok, he didn't not actually make it to the FIFA World Cup - but I'm sure he will be in South Africa....and still hot. The coolest.

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!

It's been really, really busy here at Werklig office, so haven't been able to do the "5+1" post for a couple of weeks. But now we're back in business.

1. "The recipient of the Young Designer of the Year 2010 was published on Tuesday, June 1st. The winners are two designer groups, Imu and Aivan!. The prize exhibition will open to the public on Wednesday 2 June." Read more at Design Forum Finland's website or at WDC2012 website. Congrats!

2. This is not that recent news, as the new site has been up and running for some time, but anyways: nice people at Kokoro&Moi have their new site up and running. Check it out!

3. Also a bit "old news" but always worth mentioning: kaarlekaarle.com. I suppose we haven't blogged Kaarle yet, so it's about time. Good stuff.

4. Now that we're talking about photographs, you may want to relax your mind and just flip through some inspirational pictures and more pictures (apparently there are some explicit pics, too, so you've been properly warned).

5. Pulpmag - "an online publication redefining how food is seen and presented in public".

+ BAP! KAPOW! ZLONK!

Some results from a very interesting Sitra project are now displayed in Work section. Take a look – and if you are interested in city planning and future scenarios, take a look at the Low2No publication itself (in Finnish), too.

We've updated some Saana ja Olli samples and a small case study in our Work section. If you're fluent in Finnish, you may also read this interesting story about Saana ja Olli.

Stay tuned for more stuff!

Here is a discloth that we really like. Wonder why? Well, you can order yourself one from the German online shop magazin.

Finnish Design Yearbook 2010-11 by Design Forum Finland is out now

Finnish Design Yearbook explores design as a tool of business success, a means for creating a better life and a better society, an aid for the commodification of innovations, and as an aspect of self-expression. Four very relevant viewpoints. 

The book is primarily aimed at the international market. Its international distribution will include bookstores, sales on the Web, design fairs and events, and the press. 

Werklig and our work is introduced in Page 101 – "Design as a business tool" section: Werklig is a Finnish brand design agency that has become a noteworthy contender in its field in only a few years. In 2009, Werklig designed an ingenious logo for the Best of Year graphic design competition, displaying the name of the contest in ribbon-like text.     

In the section "Design as a means of expression" you can find Minna Parikka scarves (A/W 2010) designed by Inka.

Happy May Day to everyone from Werklig!

Some home made Sima made by Anssi's lovely wife.

By the way, exactly one year ago we moved into our "new" office space in Kruununhaka. We are still very happy here and are waiting for some summer lunches and sunshine in Kauppatori.