Post 15. The success

Success comes from reputation. The cornerstone of the reputation is always what is already being done and real products and actions. A reputation generates trust, which in turn contributes success to a business. Although the myth of Finnish design is history, its reputation has been joined by a new factor that supports it: high technology. As a leading IT country, Finland’s industry has perceptively linked state-of-the-art technology with excellent design – which has given rise to new international success stories.

The achievement of success by Finnish design in the late 1990s and later in the 21st century has required companies to have strong expertise and brand-building as well as necessitating support from the state. The Design 2005! programme was issued in 2000 with the aims of improving design education and research and of internationalising design firms. Another mission is to encourage more small and medium-sized companies to use design services holistically in their businesses.

Iittala has developed a new, lifestyle-based concept for marketing and product design. This is particularly aimed at the young consumers and the global market. International designers are nowadays used for some of iittala’s products. In the picture above, there is one of the most known design of Iittala, Mariskooli.

Post 14. The reputation

Over the years, the myth changed into an international reputation of our design. Arctic exoticism gradually gave way to an image of Finnish design. The image of our industrial arts became more everyday but more realistic, and it took on new aspects. Finnish design had become a concept. It has a reputation based on its strong history, original styling and high-quality manufacture. The reputation of design also powered the success of industry. Implements originally designed and produced purely for domestic consumption rapidly became sought-after in export markets.

In the 1960s and 70s, Finnish industrial arts were highly exportable. Finland’s heavy industrial exports were joined by Artek, Arabia, Iittala and Marimekko, which went to buyers in North and South America, Europe and Australia.

In the early 1970s, new materials such as plastic and fibreglass brought greater malleability of form and brighter colours to design. However, the first energy crisis of the 1970s brought production of plastic chairs to a halt. Ergonomics and ecology became important criteria for design. In furniture of the 1980s, there was a return to an examination of wood’s attributes, different types of wood and combinations of wood and metal.

In the 1980s, in addition to industrial arts, other types of industrial manufactures – such as capital goods – began to use more design in the product development stage. Industrial design gradually began to increase its share relative to that of the traditional industrial arts. The tendency was to move away from the central role of artist-designers and towards product development teams in which the designer was one of the specialists. In spite of the economic recession in the 1990s, this trend continued. Technology and metal industry companies began to use industrial designers and to pay greater attention to industrial design as a part of product development and the corporate strategy. In the 1990s, a clutch of global brands emerged, among them Nokia, Suunto, Metsopaper (Valmet), Ponsse, and Polar, whose reputations are still in the forefront globally.

The reputation of Finnish design has also helped young designers with their internationalisation. The rise of the University of Art and Design to become one of Europe’s leading colleges of its kind has greatly supported this trend.

Post 13. The myth

The myth of Fnnish design was created in most respects in the 1950s. Its foundations was the Romantic movement at the turn of the century which had made industrial arts, part of the creative culture, along with architecture and the fine arts. The late 19th century also marked the beginnig of systematic action to promote industrial arts and craft, as a result of which the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design was founded in 1875.

Following the Second World War, Finland needed a new and modern identity, as vast numbers of people left the countryside for the cities, trade and industry restructured, and the climate of international politics cahnged. Together with industry, designers responded to the challenge of the times and began to build a new-style, modern everyday life and an international image of Finland. The Finnish Society of Crafts and Design created the Finnish section at the Milan Triennales of the 1950s and 60s. Many products that were designed then, are still in production. The most famous designers at that time were Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva and Kaj Franck. Also Alvar Aalto had designed innovative furniture and new kinds of glassware since the 1930s, attracting attention in the international arena. His most famous products were his three-legged stool from 1933 and the Aalto vase from 1936.

Myths are born of stories, which are often varied as necessary. The myth of Finnish design began with Eliel Saarinen’s national-style interiors and Aalto’s functionalist furniture, progressing towards Wirkkala’s somewhat more romantic style and the sculptural forms of Sarpaneva. The legend of Finland's struggle against the forces of nature and the pressures of history provided a basis for marketing design with mythical elements: snow, ice, forests, lakes, the summer of light and sisu (perseverance) were an inspiration to designers. In the 50s and 60s, the Finnish national identity was internationally built up largely through design, architecture and music. The images arising from this made Finland stand out between East and West and created a unique identity for it. Distinctive industrial arts became an export also in an imaginative sense. The myth of Finnish design was complete.

The myth of Finnish design parallels another strong legend originating in the 1950s, Scandinavian design, a term applied to the entire modern industrial arts of the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden and Denmark). This concept was built up consciously through international touring exhibitions by the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design. The most important of the exhibitions was Design in Scandinavia, which toured the U.S. 1954-57 and was seen by more than a million people. Scandinavian Design is still today an internationally recognised and strong brand.

In the picture above, you can see Tapio Wirkkala's series of five bottles (designed in 1968 for Venini). These bottles are made with "Incalmo" technique wherein two different tyoes of glass, worked separately, are fused together to obtain, with a single object, separate areas differentiated by colors. The price of these bottles is 7380 $.

Post 12. The story of finnish design

Ciao ragazzi,

My next few posts are going to be about finnish design overall. Finnish design is very higly valued and known all over the world. Design of finnish companies is more and more the major success factor of them.The story of Finnish design is also part of the background to this success. First the myth of Finnish design was built, generating the international reputation of our design, which is still today the cornerstone of Finnish design’s success.

According to international studies, Finnish industry today is among the front rank for competitiveness: state-of-the-art, information technology and high levels of innovation, combined with excellent research and education, create a strong competitive edge and a basis for industrial success now and in the future. In the 21st century, an increasingly important part of this overall competitiveness of companies has been played by industrial design and the added value it confers: it is frequently what makes a product the first choiceof a consumer.

My next posts are going to be about the myth of finnish design turning into a success and reputation. The last post concerning this subject will be about the future expectations.

Have fun diving into the miraculous world of finnish design with me!!

Post 11. Alvar Aalto

Ciao everyone,

as I have been very busy with my mid terms for the couple of last weeks, I have not been updating my blog during that time. However, now I am back to business and will present you maybe the most famous designer of Finland, Alvar Aalto, and some of his works. Alvar Aalto was born in 1898 and died in year 1976. He was a finnish architect, designer and academician.

His most famous works are for example Finlandia-house in Helsinki, Villa Mairea and Culture house in Helsinki. Aalto absorbed functionalism in his designing and stressed especially the meaning of humanity and social conscious. Typical for Aalto's buildings were white, geometrically simple walls and structures which made the buildings look like light. After the big wars Aalto changed his style to more humane and down-to-earth direction.

Maybe the most famous design of Aalto, the Finlandia-house, is many times critizised of the material used which is marble. This is because marble is not very suitable for finnish climate and because it affects negatively the acoustic features of the building.