February 2012
30 posts
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Nokia & Muoto magazine design competition, 1996
There was a time when a mobile phone was the hottest thing you could design. This was in 1996. And this was also the year the now defunct Muoto magazine organized a competition to come up with new concepts for mobile phones – sponsored by Nokia of course.
Believe it or not, but out of 1614 entries this was the third best idea how to jazz up a phone fifteen years ago. It earned Mikko Nilsson a...
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Record of the month: Lauluja Seuraihmisille, 1979
The Kasper Stromman Design Blog record of the month is Lauluja Seuraihmisille, a record published by Seura magazine in 1979. It’s a compilation of “the most fun songs in the nation” and was presumable available through the magazine at the time, or even given away to subscribers?
The cover is a mishmash of what we suspect could be stills from a TV spot or ad campaign for the...
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Architectural review: Itä-Pasila
Itä-Pasila of Helsinki represents a very classic Finnish style of suburban architecture. Built between 1974 and 1978 the houses are very true to the era when concrete was king.
The architecture is what you would call sparse. And probably really easy to recreate out of Lego bricks.
Yup, that was easy.
But two things differentiate Itä-Pasila from your standard suburb. The first one is...
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Beer sponsor update
A while ago we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog announced that we were looking for a beer sponsor. Then we announced it again. We still have no beer sponsor.
That’s okay though. We understand that a beer sponsorship is something that can’t just be thrown at you – at least not in tough economic times like these – it has to be earned.
That’s why we have been crisscrossing...
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Top 3 Finnish dating websites
Internet dating sites are still growing in popularity. Here’s the top 3 from a design perspective:
3. Avecci – “Riding a motorcycle is sensual”
A dating site for motorcycle riders only. Illustrated by airbrushed, trouserless, one-handed woman riding a futuristic scooter into the sunset. Nice.
2. Suomideitti.fi – “Find company for free”
The free aspect is something this website...
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The SOK catalogue, 1960
Today we review the SOK mail order catalogue dating from 1960. The cover is summery in an eternal way. We like that.
The summery feel continues inside. The summer of 1960 seems to have been all about colour and shaping the female body into an unnatural shape.
But only the female models. For male models the most important characteristic was the ability to smoke a pipe at all times....
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DIY speaker for smartphone
The Kasper Stromman Design Blog favourite object right now is this DIY smart phone speaker by Jussi Takkinen, which he presumably invented while sitting on the toilet.
Legend has it he was out of toilet paper and had to come up with this invention just to be able to announce it to the world.
We have no idea if it works, but it looks professional enough. And that’s why Jussi is the...
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Redesigning the Finnish flag
Yesterday we recieved a letter here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog worldwide headquarters:
Dear Mr Stromman!
As friends of Finland we’ve been thinking: could you redesign the Finnish flag so it would become more fashionable? The blue cross is nice and all, but does it reflect modern day values? It does not, we say.
Love, Lilja and Anja, Ikaalinen
Lilja and Anja are only too right of...
Anonymous asked: Where can i buy wallpapers with photos or birch designs?
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At the Design Finlandia award ceremony
So yesterday was the big day when the Design Finlandia Prize was awarded. For those of you new to this blog we’ll have you know that this is indeed a very prestigious award, and this year three objects, organizations or persons were nominated:
• Vuokko Nurmesniemi • The Kasper Stromman Design Blog • Tuikku by Iittala
Needless to say we were pumped to see the outcome of this evening.
...
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DIY Aalto stool
The three-legged Alvar Aalto designed Stool 60 is a very nice piece of furniture, but did you know the going price for it is €170? That’s simply too much.
Luckily we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog are very handy, so we decided to create our own. Here’s how it was done.
As raw material we used a nice four-legged stool we picked up at a nearby second hand shop.
The stool...
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Designed to become a winter-y cigarette butt...
WDC is currently running a citywide campaign at all tramstops where we are told the “waste bins are designed for waste”.
Now, as we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog are in the design game, this information didn’t surprise us. And we have a nagging suspection a lot of people out there weren’t exactly shocked by this relevation.
But did you know that the same waste bins are also...
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Biscuit review: Finska pinnar
Finska pinnar (Finnish sticks) is a Swedish biscuit classic; interestingly though it’s virtually unheard of in Finland. Nobody in Sweden also seems to know where the name comes from.
Our Finnish readers will be happy to know though that our design team here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog have sampled some. Here’s the verdict:
+ Design: Nice and streamlined. Fingerlike. +...
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Sauli Niinistö dropping the bass
Droppin’ with Cheek.
Droppin’ with Sipe Santapukki.
Droppin’ with Kaija Koo.
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Insignificant Helsinki landmarks #4: Bronze age...
If you head out of the immediate centre of Helsinki to what is known as exotic Meilahti you might stumble upon this Bronze age burial mound.
We can’t blame you if you’ve never heard of it; I mean, it’s not like it’s Tutankhamun’s tomb or anything. Basically we’re talking a pile of rocks here.
Most people living in Helsinki have in fact never head of it....
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Design proposal for new Finnish presidential flag
Wonder if it will catch on?
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Part TWO of the presidential election coming up on...
January 2012
32 posts
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DIY conspiracy theory juggernaut
So who was really behind 9/11? The Illuminati? The US government? Big Pharma? Guess the only way to find out is to build a gargantuan Mad Max style vehicle out of scaffolding and scrap bicycles and ride it around Helsinki.
Postcards from Finland #16
Hitti-Hatti peilejä valmistaa MÄKISEN KUVASTIN OY 38200 Vammala puh. 932-2623. Hitti-Hatti -peilejä myydään mm. tavarataloissa, kemikalio- ja paperitarvikekaupoissa.
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The Kasper Stromman Design Blog nominated for the...
Exciting news, readers!
The Kasper Stromman Design Blog is one of the three objects, organizations or persons to be nominated for the prestigious Design Finlandia Prize 2012.
The three nominees are:
• Vuokko Nurmesniemi • The Kasper Stromman Design Blog • Tuikku by Iittala
Needless to say we are very proud and excited to even be nominated for this award, and wish our fellow nominees luck –...
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A letter from Bryan
Dear Kasper Stromman Design Blog, I read that you are looking for a beer sponsor. I myself have a different problem. I am troubled by the behavior of people who travel on the Helsinki metro system. It’s as if going underground encourages everyone to forget their common sense. Example: in anticipation of the train arriving, people line up next to where the train doors will be. However, this...
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Best of Jope Ruonansuu album covers 1988–2010
Jope Ruonansuu, is a comedian/impersonator/musician who has enjoyed great success for nearly three decades now. Here’s a best of his comedy record covers.
Matkiva kulkuri, 1988
Hey look – it’s a fresh faced Jope standing in front of some vintage Detroit muscle looking a bit like a young Jabba the Hut. Or Epic Sax Walrus. Believe it or not, but this is actually the best record...
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DIY Moomin mug
Iittala-made Moomin mugs are nice, but did you know that you might end up paying as much as €25 a for a single mug? That’s insane.
That’s why we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog decided to create our own.
If you thought our mug was just going to be a cheap knock off you’re of course badly mistaken. As a starting point we used the finest domestic earthenware available...
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Helsinki, 1920
This picture dating from 1920 shows cars lined up in front of the Main Railway Station before the start of a race.
Some things have changed though: you wouldn’t necessarily use imaginery anymore like the one on the billboard in the upper left corner. Where the superiority of Titan paint is demonstrated by it’s ability to turn little black kids white.
“Greatest covering power –...
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Still looking for a beer sponsor!
A while ago we posted about how we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog are looking for a beer sponsor. However, we haven’t to date recieved a single offer for sponsorship, which is bewildering to say the least.
So, maybe our end of the deal wasn’t tempting enough? After all, we only made promises to drink the sponsorship beer and mention it occasionally, which is perhaps slightly...
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Visiting the Museum of Natural History
If you’re anything like us here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog, you love places full of taxidermied animals. So what if I told you there’s a place full of them called the Finnish Museum of Natural History? That would be amazing, right?
And yes, there are obviously places like this to be found all over the world. But what makes this place special is that all the animals were...
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Sauli Niinistö looking at things
Tomorrow is presidential election day, and Sauli Niinistö looks like the pre-poll favourite. Unfortunately, some might say. Here’s a selection of Sauli Niinistö looking at things:
Looking at gavel.
Looking at mittens.
Lookin at elderly lady.
Looking at Tanja Karpela.
Looking at Jenni Haukio.
Looking at Tarja Halonen.
Looking at Paavo Lipponen.
Looking at Pekka...
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Design food classics #4: Inkivääriliha
You know what the problem is with a lot of recipes these days? They are too complicated. You see, there was a time when all you had to do to prepare some meat was to soak it in milk and add some ginger. Done.
Oh, and if you wanted things to be extra special you could boil some potatoes for a side dish. See? Easy.
Although to be fair it does sound quite disgusting.
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The Kasper Stromman Design Blog is looking for a...
Up until this point we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog have been working away on this blog completely clear-headed. Not intoxicated in any way. Stone cold sober, if you will.
However, while working on our supermarket brand beer test a while ago, we discovered the joys of being “hammered” while on the job. Now – you may not believe us – but it’s actually great fun!
That is why we...
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Presidential election, part II
So it wasn’t an isolated event. Clearly someone doesn’t like candidate number three.
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Postcards from Finland #15
Keski-Suomen keskusammattikoulu 1983 kirjapaino-osaston oppilas Kari Teräväinen
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Mobile presidential architecture top 4
The presidential election is coming up, and candidates need to catch voters attention. This is best done at busy junctions, like in front of the Main Railway Station. Here’s the top 4 temporary structures the candidates have erected:
4. Paavo Arhinmäki
Paavo is going with the classic red cottage. You sort of expect him to sit inside in person, weaving a basket in candlelight through...
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Supermarket own brand beers: Pirkka vs. Rainbow
Have you noticed the supermarkets stock their own brand beers now? Wow. Naturally we had to put them to the test. That’s why we put two classic brands head to head: Rainbow (S-ryhmä) vs. Pirkka (Kesko).
The Pirkka beer is very beerlike designwise. It’s the oval. Nothing says beer like an oval. And if you add some barley behind the oval – even more beer-y. This can says “beer”...
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