February 2013
19 posts
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Kiitos Kasper Stromman Blog 2011–2013
Design lovers!
This blog has been going since late summer of 2011, but everything must come to an end. Why? Mainly because we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog have now covered every single aspect of Finnish design. That’s it. There is nothing left to write about. But you’ll always have the Kasper Stromman Illustrated Design Encyclopadia to fall back on if there’s still...
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dauntlessds asked: Hi there! I created a Tumblr JUST because I wanted to ask the expert. I am an aspiring graphic designer and I just LOVE to do designs for everybody. I am not in it for the money but I would like to leave a bit of a legacy and make my family proud. So here's my question: What would be a great cost effective way to be noticed and how can I find contests for design in my area so I can really...
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Postcards from Finland #37
RAUMA - SUOMI - FINLAND Tori Torget The Market Square Der Marktplatz
Lahjatukku Oy • Helsinki
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Top 3 Stromman Cake entries so far
Cake lovers!
Last week we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog announced the Stromman Cake Competition. Here are our favourite entries so far:
Martha Stewart Rainbow Cake “Not only because it contains a sufficient number of colourings and preservatives, but because this is the only cake that matches the Kasper Stromman Space T-shirt. And since I totally stole the idea you can send to prize...
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What's the smell of Finland?
4. Raspberry Not much information about this scent is given on the Angry Birds by Lumene website, but since the Bad Piggy featured on the label is clearly voicing the word “pbbbt” it’s safe to assume the scent is similar to that of “blowing a raspberry”. Also available in blueberry hand cream. Angry Birds by Lumene
3. Unisex Perfume person Max Perttula recently brought out a...
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Stromman Cake competition: some pointers
Cake lovers!
A few days ago we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog asked you, blog readers, to help us design the Stromman signature cake. We are happy to report that we have already got some pretty interesting designs coming in. We highly appreciate every single one of these suggestions.
However, to pave the way for even more entries we thought it would be good to give you, cake...
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New arrival at the Kasper Stromman Design Outlet
Architecture/design lovers!
We here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog are very proud to introduce the newest arrival at the Kasper Stromman Design Outlet: The I Want to Believe T-shirt.
This is a must-have item for anyone into 1960s design and/or fibreglass architecture. By wearing this garment we can now together recreate some kind of weird utopia where people were supposed to live in...
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Competition: design the Stromman signature cake,...
Design/cake lovers!
Runeberg’s day is once again over, and the shops are now filled with half-price Runeberg’s tortes, which of course are delicious.
But all this has got us thinking here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog – why on earth don’t we have a signature cake?
And that’s why are now launching a competition where you now have the chance to create the Stromman...
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Runeberg gone wild
Today is Johan Ludvig Runeberg’s birthday – the national poet of Finland – and a day which is traditionally celebrated by having a Runeberg’s torte.
As far as traditions go this is great, since these moist and almondy treats are available from the beginning of January. That means if you can claim to be into poetry you have a legitimate reason to have one every single day for a...
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Proposal for Marimekko fabric
According to the tabloids today late president Kekkonen and Marimekko founder Armi Ratia were allegedly romantically involved with each other at some point in the 1970s.
Whether this is true or not doesn’t interest us here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog. But we do see some design potential in this supposed liaison.
That’s why we designed this proposal for a new Marimekko...
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Best Finnish magazine covers of 2012
The Finnish Periodical Publishers’ Association (Aikakausmedia) annually lets the public vote on the best magazine cover of the previous year from a pre-selected lineup of alternatives. We here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog’s picked our favourites – this is the crème de la crème of Finnish magazine cover design of 2012.
Trendi 2/2012 Exactly a year ago Trendi magazine sent...
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January 2013
27 posts
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Get the Graphic Designer of the Year sweatshirt
As many of our regular readers may already know Kasper Stromman was recently awarded Graphic Designer of the Year. This is of course something not everyone can achieve as it takes extraordinary, godlike skills to achieve this. Skills that however come naturally for Kasper Stromman.
But if you can’t get the award, why not get the sweatshirt instead – now exclusively available through the...
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Top 5 things to do in Kajaani
5. Kajaanin Anttila A natural meeting place for those who wish to shop at a generic department store found anywhere in the country. Always has the ripest avocados in town.
4. Architecture The architecture of Kajaani follows the old mantra of “form follow function”, but it’s never a good idea to just go knocking on doors randomly and demand to be let in and see this for yourself....
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The alternative city collection: Kajaani
The city of Kajaani has a fine coat of arms which only has one problem: it’s lying and deceitful. You see, everyone knows the Kajaani castle was destroyed several hundred years ago, yet the people of Kajaani choose to feature the fortress as a symbol of their city. Hack!
But if you thought that wasn’t bad enough, what if we told you the ruins were used as foundation for a highway...
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Finnish castles #1: Kajaanin linna
Kajaani castle may not be more than a pile of rocks these days, but there used to be a time when this was Europe’s northermost fortress which protected the Swedish empire’s easternmost border (Finland was then part of Sweden). It of course pretty much sucked at doing this, since it was completely annihilated by the Russians in 1716.
What’s intresting though is that when...
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A short history of inspiration
1983 Swedish author/illustrator Gunilla Wolde releases children’s book Tässä on palikka in Finnish.
1971 Designer Ristomatti Ratia somehow manages to travel forward in time to 1983, reads the book, copies idea, travels back and designs the Palaset modular furniture system.
1983 Gunilla Wolde also releases second children’s book Tässä on pallo the same year.
2002 Ristomatti...
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Kasper Stromman gets cack-handed trophy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Voima Magazine has awarded Kasper Stromman a homemade trophy for his exellence in the field of being Graphic Designer of the Year. The shoddy keepsake was quickly put together by Voima art director Klaus Welp, a process which apparently took “less than fifteen minutes.”
Mr Stromman was noticeably moved to tears as he accepted the hastily created cardboard construction...
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Top 3 Finnish contemporary illustrated album art
We here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog are often told the album format is in a crisis, but looking at the amount of cds released every year it seems to be doing fine. And what’s more, record companies are once again hiring illustrators to do the artwork for these albums. Here are the three most prolific ones released in later years.
3. Suomi Seksiä #1 Illustration is often seen as a...
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A year in the life of a Helsinki street
The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time for introspection and looking back on the year that was. And also more more than often it is about making a list of the best “long play records” that was released that year.
But that’s of course not how we roll here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog. Instead we asked a street how it felt about last year.
January 2012 “Look,...
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Postcards from Finland #36
PORI INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL SUOMI – FINLAND
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Marimekko in Vogue, 1965
Ever so often we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog will take a closer look at a thing that is groovy and 1960s and totally far out. This week that thing is Marimekko in Vogue, a 10-page leaflet reprinted by Marimekko as marketing material in 1965.
Many of the patterns of the clothes featured inside look really familiar to the modern consumer. And we also heard this photoshoot was done...
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The trees need our support top 5
City trees are nothing like their backward, rural cousins the Forest trees. No – city trees need constant care, affection, and long and winding discussions with park personnel to thrive in the harsh urban circumstances the human City Lords have chosen for them. Here’s a top 5 over the survival strategies Helsinki trees adapt.
5. Rookie street tree When a young tree is chosen to grow by a...
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Postcards from Finland #35
SYSTEEMI-kortti N:o 45 Printed in Finland by MainosMakasiini Oy Tampere Puh. 931 - 33413
Anonymous asked: myytkö teoksesi angry muumins, parhaillaan esillä kunsthalle kalliossa kysyn minä
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Helsingin Sanomat redesign
Helsingin Sanomat has of today changed its format from broadsheet (“the largest of the various newspaper formats”) to tabloid. According to Helsingin Sanomat itself this is a huge ass deal, although newspapers in Sweden went through this change 10 years ago.
However, what most people don’t realize is that once the shrinking has begun it can not be stopped. Here’s a forecast of what...
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Book review: Mainonnan perusteet
Our first book review of 2013 is Mainonnan perusteet (Advertising fundamentals) by Artturi Raula. But of course we wouldn’t be the Kasper Stromman Design Blog if we just read the book; we chose to read three different editions of the same book to get a deeper understanding of these fundamentals. Our books are from 1932, 1947 and 1962.
Mainonnan perusteet, 1932 The 1932 edition by far...
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Postcards from Finland #34
BUTIKSBÅTEN CHRISTINA SIBBO
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Top 5 flags of the world
5. Tonga The Kingdom of Tonga – also known as the Friendly Islands – has always been famous for its hospitality. Hence it was the most natural thing in the world for these fun islanders to put the symbol for ‘hospital’ on their national flag. Something to bear in mind should you ever find yourself looking for medical care in this Polynesian nation.
4. Finland The Finnish flag was...
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DIY Planetaariset laaksot
Planetaariset laaksot (Planetary valleys) is a silver necklace designed by Björn Weckström in 1969 and produced by jewellery company Lapponia. It was famously worn by Carrie Fisher in the movie Star Wars Episode IV – a New Hope in 1977.
And sure, it’s a nice necklace and all, but did you know the going price for it is about €1,500? That’s a lot of money for something you could just...
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Postcards from Finland #33
SUOMI–FINLAND TURKU–ÅBO TEATTERITALO STADTEATERN (sic) CITY THEATRE STADTTHEATER
December 2012
26 posts
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Anonymous asked: Hello, I found my logo ""suomalainen astronautti" to be logo of the month, how you did find it? BR Vesa Heilala
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Making anagrams of “World Design Capital Helsinki”
The World Design Capital year in Helsinki is coming to an end, but before Helsinki systematically starts destroying all design in town we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog have decided to make a nostalgic recap of the year. But with over six million WDC related events in 2012, how do you pick the ones that really stood out?
We chose the method of anagram. The following sentences are...
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Empowering the bored housewives of Pekka
Pekka is a classic Happy Families-type Finnish cardgame where the object is to collect complete families. The game was formerly known as Musta Pekka, but that was considered racist, so they removed the black bit from the name and now it’s totally not racist at all.
However, since this game was created at a time when women was supposed to stay home and look after the home it can seem a...
