March 2012
32 posts
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YO cigarettes, 1994–1995
In 1994 the Finnish tobacco company Rettig was worried. Cigarette sales were going down, and the legal age limit for smoking was about to be raised from 16 to 18 the following year. This would most certainly be effecting sales even further.
Clearly something had to be done.
Rettig decided now was the time to seriously target the youth market, and YO cigarettes were born.
With artists like...
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The airbrush art of Simo Riikonen
Simo Riikonen is widely considered Finland’s premier airbrush artist, and pretty much airbrushes everything that moves. And hey, if it doesn’t move he airbrushes it until it does. Here’s a selection of his artwork.
Mr. Riikonen has been in business since the 1970s, and has to date produced over a 1000 custom painted vehicles and portraits.
Trucks are naturally heavily...
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HELsinginkatu Looks
If you want to see people with a lot of spare time on their hands enjoy themselves a beer or fourteen, the stairs opposite Helsinginkadun Alko is a great place. Here’s a street fashion shoot we did last summer:
Pena, 38
”I try to dress comfortably in clothes that I can pass out in. At the moment I’m wearing Cheap Monday jeans with a fun 90’s cut and a random polo shirt for...
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Insignificant Helsinki landmark #5: Opastinsilta
One of the most trivial structures you could visit in Helsinki is the Opastinsilta bridge of Pasila. We’re basically talking a little footbridge over a not-so-busy road here, so it’s something you rarely see on a postcard of Helsinki.
So yes, quite mundane. But there actually is one fun fact about this little bridge. Are you ready?
Opastinsilta is actually not one bridge, but...
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Logo of the month: Love records
Design by Harri Manner, 1969.
February 2012
31 posts
Alvar Aalto house for sale
Here’s your chance to snap up a house designed by Alvar Aalto (at least according to the estate agent) for a mere € 59,000. Oh, and we hope you don’t mind living in Imatra.
Interior design apparently not by Mr. Aalto.
Although you sort of wish the interior would come with the house, don’t you?
http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-asunnot/6049026 for more...
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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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