Finnish design 125 years

• Published in: FIN (Form Function Finland) pp. 51 - 53
• Main Author: Stenros, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2000
• ISSN: 0358-8904

Provides an overview of the history of design in Finland on the occasion of the anniversary exhibition Finnish Design 125 organized by the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design at the Design Forum Finland in Helsinki (15 June-3 Sept. 2000). The author charts the development of the Society since its foundation in 1875, and highlights the early emphasis on gaining international recognition for the applied arts, comments on the culmination of popularity and success of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s, and considers how the original focus on building a national design identity in glass, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and clothing has been supplanted by global competition among international brands such as Nokia. She describes the blurring of the boundaries between design and technology, and the replacement of the artist-designer by teams of experts and product developers, and the rise of the new media designer, and concludes by stating that it is the Society s mission in the exhibition to reinforce the belief in the meaning of timeless Finnish design.