Happy May Day to everyone from Werklig!

Some home made Sima made by Anssi's lovely wife.

By the way, exactly one year ago we moved into our "new" office space in Kruununhaka. We are still very happy here and are waiting for some summer lunches and sunshine in Kauppatori.

Established in 2010, the Aalto University is a new university with centuries of experience. The Aalto University was created from the merger of three Finnish universities: The Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki University of Technology and The University of Art and Design Helsinki.

Werklig is working with Aalto University on assorted projects.

It's Friday - time to check browser history. Some links, people.

1. According to my browsing behaviour one of the most interesting themes this week has been Milan 2010 Fair. Lots and lots of interesting stuff, but it is really hard to pinpoint the best designs and/or ideas - or to even make a decent summary of them. Dezeen's reports are worth checking out. Fast Company has a slide show of new Finnish goodies, too.

2. Now that we are talking about Milan Fair... Artek revealed their new chair, designed by Enzo Mari. According to Artek's press release, "customers will purchase a set of precut pinewood boards, nails and instructions for the chair". Apparently it's more of a concept than an actual chair. It may be noticable that we've seen a lot of these postmodern self-assemblage items recently, actually there was one rather similar chair in Milan called "Fruit Box" by Finnish group Creadesign. Nevertheless, mr. Mari's work and career is indeed worth checking out. If this is the first time you hear about this grand old man, go and google.

3. A new find (at least for me): Moustache. Fun and playful, some items have even echoes of baroque and the 70's - but not tacky. Like!

4. The Most Beautiful Finnish Books of 2009 have been selected. "The title chosen as Book of the Year was Amour unit deux cours - Henry Lönnforsin miniatyyrikokoelma - Henry Lönnfors miniatyrsamling (The Henry Lönnfors Miniature Collection) published by the Turku Art Museum." Good, traditional graphic design. Why not check out the previous awards (via my older blog post).

5. Did you know that the first world exposition was held already in 1851? This year China will host the 2010 Expo in Shanghai, and (naturally) Finland will take part in it, too. "The Finland Pavilion "Kirnu" is surrounded by a lake, appearing to float on the water. It has the slogan "Sharing Inspiration," where ideas can meet and mix. The design draws inspiration from Finnish nature. Elements reinterpreted in the pavilion include the shape of small rocks found on coastal islands, the surface of a fish, reflection on water, framed view of the sky and smell of tar on wood." Doesn't sound very avant-garde at all, but the 3D mockup looks kinda nice in pictures - but I didn't know that there is so much empty white space in Shanghai... and only a handful of people?

+ 1 And last but not least: someone has made calculations about font ink usage. Loving the comments, great professional entertainment. But seriously: if you really are concerned about your company's ink usage, please hire a designer to help solve these kind of problems. 

It's a rainy outside (possibly acid rain, thank you Eyjafjalla) so there's a good reason to stay inside. Here are some Friday links.

1. Vuoden Huiput 2009 (The Best of the Year – The Best in Finnish Advertising and Graphic Design) awards were given yesterday. Due to horrible work load Werklig didn't manage to send any works to be judged and shortlisted, but we'll promise next year will be different! Anyways, check out the 2009 winners from Grafia's website (in Finnish).

2. "The Nation Magazine Cover Archive (NMCA) is a non-commercial 'hobbysite' devoted to helping keep inspirational magazine design alive." Very nice project, I just hope they keep it alive and updated regularly.

3. "Stuff that fails – Because failing is a part of life" (I think this was via Swiss Miss)

4. Weird ephemera that surrounds us at Do Not Disturb. (don't mind about the not-so-cool-looking site itself)

5. More, well, stuff can be found here. Visually very interesting and inspiring, but also makes you think about how much stuff we actually buy, collect, waste and consume.

+ This is already an old story, but it's never too late to tell good stories. A very talented designer Mari Isopahkala has won Lapponia's international jewelry competition with her work titled "Pisara" ("Drop"). Check it out from Lapponia's website or from Mari's own site.

Easter 2010 in Berlin – Charlottenburg Palace inspiration 

Femininity – beauty – power: This combination has fascinated mankind for millennia. It is a mixture that was and is the basis of countless myths. On the threshold of the modern age, the myth of the Prussian Queen Luise (1776–1810) first originated through media-related means and it lives on to this day.

Three exhibitions set at her personal, historical locations illuminate the most diverse aspects of Luise's life and the legends surrounding her.  

A “media star” – long before Sisi, Evita Perón or Princess Diana ever arrived.

Exhibition's visual identity, graphic design of the Luise campaign with its playfully challenging and mind thrilling copy texts together with Luise portraits reminded me, once again, of the power and magic of graphic design. Communicate right, and wake forgotten stories and legends alive. Suddenly uninteresting things turns interesting. Fresh angles, contrasts. Somebody surely touched my heart with graphic design. 

The 200th anniversary of the death of the most popular woman in Prussia in 2010 is providing the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg with an opportunity to trace one of the most obstinate legends of German history.

Could this ever be the same without its graphic identity? Translated and communicated so straight forward, in so right level, to our media literate and conscious Generation Y?  

Her dedication to political reforms and her opposition against Napoleon
made her into a symbol of hope in Prussia.

Queen Luise, famous for her beauty, was quite conscious of her charms. She knew how to underscore her physical advantages in a natural, sensuous and occasionally liberal way with graceful, Empire-style dresses inspired by the forms of antiquity.

One of the three exhibitions shows outfits and accessories that belonged to the queen, as well as a selection of her portraits and further artifacts in the form of sculptures, graphic folios and letters.

This is part II of 5+1 series. Originally the idea was to gather some sort of mix'n'match selection of (hopefully somehow design-related) links that would be posted on Werklig site every Friday. However, this week we have Easter coming up so I had to do this already on Thursday. Anyways, here goes! 

1. First, some interiors and architecture. Why all public spaces (especially in Finland) are so dull? It's all lame light gray, light green, light yellow and cherry/beech laminate. Why can't they look like the Achievement First Endeavor Middle School in Brooklyn designed by Pentagram? If there's an architect reading our blog, please feel free to comment.
2. House Industries has released a new font called "Eames". Not too bad. Surprisingly I seem to like even the Stencil version, which is odd.
3. This is just great: "Movie Title Stills Collection". You should also check out a documentary about film music on Yle Teema next Sunday (L'Age d'or de la musique de film).
4. The Story of O (in design, people).
5. I bet you didn't know this about banknote patterns.
+ and finally, some zen letterpress stuff here and here. Sit down, watch and enjoy.

Happy Easter!
 

(Picture courtesy of Pentagram)