Design Forum Finland (Hannu Kähönen – The Kaj Franck Design Prize of 2009 and other exhibitions of 2009)

Design Forum Finland: Hannu Kähönen – The Kaj Franck Design Prize of 2009 Exhibition. "Industrial designer Hannu Kähönen (born 1948) has received the Kaj Franck Design Prize 2009. Hannu Kähönen graduated in 1971 from the University of Art and Design Helsinki. He is a versatile expert in design, whose perspective ranges from the practical design work to national design policy. He has helped to develop the field through his work in national and international positions of trust. Hannu Kähönen has also written about design and has taught design at the university level." Among Kähönen's most beloved designs are the low-floor trams of Helsinki.

I visited Design Forum Finland two days after the announcement that Helsinki will be World Design Capital in 2012 (the third one after Torino in 2008 and Soul in 2010).

1. The Helsinki Design Capital showreel. A loop of design samples.

2. Hannu Kähönen – The Kaj Franck Design Prize of 2009 Exhibition. "Design today must take note of environmental issues – the requirements of sustainable design and changing needs of people and a population that is ageing. Pure materials, ecological and service design solutions will stay important issues in the future".

3. The Sami Knife Exhibition. Great new designs on the traditional big knife of the wild north of Lapland.

4. The Tunne Väri ["Feel the Colour"] Collection: the new colours of the Tikkurila paint company. – 263 new colours, each with an individual name impossible to translate, such as in the Lapponia series of translucent paints: Joiku, Pälvi, Outa, Seita, Sivakka, Kuukkeli, Ahkio, Suopunki...

5. The Design Forum Shop Christmas Collection: new gift items and toys.