HIRAMEKI Design × Finland

Design Forum Finland will stage a major design export initiative in Tokyo from late October through early November, titled HIRAMEKI Design × Finland. The project is the largest and most multifaceted presentation of Finnish design seen in Japan to date.

Hirameki is a moment of inspiration, or spark. In line of its title, the HIRAMEKI exhibition will be an enticing broad overview of Finnish design, ranging from technological innovations to individual designers, around a series of inspiring themes. Finnish design is presented through six colour-themed sparks, leading to HIRAMEKI as the seventh colour.

On display in the exhibition will be a representative group of today’s brightest Finnish designers and companies that utilize design in a key way in their business. The exhibition has been conceived and curated by the famed Finnish designers Harri Koskinen and Ilkka Suppanen.

The white spark reflects light and symbolizes energy solutions and high technology. The green spark showcases sustainable solutions for the future. The grey spark presents design as a strategic tool in product development. The black spark describes products and the people behind them. The blue spark illustrates the Finnish way of life, how form follows function. The neon spark stands for surprise, the playful attitude necessary for designers.

“The most typical, traditional icons of Finnish design are not featured in HIRAMEKI,” said Suppanen in an interview to Design Forum Finland. “We decided to take a chance and replace them with modern creations, which we believe are strong enough to stand alone,” Suppanen added. “We wanted to update the current image of Finnish design,” Koskinen said.

HIRAMEKI Design × Finland is a pilot initiative intended to support design export and promote co-operative ventures between Finnish designers and firms in Japan. “Design and business go hand in hand, benefiting both. At the same time, new contacts within the Japanese business world are hopefully established,” the curators say.

HIRAMEKI Design × Finland, Living Design Center Ozone, Tokyo, October 29 – November 7, 2010
In connection with Tokyo Designers Week