Shunjiro Eguchi is a Senior Designer with Nokia Design Group. He is the designer of Nokia N93 multimedia mobile phone and a winner of honorary mention in Fennia Prize 2007, an international design competition.

In this interview Shunjiro Eguchi explains the design principles of Nokia N93 and his view on the future of mobiles devices and mobility from a designer's point of view.

This interview was made in Design Forum Finland in Helsinki during Fennia Prize 2007 award ceremonies.

The winners of the renewed Fennia Prize 2007 competition have been chosen. The main prize, the Fennia Prize 2007 Grand Prix (€ 15,000) goes to Rocla Plc for the design of the Humanic reach truck. Fennia Prizes of € 5,000 each were awarded to four companies: Huonekalutehdas Korhonen Oy, Halti Oy, PlusArkkitehdit and PaloDEx Group Oy (Instrumentarium Dental). In addition, 16 companies received the Fennia Prize Honorary Mentions. 

The Humanic reach truck which was awarded the Fennia Prize 2007 Grand Prix involved product development and design taking users as their starting point. Four years ago, Rocla Plc gave design an important strategic role in the company and employed an in-house designer. According to Design Manager Petteri Masalin, the prime considerations of design are usability, dependability, simplicity and functionality. The prize jury maintained that all these properties are realized with insight in the design of the prize-winning, user-friendly Humanic reach truck.

The Fennia Prize 2007 was awarded to four companies. Intended for adult students, the Flip chair and desk, which are stackable and can be joined in rows are made by the Huonekalutehdas Korhonen furniture company. Halti Oy’s prize-winning products were the ergonomic Gompa and Fiber jackets and the Green backpack, representing new production technology. PaloDEx Group Oy’s Ortopantomograph®OP200D- and Ortoceph®OC200D dental x-ray equipment received the Fennia Prize 2007 for their design and technical properties. The PlusArkkitehdit firm of architects received the Fennia Prize in the Open Series for its service concept for the single-family house and leisure home market. All four prizes entail a sum of € 5,000.

The selection of the prize-winners was carried out by a jury of distinguished representatives of design, media and the business community, including M.Sc.Pol. Hannu Ketola as chairman, designer Kristiina Lassus of Alessi as the jury’s Guest Member, and Design Forum Finland CEO

Mikko Kalhama

The high level of the use of design by companies participating in the competition is shown by the fact that honorary mentions were awarded to 16 companies: Design House Idoli Oy, Finnzymes Oy, GE Healthcare Finland Oy, Hanna Korvela Design Oy, Lundia Oy, Marimekko Plc, Nokia Corporation, Nokia Corporation Networks, original habitek works, Rocla Plc, Suunto Oy, TAG Heuer S.A., Tulikivi Plc, Ursuk Oy/Suunto, Vivero Oy and YTV – the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council. The award-winning companies and their products and concepts represent a wide range of design in various sectors of industry and the fields of furniture, interior design, textiles, medicine, high technology, precision mechanics, tourism and public transport.

Fennia Prize – Good design grows global is a design competition for firms and companies. It is open to enterprises making designed products or using design in other ways in their business. There are two series in the competition, the Product Design Series and the Open Series. The latter includes, for example, business and service concepts and environments. The Fennia Prize Grand Prix, individual Fennia Prizes and Fennia Prize honorary mentions are awarded in the competition. Awards include participation in the Fennia Prize exhibition, its tour of different venues and inclusion in the exhibition catalogue. The competition is arranged by Design Forum Finland. The prize sums are donated by the Fennia Group. The Kauppalehti newspaper is the competition’s media partner in 2007.

THE FENNIA PRIZE 2007 exhibition 16 February – 1 April 2007

Design Forum Finland, Erottajankatu 7, Helsinki

Life on a Leaf is a house project by Jan-Erik Andersson, a multi-disciplinary artist from Turku.

He has started to build a house for himself with a thought of "not all houses must be all square". Thus the house reminds us from a leave.

Jan-Erik Andersson has been doing a multitude of art projects in the past, but this is the first house project for him.

Lots of interesting material on the house including 3D pics and VRML model from the Life on a Leaf website.

Interesting thing here is that this house is located just 1 km from St. Henry's Ecumenical Art Chapel.

Tonfisk Design is announcing a new vase collection called Warp. The first public showing of the vases will be at the Ambiente Frankfurt in Franfurt am Main, Germany from 9th til 13th of February.

The shape of the Warp vases are made individually by hand, thus each vase will be unique in form. This is possible by a process where the vase is being treated manually right after removing it from the mold. In order to be able to maintain the high quality, a person with special skills is required.

This delicately organic form of the vase will fuction well with many type of flowers. Empty vase gives the interior a feel of  a very sculpture-like element.

The Warp vase is available in two heights, 21.5 and 31.5 cm.