HELSINKI, Finland – We’ve got an extra reason to celebrate the New Year this year at Nokia. That’s because the Finnish capital and surrounding cities have been named the World Design Capital for 2012.
The designation is all about promoting and encouraging the use of design in the development of cities. Cities are given the honour based on their “accomplishments and commitment to design as an effective tool for social, cultural and economic development” according to the awarding body. The appellation is granted by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid). Helsinki is the third city to receive the title, after Turin in Italy (2008) and Seoul in South Korea (2010).
The theme for the Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 is ”Open Helsinki – Embedding Design in Life”. The theme reflects the new role of design: how to incorporate people´s needs in design processes, and the possibilities offered by design for the development of services and systems.
Finnish design is mostly known for the Aalto vase and Marimekko fabrics, but in reality it is much more. The design capital project highlights the capacity of design to improve people’s everyday lives and Nokia is happy to be a part of this goal as one of the WDC Helsinki 2012 partners.
Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia SVP Design, said: “WDC Helsinki 2012 is a natural way for us to talk about our latest design innovations such as the Nokia N9, in which the physical form, materials, user interface and services – such as Nokia Maps – are combined into one seamless whole.”
One of the many activities Nokia will organize during WDC Helsinki 2012 is a design exhibition. The exhibition provides people with a unique chance to learn the stories behind some of the Nokia devices that changed the world. In addition to looking at the past 20 years, the exhibit will also give insights into the future design of mobile products.
There’s also a mobile app, of course, to help Helsinki residents and visitors to find all the events that are happening over the course of the year. It’s already available for the Nokia N9, and it also works with Symbian such as Nokia 701, Nokia 700, Nokia 603, Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Nokia C6, Nokia E6, Nokia X7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia 500 and Nokia Oro. A version of the app for Nokia Lumia will be available soon. There are also iOS and Android versions of the app.
We’re going to be following the events of WDC Helsinki 2012 and asking how design can improve people’s everyday lives. Let us know your own ideas on this in the comments below.
image credit: http://wdchelsinki2012.fi/