WORLD IS MY JELLY BEAN

Restless Feet

You remember when I was going on about that Toshiba, and how he’s my new best friend? Well this is what we finally were able to produce together for the cover of  Journalisti-magazine.

The theme of this issue was all about different ways to approach the Journalist profession. The Central idea seemed to be some how collecting. Collecting data, information, experiences, how this kind of “silent information” is important for a professional journalist. So this is how I approached that idea.

I also did an illustrated time line to an inside spread, which was fun. I love info graphics (yep, a printer is my best friend and info graphic is my love, don’t say anything), and it was nice to do something in the middle ground of that and illustration.

This is how it looks:

 

Such a nice biiiig project, where you can go a bit crazy. I like. :)

xxx

Love the Muusa

A while a go I was asked to illustrate a song I love. I chose this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAcMG7VKo1M. And like that wasn’t enough of a treat, it has now it has been released as a T-shirt through Muusa. Check it out here:http://www.facebook.com/MuusaOriginal

The T-shirts are covered with amazing work from such talented illustrators like Elmeri Terho, Eero Johannes and Toni Lähde. I was pleased to be in such a good company!

All T-shirts can be purchased through Muusa’s FB-page, and from every T-shirt sold a Euro will be given to Finnish society of Music Therapy.

Toshiba is a friend

I am a big fan of copying machines. We’ve got an old and steady Toshiba at the studio. I play with it every day, and we need to order more copying paper very often.

Anyway, thought I’d post a little sequence on some sketching I did today. This is how it often comes together for me. I think about a concept and often one element becomes very strong to me, so I start with that. Then with the help of Toshiba we come up with the final sketch, that I just now sent to the client. Let’s see what they say about our day’s work.

Super + Super

Two lovely friends of mine have been working hard on a project called Super + Super, the first Creative Hub in Brighton. Soon it will be open and there’s already so many interesting courses starting in next week or two. I was honored to make a little illustrations for their flyer.

Can’t wait to see it all happening! 

Chinese New Year

This is a project I’ve been involved since I graduated 2008. I created this Dragon, and the visuals such as the logo, posters, flyers, web site and billboards for this annual event in Helsinki as my degree work for Pekka Halonen Academy. 

Since then I’ve every year created a new illustration for the event. Dragon is always the central character, but especially this year, as it is the year of dragon! In Eastern Philosophy, the Dragon is said to be a deliverer of good fortune.

I don’t mind believing that. :)

Happy Chinese New year!

Merry Times and White space!

Happy New year everyone! 

I just got back from a great holiday in Finland, and now it feels good to start work again at the studio. Hope you had a relaxing time too!

I feel quite exited about this year. I like planning, so I’ve got many ideas for this 2012. Lots of spider diagrams and many kinds of calendars, to write things down to. 

But it also feels important to have white space, slots in the calendar with nothing in them. As a designer I should remember the importance of it in my work. “White space is not merely “blank” space, but and important element of design, that enables the object in it to exist at all”, a book says.

I hope I could also remember this in my everyday life. “The Balance between non-white and white space is the key to aesthetic  composition” and healthy living I would like to add.

So as well as Merry times, I would like to wish you and me white space in 2012!

My Adult Friends

The last part of the Friendship series came out few weeks ago on Kauneus & Terveys -Mag. The theme on this one was friendship as grown ups. 

“It feels like I have known her always”, one might say when getting a new friend as an adult, and this might well be, that the new friend has something very familiar about her that makes you feel good around her, and become friends easily.

Similar world views and interests, life situations can also bring two people together.

These are the kind of thoughts these two illustrations were made of:

xxx

Green Centre

Since I’ve been in the process of updating my web site for faaar too long (I’m almost done, I promise), I haven’t really had a chance to properly present this project I was involved in last spring.

Design agency DOT hired me to work with them on GREEN CENTRE -project, a permanent exhibition in Basildon on environmental issues.

Basically the brief was to illustrate a huge visual mind map on this wall sized W16m H4m about all environmental issues we’re facing in the world today. 

I got given a desk, lot’s of research material, huge iMac, pens and papers and three months time. “Go!” They said. And I did. And it was wonderful! 

This is what initially came out of it:

Such a great project, and was good to see very closely how that kind of big production is done. Got to also design the website and some other bits and bobs for it.

The exhibition is open in Wat Tyler Country Park, check out the details here.

xxx

Jazzy

What music do you listen to while you work?

When I’m in the beginning of a project, in that thinking stage, I can’t really listen to anything that has lyrics in it. Then I usually listen to this instrumental playlist on a repeat.

I try to look for music quite actively to add to it, so it wouldn’t get too monotonic. After diving in to this instrumental tunnel I bumped into Jazz, and for my own surprise, totally fell for it! A music genre I thought I would never understand. Makes you absolutely sink into your own thoughts and work. This is probably just vague echoing from the passion that so many Jazz musicians seem to surrender to their work with.

Two great artists I’ve discovered so far:

and

I don’t know, there’s just something very unpredictable about jazz that makes your mind play on a random, which at least for me is only a good thing when illustrating.

I’m still that much of a rookie though, that those most surreal and high pitch noises do make me go for the forward button.

But what do you listen to while working? And if you know any great instrumental music you would like to share with me, I would be ever so happy (at akjormanainen@gmail.com).

xxx

Tadaa!!

This week end was about late nights and early mornings working on this mini exhibition on White Night. Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar was filled with beautiful installations for one night, and me and my friends Catherine Grimaldi and Claire Clifton put together this poster series. It was really rewarding to work with these two talented ladies, and it felt like we were able to take this so much further as a collaboration than if we all had worked individually. 

The theme of White Night this year was Utopias. We wanted to concentrate on Dystopias in our exhibition, and almost how all utopias are destined to become dystopias if they are based on controlling people.

The evening was curated by Nicola Jeffs and Billy Mather! Thank you for initiating this, and inviting me to join you in all this fun!

Essentials this week end:

- Seri trace

- Sticky Vinyl

- Acrylics

- Nylon String

- Sandwiches

- Hot Chip, Errors, Two Door Cinema Club

- Patience

- Chocolate

- Many glasses of wine

- Deep breaths

- Ladder

xxx