I'm a Helsinki based creative mind, husband and a father of two.

What I've done & when

My working history starts at around 2005 when I landed a graphic designer's position at one of the cultural offices of the City of Helsinki. Since that I've done, in a chronological order:

• Editorial design, layout and illustration at Sanoma Magazines

• Completed a BA at packaging design at the Lahti Polytechnic's Institute of Design

• Designed logos, done plenty of graphic design and branding, layout and editorial design, designed signage and wayfinding systems and done some illustration at Hahmo Design, for some four years.

• Had my design of a rag-rug carpet being bought and eventually manufactured and sold by thousands by Ikea.

• Somehow managed to graduate with an MA's degree in graphic design from Aalto University's School of Arts, Design and Architecture, while working almost full time.

• Freelanced for about a year, designing for example for the semi-legendary mbar bar in Helsinki (RIP), as well as helping the now defunct Made in Kallio maker space come into being.

• Done a brief stint as a designer at Muotohiomo in Helsinki, working for example for Sitra, the Finnish fund for innovation… and also got to create the Puuilo logo.

• Worked full time as a creative in Helsinki at Bond Creative Agency, a superb global enterprise with studios also in Abu Dhabi and London. During the past four-and-half years there I've done design work for brands such as Nokia, Microsoft, Moomin Characters, Neste Oil, Honka, Restel, University of the Arts Helsinki, Caverion, Savo and most recently, Virta.

• Worked for the past seven+ years at Pentagon Design, a prestigious institution of an agency, where I’ve had the pleasure of creating visual identities for companies such as Mysoda, Fazer, Finnish Work and Hattutehdas, while doing plenty of many kinds of design work for another brands such as Hesburger, The City of Helsinki, Four Reasons and many, many more.

• Released a handful of typefaces on Myfonts, some of which I've originally drawn as long as 15 years ago, while some are more recent.

How do I work

As a designer my aim is to understand the client's needs and be able to respond to them by providing both the expected as well as unexpected, perhaps (positively!) surprising results.

I prefer to spend a quite a lot of time thinking and writing, trying to come up with a few different viewpoints to the brief. Once a meaningful concept is established, I've found, results should follow quite effortlessly and naturally. I prefer showing the client quite a few ideas and concepts to choose from, for a more collaborative approach.

I love simplicity – meaningful ideas implemented in a timeless fashion, with attention to detail.

Grids are something I’m obsessed with and I have a love for geometry. From early on I’ve used these traits for drawing typeforms – for both logos and fonts – as well as hundreds (if not thousands) of icons and symbols, not to mention illustrations.

I have a very systematical approach to design and I am highly organised. This has helped me to create more than a few design templates for magazines, books and presentations. Unlike many designers, I have a bit of a knack for writing – which has been an asset when creating brand guidelines for clients such as Helsinki Music Centre, University of the Arts Helsinki and Oulu University to name but a few.

Thanks for making it here, nothing to add anymore. Except that If you feel we should collaborate or if you just want to give a shout out, feel free to drop me a line. Looking forward to that. Cheers!