The Young Designer of the Year prize facilitated by Design Forum Finland is an encouragement award to support young designers in their uncompromising and unique work. The award seeks to inspire upcoming designers to continue producing uncompromising and innovative work in design. The Young Designer of the Year award from Design Forum Finland was established in 2000 and is presently given for the twenty-first time. The award consists of a €5,000 cash prize and, from 2018 to 2022, access to IF Studios, the artist-in-residence program run by the Finnish Institute in France in Paris. The IF Studios residency program supports the internationalisation of Finnish artists, curators, and other creative workers in France.
The Young Designer of the Year 2022 prize exhibition was on display at Glasshouse Helsinki from May 5 to 28, 2022, as part of the Design Forum Finland Awards exhibition. Mikko-Pekka Hanski, a board member of Design Forum Finland; Annaleena Hakola, CEO and creative director of Hakola, Sari Anttonen, a lecturer in interior architecture at LAB University of Applied Sciences, and Johanna Rman, director of the Institut finlandais, made up the jury for the 2022 prize.
The Young Designer of the Year for 2022 is the design team Juslin Maunula, which consists of architect Lilli Maunula and fashion designer Laura Juslin. The jury commended the team for their innovative thinking and capacity to blend colours and materials to create unique, captivating designs.
These two designers founded Juslin Maunula, a Finnish design studio and brand, in 2015. They are renowned for their multidisciplinary expertise, including space planning, accessories, apparel, and rugs. Despite having become friends while studying fashion design at Aalto University, Laura Juslin graduated and went on to become a fashion designer, while Lilli Maunula went on to become an architect. They decided to establish a design studio because they wanted to combine these two distinct fields. Juslin Maunula’s work combines fashion and architecture uniquely and imaginatively, whether it be a clothing line, an installation, jewellery, or home textiles. Kalevala, Finarte, and Marimekko are a few of the studio’s clients.
Juslin Maunula received special praise from the award jury for their aptitude for fusing colours and materials to create eye-catching ensembles. Their work is idea-driven rather than constrained by specific scales or materials. Through diverse competence and creative thinking, ideas can be realised in many different forms, from spatial installations to clothing or textiles. Even with commercial assignments, architecture and the visual arts have been connected in insightful ways that enrich their expression.
Architecture and fashion design are combined in the work of the design team Juslin Maunula. Architecture and fashion design are two distinct forms of expression. Two opposing points of view, one of which strives for stability and will stand the test of time, while the other is dynamic. One uses hard objects, while the other uses soft textures that are close to human skin. While the other introduces human forms into space, the former creates space for humans.
Juslin and Maunula were motivated by a shared desire to bring the worlds of architecture and fashion together to start a design studio. Both of them desired to work in the fashion industry, but from a different perspective: one that was more extensive and experiential, going beyond simply being a product. According to Laura Juslin, “We wanted to seamlessly connect fashion and architecture.” “A link that is apparent in everything we do. Not only to be the main concept in everything we do but also to actually create a space with a product. More of an overall impression
In a Juslin Maunula project, a space converses with a garment or another object, for instance, in a retail setting or trade show setting. The pair created an exhibition display for the Design Museum in Helsinki using tulle, a specific surplus material, to create partition walls using a rug-weaving technique. Gradients resembling watercolours and translucent effects were created for the exhibition space by working with the material in a novel way. Clients are very intrigued by Juslin Maunula’s novel approach. For Kalevala, a jewellery line, rugs for Finarte, a store installation for Artek, and Marimekko, they have created clothing items. Of course, striking a balance between artistic aspiration and market viability is difficult, claim the designers. Laura Juslin warns against underestimating the consumer, though. Customers must be challenged rather than given simple answers. Juslin Maunula has accomplished this: their goods have received favourable reviews both domestically and abroad.
Juslin Maunula is currently concentrating on the circular economy. Since there is a huge demand for problem-solving right now, designers identify as problem-solvers. They want to put extra materials for new uses. Juslin exclaims enthusiastically, “We’re skilled”. “We can create something beautiful out of any material. Call us if your company has extra materials. We’ll repurpose it and make it into something wonderful and magical.
References:
- Finnish Design Shop COM. (n.d.). Juslin Maunula selected as Young Designer of the Year 2022 | Design Stories. [online] Available at: https://www.finnishdesignshop.com/design-stories/trending/juslin-maunula-selected-as-young-designer-of-the-year-2022 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].
- Design Forum Finland. (n.d.). Young Designer of the Year 2022: Juslin Maunula – Laura Juslin & Lilli Maunula. [online] Available at: https://www.designforum.fi/en/award/young-designer-of-the-year-2022-juslin-maunula/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].
- Design Forum Finland. (n.d.). Juslin Maunula – The feeling of space. [online] Available at: https://www.designforum.fi/en/news/juslin-maunula-tilan-tuntu/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].
- Dezeen. (n.d.). Juslin Maunula | Dezeen Awards 2022 | Longlist. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/awards/2022/longlists/juslin-maunula/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].
