Jar with lid and Plate, Art Works, Harri Koskinen, Iittala

Harri Koskinen (b. 1970). One of the leading figures in contemporary Finnish industrial design, Harri Koskinen is renowned for creating products that combine clarity, innovation and uncompromising functionality. After studying design at the Lahti Institute of Design and the University of Art and Design Helsinki, he established the Friends of Industry studio in 1998, working across product design, concept development and exhibition architecture. Koskinen achieved international recognition at the age of twenty-six with his groundbreaking Block Lamp (1996), in which a light bulb appears suspended inside a solid block of glass—a design now included in the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Beyond lighting, he has designed furniture, tableware, art glass, loudspeakers, watches and everyday consumer products for companies including Iittala, Artek, Fiskars, Genelec and Issey Miyake. Guided by the belief that successful design emerges through dialogue between people, materials and function, Koskinen creates objects that are both technically refined and intuitively simple. His work has received numerous international honours, including the Compasso d'Oro, the Pro Finlandia Medal and the Kaj Franck Design Prize, securing his place among the most influential Nordic designers of his generation.

(Photo source: Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki)