The Helsinki Design Week, the biggest on-topic event of Scandinavia, closed its doors on September 14th. The tenth edition of the festival, firstly launched in 2005, unfolded throughout ten days of multidisciplinary events related not only to design but also to several other high-end fields like fashion and urban culture, with dedicated days such as the Architecture Day.

The theme of this Helsinki Design Week, started on September 4th, was “Taking the Leap”. The festival involved over 150 events dedicated to emerging designers and new trends, as well as to the active participation in the discussion and development of the city and its culture. With over 50 thousand visitors, this Design Week hit the whole city of Helsinki, from museums to shops, from markets to congress halls.

At the same time, the festival addressed a heterogeneous public made of both professionals and just design lovers, including families which were the target of the Children’s Weekend, where children joined several programmes and workshops such as the one organized by Lego, one of the sponsors of Helsinki Design Week.

In a moment when many new products recall the Scandinavian design, this proved to be the right occasion to witness the effort of North Europe – and the city of Helsinki in particular – to promote and even democratize design. The Helsinki Design Week will be back in a year, from September 3-13, for a new edition all about present and future.

INFO: www.helsinkidesignweek.com

PHOTO COURTESY: Aino Huovio