Poster competitions began to be popular in the 1950s and they obviously served their purpose, since many of the great works of the decade were the result precisely of a competition. In the mid-1950s the city of Tampere wished to find new visual ways of promoting the town. In other words, it was time to […]
The birth of the Savonlinna Opera Festival ties in closely with the emerging Finnish identity and Finland’s striving for independence at the beginning of the 20th century. Attending a political meeting in Olavinlinna Castle in 1907 (the year in which Finland democratically elected its first Parliament by universal suffrage), the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté, already […]
Most of the regions, cities and travel companies in Finland created posters and images of their own, just like the classic and popular destination Koli in eastern Finland. The idea was naturally to lure travels from near and afar to Finland. We continuously seek more information about all images in our product range, so please […]
We asked photographer Kai Nordberg to tell the story behind this poster in his own words: ”In the summer of 1958, I was 22 years old then, I worked as an assistant at the photo studio Aho & Soldan. When summer was up I told photgrapher Heikki Ahtola that I’m heading for Savonlinna for a […]
Three brothers. A hen house. A motorcycle engine. A few decades later, an airline, a factory and a whole community. The brothers Niilo, Valto, and Uuno Karhumäki were certainly not your common idle fellows. At first they built kites, then model planes and later on real airplanes: Karhu I, Karhu II and Karhu III. Not […]
Most of the regions, cities and travel companies in Finland created posters and images of their own, just like the city of Vaasa (this one is for the old part of the city). The idea was naturally to lure travels from near and afar to Finland. We continuously seek more information about all images in […]
Surely it must have felt like a small, a really small, uphill climb when Finland in the 1930’s tried to depict itself as a sun and beach paradise. But we love that kind of cockiness. Of course we have that one month, July that is, when everything in the posters is true. Or…almost at least. […]
During the 1930´s the local and national Tourist Associations worked hard to promote Rovaniemi and Finnish Lapland as an exotic destination for the adventureous traveller. Small hotels were built, among others the proud “Fell-hotel” at Pallas. At this time Finland still had access to the Arctic Sea and the (very long) road-trip from Rovaniemi to […]
By the end of the 1920’s Finland Steamship Company’s legendary captain and advertising manager Arnold Neumann faces a big dilemma: The rivalry with the German shipping companies was tough as nails. What to do? The answer was found – once again – in the hands of the poster makers. Neumann contacted the Finnish artist and […]
Ilmari Sysimetsä’s Olympics poster featuring Paavo Nurmi – the Flying Finn – is most likely the most famous Finnish poster ever. The poster is also a great example of recycling. For the Olympic Games which were to take place in 1940 a big travel poster contest was held. The price was shared by three contestants, […]
Ilmari Sysimetsä’s Olympics poster featuring Paavo Nurmi – the Flying Finn – is most likely the most famous Finnish poster ever. The poster is also a great example of recycling. For the Olympic Games which were to take place in 1940 a big travel poster contest was held. The price was shared by three contestants, […]
Take a deep breath. Because now we have reached the very essence of these cheerful greetings from Finland. We’re talking about this masterpiece by Helge Mether-Borgström’s, where a ship sails into the land of thousand lakes from the west. So simple, but oh how mesmerizing. Mether-Borgström isn’t any old graphic designer. It was he who […]
This poster by the duo Paul Söderström & Göran Englund is one of our absolute favourites. Why? Because it’s Finland in a nutshell! Finland IS Lakeland. And you can still hop on the boat (the boats looks exactly the same today) at the harbours in cities like Kuopio and Savonlinna. And what a ride! It’s […]
Erik Bruun (born 1926) is a merry rascal whom everyone gets along with. He is the grand old man of poster art in Finland and the question is if anyone else has done more than he has to attract travelers to Finland. In Bruun’s posters one can always sense his typical tongue in cheek attitude, […]
This is one of our absolute favourites. Why? Because it’s Finland in a nutshell! Finland IS Lakeland. And you can still hop on the boat (the boats looks exactly the same today) at the harbours in cities like Kuopio and Savonlinna. And what a ride! It’s you and the lake – for a full 10 […]
Erik Bruun (born 1926) is a merry rascal whom everyone gets along with. He is the grand old man of poster art in Finland and the question is if anyone else has done more than he has to attract travelers to Finland.
Erik Bruun (born 1926) is a merry rascal whom everyone gets along with. He is the grand old man of poster art in Finland and the question is if anyone else has done more than he has to attract travelers to Finland. In Bruun’s posters one can always sense his typical tongue in cheek attitude, […]
In 1930 the artist duo Göran Hongell and Gunnar Forsström captured the maritime Helsinki with the Cathedral in the background. The poster was published in several different languages, at least in German, Finnish, Swedish, English and French. Who said Finland wasn’t international already back then? This thing about the Helsinki Cathedral is by the way […]
Erik Bruun (born 1926) is a merry rascal whom everyone gets along with. He is the grand old man of poster art in Finland and the question is if anyone else has done more than he has to attract travelers to Finland. In Bruun’s posters one can always sense his typical tongue in cheek attitude. […]
Surely travel posters can’t simply remain a cry from the past? Absolutely not. We live in a completely visual world where the picture is stronger than ever. That’s why the following question hit us: How would contemporary artists depict Finland of today? We could not let that thought go, so since 2016 we continuously arrange […]
