Inland Team: Anna
What have you been doing before?
I have worked in various projects related to event production, art and design learning, after graduating as a shoe and textile designer from HAMK University of Applied Sciences. I have been a facilitator in events arranged by SuoMu — the Finnish Association of Design Learning and lately started to host a weekly SuoMu design club for elementary school students. Currently I am finalizing my Master’s degree in Aalto University’s Creative Sustainability (CS) programme, in the design study track. What brought me to CS was the program’s multidisciplinary approach, my interest in public services and its focus on issues like climate change and environmental sustainability. CS aims to educate design students to work on environmental and social challenges and I want to improve things related to these by using design. I have had the possibility to explore these themes during the year 2017, for example by participating in the Design for Government course and ChemArts summer school.
Why did you come to Migri?
During my studies I have become more and more interested in designing for public services. As the majority of study themes link the big transformations with the fast changes in the world, the role of public services has become extremely interesting. Furthermore as the world has become smaller and smaller and many of us can now belong to many global communities, also working on migration feels more relevant than ever. The chance to join Inland Design to work on my master’s thesis is exciting and inspiring, and a great opportunity to learn and gain experience about these things together with service design. As I was first trained in product design where processes were driven by individual expression, it is now important to me to be part of a team and work in a collaborative manner with the stakeholders.
How do you want to work in Inland?
I believe in listening and being sensitive to the environments around us. Being empathic, searching for and recognizing the right problems and maintaining a humble but critical perspective on projects is important for me. Collaborative design and co-creation are thus the core of engaging with other people and creating a shared understanding of practices. I believe I will gain a lot of knowledge, insights and valuable experiences from collaborative projects and learn from the Inland Design team during my time here.
How do you envision Inland in the future?
Inland can be the key actor on building the capacity of a user-centred approach on service development, and enhancing cooperation across different groups. I look forward to seeing Inland, and other design studios in Finland and around the world, form networks that can share and set examples of developing solutions for complex challenges that the public sector needs to deal with.
What do you do when you’re not working in Inland?
I am either reading, cooking or at the museum. I have always two or three books on my table and I discover new ones to read faster than I can finish the previous ones..! I try to enjoy nature wherever I am, taking long walks, skiing and of course hunting for mushrooms — that is the most important thing every autumn. I also like to draw and make shoes.
