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YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2011:

Laura Laine and Heikki Salonen

Design Forum Finland's Young Designer of the Year Prize of 2011 goes to illustrator Laura Laine and fashion designer Heikki Salonen, who share the prize sum of €5,000 donated by Deko magazine and participate in a joint exhibition at Design Forum Finland from 9 June to 18 September 2011. The Young Designer of the Year Prize was instituted in 2000 and is now being awarded for the tenth time.
 
The prize jury unanimously chose Laura Laine (born 1983) and Heikki Salonen (born 1979) to receive the Young Designer of the Year Prize of 2011. Laura Laine has studied fashion design at the Aalto University School of Art and Design and currently works mainly as an advertisement and magazine illustrator for Finnish and international magazines and fashion chains, among other clients. Heikki Salonen graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2008 and has also studied at the School of Art and Design of the Aalto University. He has displayed his collections for example at London Fashion Week and has won prizes in the Diesel and Perfume Concept Design competitions, among other events. Salonen is also the head designer of Diesel's ladies' collection.
 
Design Forum Finland's Young Designer of the Year Prize can be given to one or several individuals or a team exhibiting new, creative concepts and skills in design. The purpose of the prize is to encourage young designers to carry on uncompromising and original work in design. In addition to the criteria of the prize rules, the jury underlined, among other things, the candidates' ability to operate in Finnish and international settings.
 
The Young Designer of the Year 2011 Prize jury consisted of Editor-in-Chief Ulla Koskinen, Professor Pirjo Hirvonen, Curator Jukka Savolainen and CEO Mikko Kalhama.
 
Previous recipients of the prize are designers Harri Koskinen and Ilkka Suppanen (2000), interior architect Karola Sahi and architect Eeva Lithovius (2001), designer and cabinetmaker Tuuli Autio and designer and silversmith Pyry Tamminen (2002), graphic designers Antti Hinkula and Teemu Suviala (2005), industrial designer Jukka Korpihete and furniture designer Mikko Paakkanen (2006), shoe designer Julia Lundsten and designer Janne Kyttänen (2007), designers Nathalie Lahdenmäki and Naoto Niidome (2008), designers Terhi Tuominen and Mikko Laakkonen (2009) and designer groups Imu and Aivan! (2010).

Press release and images
Interview with the designers
 
Laura Laine CV
Heikki Salonen CV