Becoming Ninì
Tout l’univers visible n’est qu’un magasin d’images et de signes auxquels l’imagination donnera une place et une valeur relative; c’est une espèce de pâture que l’imagination doit digérer et transformer. (Baudelair) More »
Product Soap Opera
We have stayed up all night, my friends and I, under the dim flickering light and monotonous buzz of the projector I begin to see the carnage we have left behind. Consumed nacho packs all over, piles of popcorn accumulated in between the pillows and stacks of ice cream bowls filling the sofa tables. Yet another episode has come to an end, the decision now is whether to continue the story or go and get some shut-eye. More »
Interview with Bokja
This spring I had the pleasurable honour to meet up with the esteemed women behind the Bokja creations in Beirut. Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri agreed to share some of their experiences and stories behind their work and how they feel designing in the crossroads of multiple cultures. More »
Arrhythmic Objects
Digital cameras are getting increasingly more powerful, so powerful that my DSLR that I bought a few years back is out-pixeled by the new smartphones on the market. What this means is that my computer will require more and more power when I lighten your under-eye circles and smooth out your love handles in Photoshop. This is why I’m excited to read about the advances in the use of the 5th phase of matter. Now you say, wait, what, I thought there were 3 phases; gas, liquid and solid? Normally this would be the case, but under extreme heat you get plasma, the 4th phase, and in extreme cold you get a Bose-Einstein condensate. Shortly put this 5th phase is the foundation for matter lasers and thus quantum computing (impressively nerdy sentence). More »
From Tehran with Love
Last August a friend of mine Gholamali Baluch organized a workshop in Tehran. He asked a group of young iranian artists to create a visual impression of this intense city, expressing their ideas and inspirations using the language of fashion. The resulting works were then to be put on show back here in Milano as a sort of greeting from Tehran. More »
8-bit Cognitive Dimensions
We will go back in time, back to 1993 when playing Doom on your PC left an everlasting impression and the beat of Haddaways’ new hit song Life made you dance through the soles of your Air Jordans. Life will never be the same, life is changing... are the lyrics to the song. More »
Phones with Chromosomes
We find ourselves in the Las Vegas crime lab and Grissom finds a strand of hair with a tag on it. He looks at it under the magnifying glass. More »
Hello Monoworld
This is the start, the beginning of a tale, an experience, memory, an ever-evolving event setting sail. I'll be sharing stories and thoughts with you that together will lead to the birth of a new character, a new being. This new life will be part me, part you, a blend of all of us. Some of you will have great influence and some of you will be hidden in mysterious details for the curious to explore. Whether your role is as an observer or as an inducer, all of you are special. Without you this new life would be sans meaning just a sterile structure floating in emptiness. More »
Galeria Kaufhof Berlin
The Wool Modern Exhibition is cruising and Routa along with it. The collection is now on show in deepest Berlin in the windows of Galeria Kaufhof on Alexanderplatz. The glass provides a reflection to the past placing the fibre in parallel with the Plattenbau prefabricated concrete slab housing typical for the DDR era. More »
Wool Modern Exhibition
I would warmly like to introduce all of you to my contribution at the Wool Modern exhibition. Routa has been working out and is now proud to be part of the woolly collection with pieces by designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Paul Smith, Burberry, Lanvin, Sonia Rykiel, Alexander McQueen, YSL..
The Wool Modern exhibition is part of the Campaign for Wool set in motion by HRH Prince Charles showing off the natural fibre and how it can be experienced in the 21st century. More »
Yesolou Beach
The lab forced me to get creative once again, it is the second time within a few months that they have messed up the development. Last time they developed colour negatives as if they were B&W and this time they put C41 film in E6 soup. Since I hadn't exposed for cross-processing I got a strange really low contrast deep blue-toned image with some infraredish features added to it. I fiddled about in photoshop for a while and come to like this saturated black and white effect where the shapes are defined through the reflections on the skin.
Shot on Hasselblad 500cm, Fuji Reala 100 Cross-processed in E6 chemicals, post production in Photoshop. More »
Welcome to Lebanon
Standing in the street surrounded by the constant sound of klaxons you will hear sudden outbursts of 'Welcome to Lebanon!' Shouted by locals driving by in packed 1970s smoking mercedes' or from scooters swinging around the streets. In a way this did make me feel welcome in the neighborhood.
This collection of images was taken during my latest visit to Lebanon in February. Shot on a Hasselblad 500cm, mostly on Kodak T-max 100, one roll of Fuji Neopan 100 and some on Kodak VC400. More »
MRI
Some more and some less interesting objects, including a donut, pictured in a way to resemble magnetic resonance imagery. you probably won't figure out what the subjects are, but i still enjoy the effect they create. More »
Fracs Lamppu Urban Lighting
Each street has its rhythm, a sort of beat created by the dynamics of the people using it, the architectural elements, the light and dark areas.. This rhythm is emphasized in tight urban streets, particularly in the historical parts of italian cities, filled with character created through generations of reinventing the space.
I worked together with Matteo Pastorio to identify and illustrate this rhythm in some way. We started out from a small, hidden street in the centre of Milan, Via Bagnera, and designed a led-light system which is able to transmit and increase the value of the “beat”. More »
Rah Rah Bedside Lamp
Where the two sets of rah rah (stripes in persian) interweave. The stripes of the laminated wood blend with the stripes of the textile that create a symmetrical relationship when oscillating with each other.
The light is intended to be a playful slightly comic object with a retro feel. Soft, round and warm to make you smile. More »
Water Sommelier for Expo 2015 Milano
Wine consists of roughly 85% water. To produce just one glass of wine 120 litres of water is needed. Water being an ever more precious resource the sustainable production of wine is essential for environmental conservation. This project communicates the value of water through its more noble derivatives, wine and distillates. Turning the typical tasting glasses into crafted moulds used to sip and enjoy water, a commodity often taken for granted.
Project materialized with fellow designers Giorgia Crisci, Dario Gaudio and Francesco Tolin in cooperation with Vecchia Lodi Ceramics for the expo 2015 held in Milano. More »
Frullino Milk Frother
A re-design project using the existing components from a 3 euro IKEA milk frother. I took a sculptural approach to this project and used cutlery to make the structure for the frother. To contrast with the stainless steel I used a silicone casing to hold the components in place. More »
Routa Light in Birch Ply and Wool
Atmospheric moodlight with inspiration from the national instrument of Finland, Kantele, a five stringed harp.
Birch Ply and Wool, 28.0 x 126.0 x 15.5 cm
Light output 4 x 5w
More »
Lisco USB Snake
Just like people try hard to get themselves noted so it would seem in the world of cables too. I am a cable: I like to tie myself to my friends and hide so no one can find me. Two limited ways for the cable to get your attention, make you use time untangling them or use time searching for them. With the fear of maxing out object personification I fancied giving cables some other kind of attention by giving them a level up from tool to object. More »
Kantele a Vase in Corian
I was asked to translate an object significant to my culture (in this case Finnish) into a unit of 'vegetal attraction'. As for the material I was provided with Corian directly from DuPont. The whole project was supposed to be realized in this material.
Kantele as an instrument plays a significant role in finnish mythology. It is a small 5-stringed harp most famously known from the national epos Kalevala. Runelord Väinämöinen used to play this instrument and tantalized both friend and foe with the soft melodies. Through the distraction provided by the music Väinämöinen was able to strike and defeat his enemies. I wanted to incorporate this dualistic nature of Väinämöinen into the product, being a runelord and warrior both at the same time. More »
Beyzone Electric Shaver
This project was awarded the gold medal by Russell Hobbs for the electric personal grooming competition arranged in November 2006.
The objective was to rethink electric appliances used for personal care. More »
Shaira DAB Radio
To incorporate the topic of digitality, the radio has been given a sort of receiving gesture. The leant back semicircular shape in addition to reminding you of a receiver also looks welcoming for the user to start handling.
The finish of the radio is a raw untreated steel look contrasting with a deep coal-black front panel. The radio has been framed in by light in order to make the transition with the background stronger. More »
Salve. Hongisto Design tells a story of the works of a designer, showing the stimuli that translate into finished products.
My name is Laurent Hongisto but most people call me lolo. This is where I collect pieces of varying gravity that are currently occupying my mind.
Become part of the narration, leave a comment or just generally share my work.
I am based in Milano, Italia, and am always pleased to answer your questions.