Ville Kokkonen

Industrial designer Ville Kokkonen has harnessed light and form against the darkness of Finnish wintertime. Specializing in bright-lights, Kokkonen’s work celebrates the simple yet delicate Finnish design tradition combined with a purpose-driven mission to help the Nordic people with coping through the dark season. A ‘bright-light’ (2500-5000 lux) is a medically certified therapy solution for winter affective disorder. Since 2008 Kokkonen has specialized in the effects of bright-light, and its positive implications on people’s mental and physical wellness.

In 2010 Kokkonen designed a lightning collection White with four bright-light fittings. His desk lamp Bright Light 1 is light-therapy certified. In New York, Kokkonen will study the theme of light in space both in visual art and in design. He will also continue his research on other wellness-oriented projects, in particular the effects of purified air and microclimates in everyday working spaces.

Kokkonen’s work is influenced by late 1960s US artists that worked and experimented with light and perception of space. For him New York also provides a chance to do further study on their work. Furthermore, he will be visiting local research institutions, and giving lectures at both Harvard Graduate School of Design, and University of Kentucky, College of Design, during the month of September.

Kokkonen is the Design Director at Artek, and he has also worked as a researcher in various projects funded by Tekes (Finnish National Technology Agency, and in Smart Products Research Group, University of Art and Design in Helsinki.) Kokkonen's international projects for Artek also involve the design of a perfume for Comme des Garçons.