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Press release, March 16th, 2021
Vote for your favorite!
Ten Hanko-posters compete for the victory
What should a travel poster for modern Hanko look like? Following our international contest, the jury has now selected ten works of art out of a record number of participants. Now it's time for you to vote for your favorite.
Hanko is trendier than ever. That's why Finland's southernmost cape needs a new travel poster, so that everyone will understand the charm of Finland's sunniest city - all year round.
The poster company Come to Finland and partners Visit Hanko, Grafia and Anglo-Nordic therefore announced their annual international contest - Travel Poster of the Year 2021 - aimed at graphic artists, illustrators and artists.
A record number of artists - as many as 338 - submitted entries. The artists came from 29 different countries, ranging from Belarus to Cyprus, Indonesia to Brazil, Iran to Canada. Believe it or not, Hanko is so international.
The jury then had the difficult task to select ten works of art for the final.
“As a big fan of Hanko, it was great to see new images for the iconic city,” jury chairman Magnus Londen comments lyrically.
Susanna Sandberg at Visit Hanko was also pleased: “I was happy to see how multifaceted the artists views of Hanko were, which is what we at the Tourist Office have been working hard on to foster.”
Not to mention Jenni Kuokka who is a creative partner at the design agency Hahmo: “Notably many different visual styles and angles were represented in the contest, and the level was generally surprisingly good. I am eagerly looking forward to see which poster will be the audiences' favourite.”
Her graphic colleague, Kasper Strömman, was also happy after going through 338 works of art: “I had no idea Hanko was internationally renowned like this. Go Hanko!”
Now ten posters are in the final and it is the people's voice that decides the winner. Anyone can vote on the website myfinlandposter.com until April 11th, 2021. Among all participants, Come to Finland will raffle off a gift package worth 300 euros.
The prize for the winning artist is 2500 euros and a trip to Hanko. This year's winner will be announced when the poster exhibition Come to Finland - Paradise calling opens at Hanko Museum on May 6th, 2021.
The jury consisted of graphic designer and blogger Kasper Strömman, account manager Eva Bensky at Anglo-Nordic, Tourist Coordinator Susanna Sandberg at Visit Hanko, museum director Laura Lotta Andersson at the Hanko Museum, creative partner Jenni Kuokka at the design agency Hahmo and Come to Finland's CEO Magnus Londen.
For more information and high-resolution images:
Magnus Londen
Poster Hunter, Come to Finland
magnus.londen@cometofinland.fi
Come to Finland is a design company and cultural project focusing on Finnish travel poster art.
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Press release, Nov 24, 2020
My Finland Poster 2021 - all eyes on Hanko!
What should a travel poster for today's Hanko look like? That question is now being thrown out to all creative forces around the world who love Hanko, the classic Finnish seaside resort.
In the 1930s, an unknown artist created a glamorous poster for Hanko: A trendy couple sunbathing while a child jumps in the sea. Several posters were to follow – usually with the beach and the sea in the spotlight. Now it's time to create new iconic posters for the modern Hanko. The picturesque town where city bikes and city life, wild nature and the wild sea lives side by side.
Come to Finland is hereby announcing – in collaboration with Visit Hanko, Grafia and Anglo-Nordic – the fifth edition of the international poster contest My Finland Poster. The idea of the contest is to create posters that will attract people from all over the world to travel to Hanko – Finland's holiday town number one.
The competition is announced today and is open to illustrators, graphic artists and artists all over the world. The last day for submissions is February 28th, 2021. The winner of the contest will receive 2500 € and a four-day trip to Hanko. In addition, the poster will be included in Come to Finland’s product assortment.
The most important thing about a travel poster is that it should have a clear and simple message. In the words of the Finnish poster master Erik Bruun: A poster should be clear and understandable even when it is printed on a small matchbox.
The style is completely free, with the exception that photographic works are not allowed.
Poster art from around the world
In 2017, Omar Escalante from Guatemala won with the poster Take Some Finland. In 2018, the American Amelia Hillebrant won the Lapland-themed contest with her poster Home of the Northern Lights. In 2019, the theme was Lake Saimaa, and Beth Chesser from the United Kingdom won with the poster Lake Saimaa – A place to reflect. Last year, Jolanda Kerttuli won with her view of Helsinki.
More information and high res. images:
Come to Finland
Magnus Londen, Poster hunter
magnus@cometofinland.fi
Visit Hanko
Susanna Sandberg, Tourism Coordinator
susanna.sandberg@hanko.fi
phone: +358 (0)19 2203 411
The sea is Helsinki's greatest asset
The artwork Come to Helsinki has been selected as this year's Finnish travel poster. The artist behind the poster is Jolanda Kerttuli - a resident of Helsinki.
- The most important thing for me in Helsinki is that nature is always near and an important part of the city's identity. The proximity to the sea brings a unique atmosphere to the city, says the happy winner.
Jolanda Kerttuli's poster - a panoramic sweep of Helsinki seen from the south with a focus on sea bathing - clearly won the public vote in the contest My Finland Poster. As a result, it has been selected as the Finnish travel poster of the year 2020.
Jolanda studies Visual Communication Design at Aalto University and gets her inspiration from “nature and differences in people”. The fact that Helsinki is close to her heart cannot be missed:
- I like that every neighborhood in the city feels like its own country. There is something for everyone here.
In the earlier days, right up to the 1960s, poster art was an important factor - perhaps the most important - when it came to attracting travellers to Finland. Jolanda created her poster with vector graphic, so what’s her take on poster art in today’s world?
- I believe that poster art also has its place in today’s digital age - the purpose of poster art has only slightly expanded. Before, the main purpose was to advertise and communicate, but nowadays posters and illustrations are used almost anywhere, from interior design to puzzles.
The My Finland Poster contest was now organized for the fourth time, with a record number of illustrators, artists and graphic artists participating from all over the world. For Jolanda, the entry became a success:
- Information about the contest popped up on my social media feed, and I decided to participate for the first time. I am a passionate illustrator, so the idea for the poster came immediately.
A jury selected ten finalists, and then it was up to the public to decide the winner by voting for their favourite. The jury consisted of AD Päivi Häikiö who represented Grafia, senior creative Heli Roiha at the advertising agency SEK and Come to Finland's CEO Sari Uusitalo, while Come to Finland's poster hunter Magnus London was chairman.
The runner-up was Joonas Kavasto with his poster Light in the Night. Approximately 3000 people from all over the world voted online at myfinlandposter.com and at the Matka travel fair in Helsinki.
To the delight of all fans of Helsinki, the top posters from the contest are now available at cometofinland.fi.
For more information :
Sari Uusitalo CEO, Come to Finland
sari.uusitalo@cometofinland.fi
Come to Finland is a Finnish design company and cultural project focusing on Finnish travel poster art.
• • •
Press release January 16, 2020
Vote for your favorite!
Ten Helsinki posters compete for the victory
What should a travel poster for modern Helsinki look like? Following our international competition, ten works of art have now been chosen by a jury. Now it is up to the people to decide – the voting starts at the Travel Fair in Helsinki.
Helsinki is more popular and trendier than ever among travelers. That’s why the daughter of the Baltic Sea needs an artistic travel poster - so everyone can understand the charm of Finland’s capital.
The poster company Come to Finland and partners therefore announced their annual international contest this fall, open for graphic artists, illustrators and artists around the globe.
The assignment was simply to capture Helsinki on a travel poster, and the fight for the title “Travel Poster of the Year 2020” had thus started.
This year we got a record-breaking number of entries - almost 160 posters were sent in. Contributions came from 18 different countries, including Russia, Japan, Colombia, New Zealand, Iran, USA and others. The jury’s task was to select ten pieces of artwork for the final.
“As a lover of both poster art and Helsinki, I was happy and relieved to see that we do not have to worry about the future of poster art. The capital is now getting new visual expressions, just as we had hoped for”, the jury chairman Magnus Londen comments lyrically.
The jury consisted of AD Päivi Häikiö who represented Grafia, senior creative Heli Roiha at the advertising agency SEK and Come to Finland’s CEO Sari Uusitalo, while Come to Finland’s poster hunter Magnus Londen was chairman.
Heli Roiha at SEK was also happy about the harvest: “Digitalization has created many new possibilities, but the basic principles remain the same as when poster art was born. It is wonderful to see that digitalization has not killed off the necessity of a skilled craft, but instead added value. Good typography is good regardless of whether it is done on a computer or by hand. The same goes for illustrations. “
Now it’s up to the public to choose the winner, by voting for their favorite poster. Voting will start at Helsinki Travel Fair, where the ten finalists are on display at stand 6e1. In addition, you can vote on the website myfinlandposter.com until February 16, 2020.
Among all participants a gift package worth € 300 will be drawn.
The winning artist will get 3 000 euros.
This year’s winner will be announced on March 3, 2020.
For more information and images:
Sari Uusitalo CEO
Come to Finland
sari.uusitalo(at)cometofinland.fi
Come to Finland is a Finnish design company and cultural project focusing on Finnish travel poster art.
• • • • •
Press release October 31, 2019
Come to Finland is launching the 4th edition of its international poster contest:
My Finland Poster 2020 – capture the charm of Helsinki!
What should a travel poster for today’s Helsinki look like? Creative artists around the world now have a chance to present their vision of the Daughter of the Baltic.
In the late 1930s, the poster artist Jorma Suhonen created an enchanting poster from downtown Helsinki: A classy lady (who, in fact, was the artist’s wife) sitting at a sidewalk cafe, sipping on a glass of champagne. This was the beginning of numerous posters from Helsinki – often with the Helsinki Cathedral as the focal point.
Now is the time to create new, iconic posters for present-day Helsinki. A city where nature and art is never far away, and in which saunas and libraries, city bikes and bars are living in harmony.
Come to Finland is, in collaboration with Grafia and the advertising agency SEK, calling for entries for the annual, international poster contest My Finland Poster. The purpose with the posters and the contest is to attract people from all over the world to travel to Helsinki – the dynamic capital of Finland.
The contest is launched today and is open to illustrators, graphic designers and artists around the globe. All entries must be received by January 6th, 2020. The winner of the contest will receive a prize of 3000 €, and the winning poster will also be published and branded by Come to Finland.
A travel poster should have a clear and simple message. Or in the words of Finnish poster master Erik Bruun: A poster should be distinct and understandable even when printed on a matchbox.
The style is free with the exception of photo posters or photomontages.
Poster art from all over the world
In 2017, Omar Escalante from Guatemala was awarded first prize with his poster ”Take some Finland” (scroll for further info). In 2018, Amelia Hillebrant from USA was announced the winner with her poster ”Home of the Northern Lights”. In 2019, the theme was Lake Saimaa, and the
winning poster was “Lake Saimaa - A place to reflect” by Beth Chesser
from the UK (scroll for further info).
Contact:
Sari Uusitalo, CEO
Come to Finland
phone: +358 50 355 7553
• • •
Press release March 6th, 2019
With love and respect for the water
The art work ”A Place to Reflect” is the Finnish Travel Poster of the year 2019. The artist behind the poster, Beth Chesser, is born in the UK but currently residing in Finland.
”To me, lakes possess a uniquely calm and reflective atmosphere and that is what I wanted to portray in my poster” Beth Chesser explains.
Her poster – showing a harmonious landscape with a pink, reflective, mirror-like lake – won the contest My Finland Poster and is thereby chosen as the Finnish Travel Poster of 2019.
Beth grew up on the Isle of Wight, a small island situated to the south of England. In 2017, she moved to Helsinki. Her love and respect for the water comes from always living close to the sea and that is also why this years theme for the contest, Lake Saimaa, inspired her so much.
Beth began making visual art when she was studying for a degree in digital music and sound art. As part of her dissertation she created a mixed-media stop motion animation alongside the music and sound design.
”This is when I really fell in love with combining traditional hand made art with digital, and from then on I have always tried to keep some element of my work handmade.”
This poster is made by combining traditional art and digital techniques. The trees and moon are hand drawn, painted and cut out. Then they were scanned to Photoshop where their features were manipulated and digital effects added.
”I purposefully kept the amount of different objects in the poster to a minimum as I felt it was important to highlight the space within Saimaa and the peace that nature in general can provide us.”
The international My Finland Poster-contest is held annually, and this year we got 140 entries from over 20 different countries. The contest is arranged by Come to Finland in collaboration with Grafia, the Lake Saimaa destination and the advertising agency SEK.
The jury chose ten finalists and then it was up to the public to decide the winner by voting for their favorite. The jury was made up of graphic designer Kirsi Kukkurainen, AD Santeri Kekkonen at the advertising agency SEK, Senior Director of International Marketing Heli Jimenez of Visit Finland, Juha Sorjonen Chief of Brand and Marketing Officer at goSaimaa, graphic designer Linnéa Sjöholm at Come to Finland and with the founder of Come to Finland, poster hunter Magnus Londen, as the president.
The public could vote on the website myfinlandposter.com and at the Matka Travel Fair held in Helsinki in January. A total of 4400 people voted in the contest.
Contact:
Beth Chesserbethchesser@hotmail.com
+358 40 874 4854
Sari Uusitalo, CEO, Come to Finland
sari@cometofinland.fi
+358 50 355 755
Juha Sorjonen, Director, goSaimaa Oy
juha.sorjonen@gosaimaa.com
+358 40 841 2480
Come to Finland is a Finnish design company & cultural project focusing on Finnish travel poster art.
------------------------------
Press release Jan 17, 2019
Pick the travel poster
of the year!
What should a travel poster for Lake Saimaa and Finnish Lakeland look like? Following an international competition ten works of art have been chosen by our jury. Now it is up to the people to decide – the voting starts at the Travel Fair in Helsinki.
The region of Lake Saimaa is more popular than ever among international travelers. That is why Saimaa needs an artistic travel poster – so that each and every one will understand the charm surrounding this region.
This is the reason why the poster company Come to Finland and its partners announced an international competition in October aimed at graphic designers, illustrators and artists. The mission: capture Lake Saimaa in a classic travel poster.
The contributions started pouring in. We got nearly 140 works of art from 22 different countries, and the jury was to select ten finalists from these.
”The level of creativity was astonishing! From computer graphics to posters in vintage style to abstract art. The posters depicted precisely the diverse Lake Saimaa that we were hoping for – with all four seasons represented”, says the jury president Magnus Londen.
The jury was made up of graphic designer Kirsi Kukkurainen, AD Santeri Kekkonen at the advertising agency SEK, Senior Director of International Marketing Heli Jimenez of Visit Finland, Juha Sorjonen Chief of Brand and Marketing Officer at goSaimaa, graphic designer Linnéa Sjöholm at Come to Finland and with Come to Finland’s poster hunter Magnus Londen as the president.
Now ten finalist works remain and it is up to the public to make the final decision. All those who visit the Matka Travel Fair in Helsinki can vote for their own favorite. The ten finalists are exhibited at booth 6f40. Voting is also possible on the website myfinlandposter.com. One lucky voter will receive a gift package worth 300€ courtesy of Come to Finland. Voting ends on February 17th, 2019.
The first prize in the contest itself consists of a trip to Lake Saimaa plus 2000€ in cash. This year’s winner will be announced on March 6th, 2019.
Come to Finland is a Finnish design company & cultural project with focus on Finnish travel poster art.
The MyFinlandPoster contest is arranged annually.
For high-resolution pictures please contact:
Sari Uusitalo, CEO
sari.uusitalo@cometofinland.fi
• • •
Press release October 10, 2018
Come to Finland launches a travel poster contest for Lake Saimaa:
My Finland Poster 2019
What should a travel poster for today’s Lake Saimaa look like? Creative artists around the world now have a chance to present their visions.
Come to Finland, Grafia, the Lake Saimaa destination and the advertising agency SEK are collaborating to find a travel poster for Lake Saimaa and are therefore announcing the My Finland Poster contest. The contest is open to illustrators, graphic designers and artists all over the world. This is the third time Come to Finland arranges the international travel poster contest.
The idea is to create a travel poster that tempts people from near and far to travel to Saimaa and experience Finland’s most celebrated and photographed lake district.
The deadline for the contest is January 6th, 2019. The top prize is 2000 euros and a one week adventurous holiday for two in the Lake Saimaa region (from the winner's country of origin). The winner poster will also be published and branded by Come to Finland.
Lake Saimaa – a classic among travel posters
Back in the days creative travel posters charmed international travelers to pack their bags and head up north to Finland. These astonishingly beautiful works of art fascinate us even today. A good example is this classic travel poster by Paul Söderström and Göran Englund from the 1930s:
Now Come to Finland wants to do the same thing again.
A travel poster should have a clear and simple message. Or in the words of Finnish poster master Erik Bruun: A poster should be distinct and understandable even when printed on a matchbox.
The style is free with the exception of photo posters or photomontages.
Come to Finland loves travel posters
In 2017 Omar Escalante from Guatemala was awarded the first prize with his poster ”Take Some Finland”. Last year Amelia Hillebrant from USA was announced the winner with her poster ”Home of the Northern Lights”.
The contest rules and information can be found at myfinlandposter.com
More information:
Sari Uusitalo, CEO
Come to Finland Publishing
sari(at)cometofinland.fi
phone: +358 50 355 7553
and
Juha Sorjonen
Marketing Officer, goSaimaa Oy
juha.sorjonen(at)gosaimaa.com
phone +358 40 8412480
• • • • •