The cost of the product

Every product has two prices. The one we pay when buying it and the real one. We all pay the real one indirect and directly. Directly when we pay the taxes that goes to waste management for example and indirectly when we cut a tree, fill a landfill, etc. Everything we do have a cost but it´s in our hands and the company ones to decide how much we want to pay.

Companies know it and that´s why corporate social responsibility exists. Every company is responsible for its products, the damage they do in the environment, responsible as well for their employees and supplier that are of course their first costumers.

Responsibility is what we have, consciousness is what we decide to have or not.

Magic Lapland

Sometimes pictures don't need titles, they explain themselves.

New Open Innovation House

For Design and Innovation in context we were asked to design a creative habitat. Looking for inspiration we decided to go to Open Innovation house. Searching in the internet we found its mission statement:

At the Open Innovation House a variety of players, mostly from the ICT sector MEET, INTERACT and EXCHANGE ideas with researchers and students at Aalto University.

"Open Innovation House embraces the ideas driving Aalto University. It is a CO-CREATIONAL platform enabling social interaction and exchange of ideas."

- Tuula Teeri, President of Aalto University

Once there we realize that this mission statement completelly failed in practise:

No companies neither student MEET in this place, even at 11 in the morning where companies are suppose to be having their most active times.

Sofas and windows are a good way of INTERACTION, but no interaction happens in this empty place.

People have lonely lunches here. No EXCHANGE of ideas, projects... nothing.

The perfect place for CO-CREATION is the 4th floor where App Campus takes place but where is the purpose of opening it just 6 weeks a year?

Our proposal for this clear problem is to have two spaces in a single room. A place where things happen, where students and companies work together. The space is there, all we need to do is use it.

The first stage is the kindergarten:

A place where ideations happen, where projects in their first stage are presented and people and companies make speeches. A stage full of colour that will bring out the children we all have inside.

The second stage is the place where projects became a little bit more serious. Where companies and students talk and build things together. For helping with this process screens in tables and in the wall will make interaction more fluent. Companies will send challenges to students and everything that takes place in Open Innovation House will be shown there.

The last stage takes place 4 floors up, in App Campus where companies and students work together to make their dreams come true, where projects that started in kindergarten actually take shape.

But even if interior design is important at the end it's all about relationships. What we really need is not furniture, is people to ensure that things happen in this place, that people bring together and innovation is breath in the ambient.

We really believe that action needs to be taken in OIH and we believe that our solution is a cheap way of making this happen.

What are you waiting for?

The door of Open Innovation House is open.

Exploring Arabia

One floor down, where every idea takes shape.

 Where people work and have fun together.

Passion.

Pacience.

Color.

Different arts shaping the same space.

Nature in mind.

Every object can became art if there's an artist.

Because sometimes we also need our time to be alone.

And other we just need to laugh.

Wellcome to Arabia!

The meaning of a sign

What does this sign refers to you?
Most of you would answer accesibility but if you were in a wheelchair would you actually say this picture describes your accesibility?

This sign that we have been seeing all our lifes is nowadays being discussed and matters for doing it are. This sign focus on the wheelchair and not in the person, is passive sitting what people in a wheelchair show us? I don´t  think  so. I have been volunteering in a disable center and I can say that a wheelchair don't stop them from moving, for smiling, for living.

I am of course not the first one thinking this and a revolutionary change in this sign is being proposed:

1. Head forward

The person in a wheelchair is the driver of he's own decisions. He is always moving forward.

2. Dynamic arm

Arm is pointing backward to suggest the dynamic mobility of a chair user, the body in motion represents the symbolically active status of navigating the world.

3. A not complete circle 

The wheel with angled knockouts represents the wheel in motion.

4. Spreading the symbol

A clear change. A clearly different portrayal of a human body will clash the widely used icons we all know leading us to confusion and future thinking.

5. Leg forward

The leg has been moved forward to allow for more space between the user and the wheel. This represent the independence of the wheelchair. They of course need a wheelchair for transporting but there are a lot of things a wheelchair cannot stop them doing.

Symbols talk, picture have meanings but they don't always send the correct message. This is an example but look around, there are lots of them.

Experiencing finnish education

The other day I had the chance to go to Töölön alakoulu  and know a bit more about finnish well-known education.I teach 3 lessons about Spain to childrens from 10 to 12 years old.

As every child, they had lots of questions to ask and the most amazing thing was how good they behave and how good english they have. In their school they can choose wether they want to have mostly the lessons in finnish or in english. 

It was also really interesting the fact that children always go outside even when it's winter. Talking about it with a Czech and an Austrian students, they told me that in both of their schools they are not allowed to go outside. In Spain we always do it but of course the weather is not comparable. However, I think going outside is a great idea  as everybody needs a bit of fresh air during the day.

After the three lessons I had the chance to eat with the students and also the teacher, what was also surprising for me. What is more, children eat the ammount of food they want to but they are though to be responsible and take just what they can eat. Moreover ther's always a vegetarian choice and what is more a vegetarian day every week.

A familiar school for which teacher are their second mums as they live together in this little family  for a lot of years. That really makes me felt home and I really had a good time while learning a bit more about this amazing country.

Close and far at the same time

386 Km divide St.Petersburg from Helsinki. A boat that only needs a night to go from one world to a complete different one.

Russia.

A country full of gold and poverty at the same time.

The best?

The chance to discover it with people from all over the world. Because we speak another lenguage, see in a different way and behave in a different way but we all have in common much more than we think we have and of course, there's no lenguage needed to smile.