Monena design competition

Monena U-rack design competition

Monena design competition

Winner team of our design competition

We are pleased to present the winner team of our design competition: Rosa-Maria Tolvanen and Jani Luukkonen.

Both Rosa-Maria and Jani have graduated as designers from the Lahti Design Institute and have done design work together since graduation. The continuity of the collaboration has been natural for them after the studies, because already in the study phase they planned different projects as a team and found that the collaboration was smooth and that their design thinking was similar.

This is how they tell about their design philosophy:
"When designing, the idea is to create things that bring joy to everyday life with their aesthetics and functionality. User experience and user are the focus of our design. Inspiring themes are combination of contrasts and classical elements into balanced entities. Together, they create interesting and time-lasting solutions."

When designing the coat rack for our design competition, Rosa-Maria and Jani say that at the beginning they started playing with different shapes and structures. "We wanted a form that was as minimal and interesting as possible."  As a starting point for the design, they cite practicality and airiness as well as versatility of hangers and hooks. Here is how the idea of ​​the coat rack's shape was born.

We are looking forward to develope our future coat rack with this designer duo. You can follow the development process on our website as well as on our social media channels!

 

The winner of our design competition has been chosen

The number of entries received for our design competition was plentiful, a total of 59. The quality of the proposals was gratifyingly high.

The Awards Committee met on August 18, 2021. Due to the covid situation, a last-minute change had to be made to the award committee, Tanja Lundén and Tomas Nordström were replaced by Esa Tanninen from Summanen Oy. The board considered and discussed the entries for several hours, and in the end, the winner was chosen by unanimous decision of the jury.
The winner is a coatrack named "U" designed by nickname "Kuulas".

The award committee based its decision on the following arguments:
-much made of few elements
-up to date
-light and clear in shape
-a new type of thinking
-industrial manufacturing and logistics taken into account in the design
-playful but not childish


In addition to the winner, the competition proposals had interesting ideas and thoughts. Summanen Oy is in contact with a few nicknames that participated in the competition regarding the further development of the competition proposal or possible future design projects.

We sincerely thank everyone who took part in the competition. The journey of the new coatrack into a finished product can be followed on our social media channels.
 

The return period for entries in our design competition has expired

The return period for entries in our design competition has expired on June 20, 2021.

We received a wealth of great suggestions that the awards committee will go through closely. We warmly thank everyone already at this stage for participating our design competition and we will keep you updated as the competition progresses.

 

Competition task

Summanen Oy is a solid family company in the third generation and is known for its contract and project manufacturing of metal products, as well as today also for its own special furniture collections, Monena and Alastek. We operate extensively in the field of furniture manufacturing, collaborating with many different designers. The company invests heavily in product development as well as sales and marketing. Monena is the market leader in furnishing public hallways and lobbies.

For more than fifty years, Monena's furniture has been manufactured in Finland. Our clients include architects, interior designers, major retail space furniture retailers and construction companies. The largest single product group is rack systems. The collection also includes stand-up and moveable racks, kindergarten and school racks, wall racks, shoe racks, lockers and accessories. We offer a wide range of different solutions for public spaces, such as event and music centers, schools and kindergartens, and workspaces. Almost all of our products are designed by designers.

We have found that there is a lack of an easy-to-use stand-up rack on the market. Stand-up rack refers to a self-standing, public space-durable rack that also works in private homes. The rack should have a clear, simple shape and the visual look should work as empty as when filled. It must be airy and the structure must not unnecessarily obscure visibility in the space. The base material of the rack is steel, the paint color options are from Monena's basic color palette. There must be at least 5 hooks in the rack, they must be large enough and easy to use. In addition to the hooks, there must be a hanger option in the rack. The rack must function as it is and must not contain separate accessories.


Competition schedule and stages

The competition is one-stage. The competition period is from March 22, 2021 to June 20, 2021. The result of the competition will be announced on Monena's website and social media channels on August 25, 2021. The winner will be contacted in person.

Award

The value of the competition award is 2 000 €.

Award committee

The award committee has 5 members:
Kimmo Kaarlejärvi, Managing director, Modeo Oy
Ilse Juola, Interior designer, Tmi Ilse Juola
Tomas Nordström, Managing director, Made in Finland Shop
Tanja Lundén, Managing director, Summanen Oy
Minna Salokannel, Product and design manager, Summanen Oy

The prize committee elects a chairman at its first meeting.

Competition representative, Jaana Riihelä, Summanen Oy.

 

Are you interested?
More detailed technical information about the competition can be found in the competition program and competition rules.
(Unfortunately only in Finnish)

Ask more

Ask more

Minna Salokannel

Product and design manager

Minna Salokannel

Contact me:
+358 50 433 6931
minna.salokannel@summanen.fi