Cut&Paste Adds Helsinki to 2011-2012 Tour

From Cut&Paste press release:

Cut&Paste, the international digital design tournament pitting the best 2D, 3D and motion/animation pros across 12 global cities, announced the addition of Helsinki – the 2012 World Design Capital – to its 2011-12 tour. The tour has enlisted leading design consultancy Fjord and Cut&Paste veterans PLATOON to produce the Feb. 4 event as a part of the World Design Capital (WDC) organization [1].

As 2012’s World Design City, Helsinki will become the temporary global hub of innovation in all areas of design, from the physical world to more abstract concepts such as social, political and psychological structures. Cut&Paste, with its focus on innovation in the visual arts, fits perfectly into the context of WDC Helsinki [2], which is focusing on visual design and graphic arts.

The design world has a strong history of innovation via competition, and Cut&Paste’s live format and process-based focus offers a particularly compelling experience for the community of designers who will be in attendance at WDC Helsinki. “Competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive,” noted WDC Helsinki producer Antti Kirjalainen. “Rather, the combined elements are essential for design to evolve.”

Now in its sixth year of international growth, Cut&Paste’s participation in WDC would appear to be more a matter of fate than opportunity. Sharing a global focus and an emphasis on community building through design, the two organizations are natural collaborators. Cut&Paste founder John Fiorelli is especially enthused about this year’s WDC location, noting that “Helsinki has such an incredibly rich culture and history, and such a youthful and wonderfully creative population. A city like this provides the perfect creative setting for both the World Design Capital and Cut&Paste’s exploration of creative problem solving through design,” noted Cut&Paste Founder John Fiorelli.

PLATOON, which also produced the Dec. 10 Seoul event and will host the Feb. 2 Berlin edition, launched its Cut&Paste relationship when it staged the tour’s 2010 stop in South Korea, where it has its Asian headquarters. As Seoul had been 2010’s World Design Capital and PLATOON had worked on many of those events, the firm expressed a clear vision of how to integrate Cut&Paste and WDC Helsinki. “With Cut&Paste, John has developed the ideal platform for showcasing designers, design, and the creative process,” said PLATOON network member and Fjord employee Ksenia Avetisova. “The WDC project is a great way to look at the bigger picture of how design shapes our environment, but an event like Cut&Paste really helps to keep it rooted on an individual level, too.”

Fjord, which partners with global clients to design world-class digital services that are compelling, easy to use, and meaningful, saw a kinship with WDC, as both organizations expand the definition of design. Working out of its mammoth Helsinki studio, Fjord will create a service that allows users all over the world to experience Cut&Paste and WDC Helsinki digitally, flowing between mobiles, tablets and Web around the city to communicate what’s happening and where. The mobile service launched in January. It is always up-to-date, available on the move and incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Accessing the mobile service via multiple platforms, users can find out about the 300 projects of WDC Helsinki and where they are located. The user also has access to WDC Helsinki news, a map, a monthly calendar and general information about WDC Helsinki 2012. The service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.

“Fjord and PLATOON are the perfect entities to merge the visions of Cut&Paste and WDC Helsinki,” stated Fiorelli. “PLATOON brings solid experience with past Cut&Paste and WDC events, while Fjord, with its notable presence in Helsinki, can offer the perfect platform for sharing our joint efforts with the vast digital community.”

About Cut&Paste:
Cut&Paste is a social arena for the recognition, promotion and elevation of design. Through events and online programs, Cut&Paste supports artists, firms and media working to strengthen creative networks. Born in New York City in November 2005, Cut&Pasteʼs signature event is the Digital Design Tournament, held live throughout the world each year. The 2011 tour takes place in 12 cities around the globe. Cut&Paste additionally powers design-driven contests and events with industry partners worldwide. Learn more about Cut&Paste at www.cutandpaste.com [3].