interview :: aino-maija metsola

One of the highlights of my trip to Helsinki earlier this year was a visit to Marimekko House where all things Marimekko are designed and made. I was lucky enough to interview in-house designer Aino-Maija Metsola. We talked inspirations, ways of working, and finding just the right colour…

What’s the most important thing to know about you?

I really love my work. It’s a passion and so there’s an integrity to my work. I think passion is the most important thing as a designer, otherwise you can’t create anything original.

What inspires your ideas?

I have to be in the right mood, so I’ll go walking or running with my dog. Once I’m in the right frame of mind, I can find inspiration anywhere, but there are some things that repeatedly inspire me like nature, and colours – I’m really interested in colours – and certain stories inspire me. I live on an island close to Helsinki, and I find all sorts of ideas and colours there.

How did you start working for Marimekko?

I entered a competition and won the opportunity to have my print included in the Marimekko collection. It came at a time when I was studying graphic design and wasn’t sure that was what I wanted to do, so it was really exciting to have this opportunity and to find my calling.

How does it feel when you see your designs appearing all over the world?

I like to see people using them, to see if they work. I love seeing some of my older prints, because that means somebody loves them so much that they’ve been using them for many years.

Talk me through your design process.

When I start it’s quite free. Usually, we don’t have a brief, so I might go for a walk to find ideas. I always keep my sketchbook with me, so I collect thoughts and colours. Sometimes I just start to paint before I have any ideas. I try to keep it free and fresh, so I don’t like to have too clear an idea when I start to work. I just start to process it and usually I know when I’ve got a print that will work. I use watercolours, but I also like to experiment with different media, crayons and all sorts of things. Then the drawing or painting is scanned in and I clean it up – I like it to be quite ready before I bring it to the artwork studios. I work with them to choose the colours and then they process it to make the screens.

What’s your favourite part of the process?

I love the hands-on creative parts. I really like to choose the colours because we have thousands of colour samples in the factory, so it’s better to choose the colours from these samples than being limited to just Pantone.

Describe a good day and a bad day in the life of Ano-Maija Matsola.

A good day is when I can just paint and explore ideas. When it comes easily, and I suddenly notice I’ve created something interesting. A bad day is when for some reason, something goes out that I don’t feel I can completely stand behind. Of course I try to solve those things, but it’s not always possible. That’s always hard if I have to let something go before I’m entirely happy with it.

What are you most proud of?

I would like to be proud of everything I do, but maybe those designs that I know I have come up with easily – you can see it in the work, they’re more fresh.

What advice would you give to an aspiring designer?

The most important thing is just to be original. That’s all you need. You have to find your own way.

And finally, what’s your favourite colour?

Because I work with colours and I’m really interested in colour, I love all of them! There are some that I probably use more often than others, maybe navy blue or tomato red, but it’s all about the specific shades, so it’s hard to describe them in words – it has to be exactly the right shade.

Further reading for the especially geeky:

• interview :: bethan john
• interview :: christopher berry
• interview :: rachel powell
• interview :: bjorn andersson