Janne Kyttanen
Recently named Young Designer of the Year 2007 by The Design Forum Finland, Janne Kyttanen is leading and changing the way that goods are being produced. He is the co-founder of Freedom of Creation (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), a pioneering design and research company, and one of the biggest names behind design using rapid manufacturing. Designing a vast number of different products ranging from lamps to jewelry to clothing, there is no design project that Janne seems reluctant to tackle. Don’t be surprised if you hear more from Janne in the future, because he and his small company are doing great things in the industry and getting quite a bit of necessary attention.
What was your education
like? What made you
interested in rapid
prototyping and design?
I am trained as an industrial
designer. I don’t know what made
me interested in design, but I think
that it is just in my genes. I could not
imagine doing anything other than
creative work. I first discovered RP
techniques about 10 years ago and
very quickly, I realized what this
would mean in the future of manufacturing,
logistics, supply chains, waste, storage, etc.—pretty much
entirely changing the way we have created products for consumers.
Was there anyone who was particularly influential to you
and the path you have taken?
No. Just stubborn me.
Where and what do you draw on for inspiration?
I don’t know. Things just come to me in the strangest ways.
Sometimes I just wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and
need to write them down. If you are talking about designs and forms, I
am very interested in things that nature has been busy with for billions
of years, but we were not able to make them until now.
When you are creating a
new design, do you have a
specific process that you go
through?
Just spending a lot of time behind
the computer.
How did you come to cofound
Freedom of Creation?
How is the company doing?
Freedom of Creation is a school
project of mine, which dates back to
1999. I created an Augmented Reality
platform for products, which could be
uploaded into people’s homes,
viewed through stereoscopic glasses
and produced via laser sintering when
required. This pretty much created a virtual product storage as has
already happened to music, literature, photography, money, etc.
We are doing really well. There has been more PR attention than a small company can handle and everything else is also working according to plan. Currently we are five people all loving the same things.
What, if you can pick, has
been your favorite achievement
so far?
Being able to stick with what I am
doing for several years now. Being a
small company started from the
scratch with no money and very little
support has not always been easy.
Do you have any advice for
someone who is just starting
out in rapid prototyping
design?
Come work for us.
What’s next for you? Is there
any upcoming project that
you are particular excited
about?
We have several exciting projects
going on at the moment. A new
exhibition at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York in February 2008 is
going to be especially exciting. For the rest, you can always check out
our Web site, since we update things quite regularly.
