Cut&Paste 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 February 4 event as a part of the World Design Capital (WDC) organization.
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, 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.