Professor Tuuli Mattelmäki: “Insight often comes through surprise”

What is your professorship all about?

"My professorship specializes in product-service systems, i.e., the relationships, interactions, and shared meanings that can be built through design. My work has progressed from empathetic design and co-design to service design and further to the themes of organizational change and ecological and social sustainability. All of these are united by creative work as a tool for understanding and change.

Experimentation and collaboration are at the heart of design: they generate insights that advance both research and practice. For example, in the CreaTures project, I studied the role of creative practices in building a sustainable future – and I noticed that insights often arise through the unexpected, when things are made visible and experimented together. This is also a central idea and strength of design.”

What brought you to Aalto?

“I studied industrial design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and graduated from there. Even before graduating, I got a job as a research assistant and, to my surprise, I became enthusiastic about research questions and opportunities. That's how I got the idea to pursue further studies in the field – and I'm still on that path.”

What have been the highlights of your career?

“There are many. One of them is definitely the day I defended my dissertation in 2006. It had been quite a struggle, and I was moved by the thought that the flags were raised at the university that day because of me. Another important moment for me was receiving the Industrial Designer of the Year award in 2008, which I saw as a recognition specifically for my work as a design researcher. This spring, my appointment as a full professor was also a significant milestone.

I also greatly appreciate the achievements and successes of my colleagues and my own students; they are wonderful people and impressive professionals. In the work life, things are created through collaboration, and each of us also needs the support of others. I want to do my part to help others flourish.”

What are you researching and why?

“I am currently on sabbatical, which is an important counterbalance to the responsibilities at the Department of Design. At the moment, I am researching how service design and creative practices can promote social change and eco-social sustainability. I am particularly interested in the public sector – how design can contribute to build new forms of cooperation and understanding and to participate in the development of society.

I am also considering how empathetic design could be rethought: not just as putting oneself in another's position, but as respect and a care to encounter another person – or other species – as a whole. Creative and artistic approaches, in turn, offer new ways of perceiving the world and our relationship with nature.”

What topics are currently relevant in your field?

“Design is always about planning and solving problems for the future, and its role and necessity change over time. I see that a comprehensive understanding of things and their relationships is on the rise – and that is what is needed in this time. In particular, eco-social issues, a more systemic view, creativity and sensitivity, material innovations, and, of course, issues related to artificial intelligence are at the forefront.”

What are your expectations for the future of your field?

“In creative fields, there is talk of how funding for cultural and active pursuits has disappeared, and that is a genuinely difficult situation. I notice that design is often understood in a very narrow sense – it is not just culture. Design is innovation, and it is a key factor in differentiation and rethinking. In addition, the combination of creative, analytical, and flexible thinking that is part of design expertise, as well as curiosity and the continuous learning that comes with it, are key areas of expertise for the future."

Why study design?

“Designers usually have an innate desire to change the world. Personally, it can also be important to have the opportunity to solve problems and express yourself. The field constantly offers interesting prospects and opportunities to work on new things. Design always focuses on the future, its possibilities, and solutions.”

What else interests you?

“Lately, I have been interested in Eeva Kilpi’s books and her relationship with nature, as well as her relationship with her own children and ideas such as radical gentleness and optimism. We have read and discussed her works in our book club. They also relate to my own working life, my relationship with nature in general, and eco-social sustainability in particular.

I also love sea views, cliffs, and pine trees. I ride my bike around City of Hanko and let the wind blow against my skin. My role as a grandmother is also important, and my two grandsons teach me to run faster. Being with them reinforces my belief that imagination is a super important resource.”