# Finnish Symbol Poster (the 'Finnish School', 1954–1995)

> Finnish poster and symbol design, 1950s to 1990s, in which one reduced picture, often an animal, an object or a visual pun, carries the whole message on an empty ground. Varis aimed for posters with no text; his were called sign-like and visually reduced. Dry humour (Bruun's tongue-in-cheek Finnair salmon, 1958) sits beside a love of Finnish nature. Unlike its parent it also campaigns: the social posters of the 1960s–70s, Varis's Your Lifemeter (1970), Piippo's Ruanda (1994). The same makers drew national logos; Mykkänen's book covers are a typographic side strand.

- Period: 1954–1995
- Where: Northern Europe
- Origin: Helsinki advertising agencies and design studios: Erik Bruun's own studio (founded 1953), the agency SEK where Kyösti Varis was artistic director 1959–1967, and graduates of the Taideteollinen keskuskoulu (Central School of Applied Arts), some of whom, like Martti Mykkänen, studied further in Switzerland. Bruun and Mykkänen belong to the generation before; abroad the new generation of the 1960s and 1970s (Varis, Jukka Veistola, Pekka Kuronen, Erkki Ruuhinen, Heikki Ahtiainen) was called the 'Finnish school'. In the 1980s the Pilot-group (Tapani Aartomaa, Pekka Loiri, Kari Piippo) carried it on, and the Lahti Poster Museum, founded in 1975, collected and showed it.
- Branch: Rational modernism
- Also known as: Finnish school (label coined abroad for the 1960s–70s generation: Kyösti Varis, Jukka Veistola, Pekka Kuronen, Erkki Ruuhinen, Heikki Ahtiainen; Erik Bruun and Martti Mykkänen are its forerunners), Pilot-group (its 1980s strand: Tapani Aartomaa, Pekka Loiri, Kari Piippo), Finnish modernist poster, Suomalainen julistetaide (Finnish poster art)
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/finnish-school-poster/

## How it works

- Let one reduced, sign-like picture carry the whole message, and drop the text if the picture can make the association alone.
- Find the symbol in a sideways idea: a fish for a flight to Lapland, a burnt cigarette marked like a gauge for smoking, an animal or object standing for a client or a cause.
- Set the symbol alone on a large quiet ground in a few colours, with no ornament or frame.
- Keep the wit dry and let it serve the message, whether the subject is soft drinks or a social campaign.
- Draw the poster image so it can also work as a logo, stamp or cover: one economical sign across every size.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (defining)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (occasional)
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (defining)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Grotesque & neo-grotesque](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grotesque-and-neo-grotesque/) (occasional)
- [Flush left, ragged right](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flush-left-ragged-right/) (occasional)
- [Type as image](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/type-as-image/) (occasional)
- [Slab serif](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/slab-serif/) (occasional)
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (occasional)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (characteristic)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Pictogram](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pictogram/) (characteristic)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (occasional)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)

### Ornament
- [Ornament-free](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornament-free/) (defining)
- [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Flat vector illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-vector-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Icons & pictograms](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/icons-and-pictograms/) (occasional)
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (occasional)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (defining)
- [Screen printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/screen-printing/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (defining)
- [Agitational & persuasive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/agitational-and-persuasive/) (characteristic)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (characteristic)
- [Ironic & self-aware](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ironic-and-self-aware/) (occasional)

Avoids: Horror vacui, Layered information, Abundant decoration, Collage & layering, Photomontage, Eclectic mixing, Ornamented display, Gradients, Skeuomorphic material, Gloss & highlights, Distortion & exaggeration

Palette: #f3efe6, #151515, #d22f27, #1f4f9a, #ee8a1d

Typefaces: No type at all: the wordless poster in which the picture alone makes the association (Kyösti Varis's stated aim), Slab-serif capitals in Bruun's The Salmon Flight (1958): 'DESTINATION' and 'NORTH' in white italic, 'FINLAND' large, upright and ochre at the foot, with his hand-written signature, One line of bold, tightly set neo-grotesque lower case for 'Your Lifemeter' (Varis, 1970), with hand-written numerals on the image itself, Bold geometric-sans capitals, widely letterspaced, in one line at the head and foot of Piippo's Lahti Poster Museum 1975–1990 (1990), Title letters arranged into a pattern on the cover, as in Martti Mykkänen's Odysseus (Tammi, Keltainen kirjasto, 1964)

Known for: Erik Bruun, 'The Salmon Flight' (1958), Finnair poster for the Lapland flight: salmon laid over a white aircraft on a dark, swept ground, 'Destination North Finland' below; Erik Bruun, Hartwall Jaffa poster (1959; Malva describes his iconic soft-drink poster of a 'temptingly bubbling lemonade bottle'); Erik Bruun, Merikotka (white-tailed eagle, 1962), and the nature conservation poster of a smiling seal (Malva); Erik Bruun, Saimaa ringed seal logo of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (1974); reverse sides of the 1986 markka banknotes; Martti Mykkänen, pared-down cover of Väinö Linna's Tuntematon sotilas (1954), one of about 450 covers by him; Martti Mykkänen, cover of James Joyce's Odysseus (Tammi, Keltainen kirjasto, 1964), the title letters arranged into a pattern; layout of the magazine Look at Finland (1964–1992); Kyösti Varis, 'Your Lifemeter' (1970): a burnt-down cigarette shown close and life-like on black, its paper marked with a hand-drawn scale 40–50–60; logos for Finnair, Alko and the Nordic Council; Kari Piippo, poster 'Lahti Poster Museum 1975–1990' (1990), a black razor blade with a filmstrip edge on white, and self-published campaign posters such as Ruanda (1994)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Scandinavian Functionalism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/scandinavian-functionalism.md) (1930–present)
- Influenced by: [International Typographic Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/swiss-international.md) (1950–1975)
- Alike in its design choices: [Corporate Identity Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/corporate-modernism.md) (1955–1990), 68% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Turkish Modernist Poster & Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/turkish-modernist-graphics.md) (1959–2000), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [DTC 'Blanding' / Millennial Minimalism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/dtc-blanding.md) (2012–2022), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Plakatstil / Sachplakat](https://stylogeny.com/styles/plakatstil.md) (1905–1920), 66% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [West German Conceptual Film & Culture Poster (Hillmann and Rambow)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/neue-filmkunst-poster.md) (1953–1990), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Japanese Postwar Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/japanese-postwar-modern.md) (1950–1990), 65% alike

## Sources

- Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, '100 years – 100 posters – An introduction to Finnish poster art' (2013): https://hcmc-museum.edu.vn/en/luu-tru/2924
- Wikipedia (fi), Erik Bruun: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Bruun
- Wikipedia (en), Erik Bruun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Bruun
- Malva museum, 'Erik Bruun, Naturally' exhibition (2022–2023): https://malvamuseo.fi/en/exhibitions/erik-bruun-naturally
- Come to Finland, 'The Salmon Flight' by Erik Bruun: https://cometofinland.fi/artwork/the-salmon-flight-by-erik-bruun/
- Wikipedia (fi), Kyösti Varis: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyösti_Varis
- AGI, Kyösti Varis: https://a-g-i.org/user/kyostivaris/
- Wikipedia (fi), Martti Mykkänen: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martti_Mykkänen
- Wikipedia (fi), Kari Piippo: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kari_Piippo
- AGI, Kari Piippo: https://a-g-i.org/user/karipiippo
- AGI, Kari Piippo, Lahti Poster Museum 1975–1990 (1990): https://a-g-i.org/design/lahti-poster-museum-1975-1990
- AGI, Kyösti Varis, Your Lifemeter (1970): https://a-g-i.org/design/your-lifemeter

---

From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Finnish Symbol Poster (the 'Finnish School', 1954–1995)”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/finnish-school-poster/