Interview with Mikko Ahlström

Mikko Ahlström works as a senior designer at Suunto, a Finnish manufacturer of sports instruments for outdoor activities. The range of his tasks and responsibilities at Suunto comprise all aspects of product development, from the analysis of target group sectors and the creation of the product and design concept, to the model validation and the actual product design. In this year’s “red dot award: product design” the “Suunto Core” sports watch presented a design that convinced the jury. The international experts of the jury agreed: This outstanding design performance must be honoured with a “red dot: best of the best” design prize.

Mr. Ahlström, on which aspects did you place particular emphasis when designing the Suunto Core sports watch?
Mikko Ahlström: First, the development team decided to spend a great deal of time speaking directly with prospective users around the world, in this case with dedicated outdoor enthusiasts. We wanted to clearly understand what was expected of us and our new product. Second, but equally important, I was committed to find a harmony within the watch itself, so that every component and detail in it would find its natural place, so that the watch was comfortable to wear, the display as large and clear as possible, and that it was manufactured to a high standard – and to make it look like something that users could wear with pride.

What role does the exchange with designer colleagues play in your work?
Mikko Ahlström: The special aspect of Suunto as a company is that all the functions are under the same roof. At the headquarters in Finland we have the design department, mechanical design, electronics and software engineering, manufacturing, testing – and practically everything that is needed to create our Wristop computers. The fact that the experts of all these disciplines are only a couple of meters apart makes it possible to work seamlessly together and find optimal solutions for the final product – optimal in the sense that we can design a special device that responds to the needs of our users in the best possible way. Furthermore, many of Suunto’s employees are active sportsmen and sportswomen, and they are specialists in a wide range of sports. Following their example, listening to their stories and learning from their experience is crucial when designing a new product – not to mention that it’s very interesting and fun.

How do you approach a new project, and what is it that inspires you?
Mikko Ahlström: The energy that keeps me going partly comes from the anger caused by seeing so many poorly developed products around me.

In your opinion, what role does design play against a background of the globalised economy?
Mikko Ahlström: For a special and relatively unknown company, like Suunto, the satisfaction of its customers is extremely important. They share their good experiences with each other through online communities and answer each other’s questions – but this also means that everyone around the world can instantly read about possible problems and dissatisfaction too. For a designer following these online discussions and debates is a fantastic way to understand what is going on around us. The fact that Suunto products are increasingly available in the far corners of the Earth, makes it necessary for designers to get to know these countries and cultures, which to me in the past seemed to be so much further away. It’s up to our designers to make sure that the products we create are fulfilling the needs and desires of people – regardless of where they are from.