Curriculum Vitae
Heikki Lotvonen
Graphic Designer | Coder | Teacher | Net artist
- Email:
- hlotvonen@gmail.com
- Phone:
- +358 40 5888 229
- Locality:
- Helsinki, Finland
- Languages:
- English (Fluent)
- Finnish (Native)
MAIN INTERESTS
- Modular graphic design, type ornament and ornamentation
- Building various modular design editors
- History of type pictures (images crafted from typographic materials using letterpress techniques)
- Facilitating workshops & teaching — with a focus on typography, coding, obscure tools, experimentation, play and modular collaboration
- Web technologies, web revival and small web — with a focus on typography, design and expression
EDUCATION
- Master of Arts in Fine Art and Design
-
Sandberg Instituut / Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016 – 2018
- Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design
-
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
2011 – 2016
- Exchange Program, Graphic Design Department
-
Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, The Netherlands
2014
SELECTED PERSONAL PROJECTS
- Glyph Drawing Club — modular graphic design editor
- 2018 - Present
- A novel design tool that is used for the creation of modular graphic designs, including type design, illustrations and patterns
- Free-to-use, open-source project, developed using React and MobX technologies.
- Includes various ornamental shape-based fonts that are used in the drawing process.
- Used by hundreds of designers globally.
- Integrated into graphic design curricula in multiple countries.
- MoebiusXBIN — ASCII art editor with custom font and color support
- 2020 - Present
- A program for creating unusual ASCII art with custom bitmap fonts and color palettes.
- Built upon the foundation of an open-source ASCII art editor, customized for added functionality.
- Bannermo.de — Minecraft banner composition editor
- 2021 - Present
- An online tool for designing complex modular banner compositions for the game Minecraft.
- Grid Drawing Club — WYSIWYG tool for creating complex HTML element arrangements
- 2023
- An online tool for designing complex modular HTML element layouts using CSS grids, gradients, border-images, and clip-paths.
- Unicode Drawing Club — Unicode art editor
- 2023
- An online tool for crafting ASCII-inspired art using the entire palette of Unicode characters.
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Web design and development
-
Freelance / Self-employed
2013 – Present
- Design and development of websites for various cultural clients.
- Hand-coded HTML, CSS and JS according to client needs.
- Interactivity through React, Svelte or Alpine.js.
- Content management with Kirby and static site generators.
- Committed to fast pageloads, accessibility, small web, no tracking and non-intrusive design practices.
- Graphic design and illustration
-
Freelance / Self-employed
2013 – Present
- Graphic design and illustrations for print, web and merch using self-developed image making tools and methods.
- Visiting teacher, Visual Communication Design
-
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
2019 – Present
- Hosted workshops on using Glyph Drawing Club for custom type design and illustrations. For BA and MA students in 2019, 2020 and twice in 2021
- Developed and taught a six week "Intro to HTML & CSS" course. For first year Visual Communication Design students in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023
- Co-taught a six week "Intro to typography" course. For first year Visual Communication Design students in 2023
- Co-taught a six week course on "the intersection of typography and language". For second year Visual Communication Design students in 2022
- Visiting teacher, Visual Communication Design
- Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018 – 2021
- Developed curriculum and taught a 2 week intensive introductory course on using experimental tools and methods for creating visual narratives. For first year Visual Communication Design students in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021
- Visiting teacher, Graphic Design
-
Estonian Academy of Arts
2021
- Hosted a one week remote workshop on the topic "Unusual Graphics with Custom ASCII Art". For graphic design BA students.
- Web developer
-
Werklig Oy
2015 – 2016
- Established the Web Developer position at Werklig
- Translated design concepts into functional, user-friendly websites.
- Collaborated with designers to meet project goals and requirements.
AWARDS
- Gold award in Visual Identity and Branding (Baltic Circle)
-
Vuoden huiput, 2015
Recognized as part of the GRMMXI collective
- Vuoden Junior recognition award
-
Vuoden huiput, 2015
Recognized as part of the GRMMXI collective
EXHIBITIONS
- O' Worm Supreme
- Group exhibition, Tuo Tuo, Joutsa, 2020
- Glyph Drawing Club Gathering
- Kosminen, Helsinki, 2019
- SPREAD Zinefest
- Group exhibition, Groningen, The Netherlands, 2018
- CelestialServices
- Graduation Show of the Sandberg Instituut Design Department, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2018
- Lorem Ipsum - Puhetta graafisesta suunnittelusta
- Group exhibition, Designmuseo, Helsinki, 2018
- Enter & Encounter
- Group exhibition, Designmuseo, Helsinki, 2017
- Soirée Graphique N°9 Norden
- Group exhibition, KOMET, Bern, 2016
- Spring Steam 2016: I Used to Be a Graphic Designer
- Group exhibition, Kellohalli, 2016
- Vuoden huiput 2015 exhibition
- Group exhibition, 2016
- GRMMXI --- TALKOOT
- Group exhibition, Galleria Kalleria, 2015
- KNIGHTS OF GRMMXI
- Group exhibition, Sushibar+Wine Fredrikinkatu, 2015
- Springsteam
- Group exhibition, Design Forum Showroom, 2015
- Mayday!
- Group exhibition, Design Forum Showroom, 2014
- GRMMXI: Have You Ever Dream?
- Group exhibition, Sushibar+Wine Fredrikinkatu, 2014