Satu Miettinen

Biography

Satu Miettinen is a Dean (2018-) and a Professor of Service Design (2016-) at the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland in Finland. She has also worked as a Professor of Applied Art and Design during the years (2011-2016). She is holding one of the first academic chairs in service design. She has authored some of the first study books in service design: "An Introduction to Industrial Service Design" with Anu Valtonen "Service Design with Theory" and with Mikko Koivisto "Designing Services with Innovative Methods". She has supervised several doctoral theses on service design and large variety of Master's thesis related to industrial design, applied art and design, human-centered design and service design. She has worked as an expert in various national committees: The Scientific Committee for the National Audit Office, several committees at the Ministry of Finance for the development of accessible services and steering committee for the Design Finland Programme at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Satu Miettinen has worked as a visiting professor in Stanford University in USA, Tongji University in China and at the University of Trento in Italy.

Education

Doctor of Art, 2007

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

At the moment she is the Principal Investigator (PI) in Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture (AMASS) project (2020-2022) which is funded from the European Commission Horizon 2020 Transformations -programme. Further, she is PI in SeeYouth (2020-2021) that is global Trans-Atlantic Platform project that is funded by the Academy of Finland. She is also leading service design research group "Co-Stars". She has led Horizon 2020 MSCA RISE funded led PARTY Participatory Design with Youth -project research consortium 2015-2019 with partners from South Africa, Namibia, Italy and UK. Miettinen is co-ordinating Arctic design lab that is part of DESIS network. Satu Miettinen has led several research projects funded by Finnish Innovation Fund TEKES (currently Business Finland): HYMY (2008–2010), PALMU (2010–2011), Value from Emotion (2013–2014), HumanSee (2015–2016). She has been implementing DIMECC N4S tutkimusohjelmaa (2014-2017). She has published widely from the areas of service design, design research, practise-based and led research as well as design for complexities. Satu Miettinen has led artistic research project Women living on the edges of the world (2016-2017) funded by KONE Foundation. It is discussing the margins and coping in the extreme remote conditions through artistic work in Russia, Australia and Lapland.

Personal Interests

Satu Miettinen is an active artist and designer in the area of socially engaged art and ecofeminist photography. She is a member of Artists’ Association MUU ry that  is a national interdisciplinary art organisation that represents and promotes new media art in Finland. She is also a member of the Photography and Media Art Association Valmed ry. She belongs to the National Committee of Diversity in Arts at the National Arts Promotion Centre TAIKE (2019-). Her photographs have been part of Valmed exhibition "Everything will change" at Värinä Gallery in Rovaniemi 3.–20.12.2019, and VB photographic centre in Kuopio 18.1.–17.3.2010. This exhibition is touring under heading Alterations at Centrala, Art Space -in Birmingham, UK 07.11.2020 – 18.12.2020. She participated with Charisma and Protector photographs to the Visual Catalystsexhibition, which was part of Backlight 2020 Photo Festival, at Kulttuuritalo Laikku Gallery and Studio in Tampere 26.9.–18.10.2020. At the moment she works with Poetic Peripheries collaborative in numerous artistic, residency and exhibition projects. Poetic Peripheries working group has exhibited in Australia at the Port Pirie Regional Gallery 21.12.2019– 26.1.2020 and Kemi Art Museum 18.1.–8.3.2020.
She has a long history in artistic work with Namibian and South African local communities in crafts and design development work in numerous projects: Opuwo-Helsinki-Opuwo (2002), Kwaata-Kosketus (2004), Potentials – design in the field (2006-2007), Lost in Katutura (2010-2012) and My Dream World (2013-2015). These projects have included exhibitions at the Finnish Craft Museum, Helinä Rautavaara Museum, Museum of Cultures, Arktikum Science Centre, Namibian National Gallery and Cape Town City Hall. Lost in Katutura, Kaupungissa vai maalla? ja Itsepäinen shakaali seikkailee -exhibitions were part of the official program for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. My Dream World -project was part of the official program for World Design Capital Cape Town 2014.

Books