From Place to Practice: Exploring the Role of Place in Helsinki Design

This study examines the role of place attachment in shaping the creative output of a place, studied with a focus on Helsinki and its design professionals. The research adopts a qualitative, mixed-method approach combining semi-structured interviews and visual analysis of Instagram content produced by Helsinki's design practitioners. Four in- depth interviews were conducted with experts from different positions in Helsinki's design ecosystem, including an interior architecture, graphic design, space design and the city's design brand management. In parallel, five publicly available Instagram accounts were analyzed with a multi-modal approach to visual analysis. The data coding was done using inductive thematic analysis approach, supported by the Place Attachment Frame work (Person-Place-Process, PPP) by Scannell and Grifford (2009). This study aims to explore how designers notice and utilize place or relationship with it, and how these expressions have an impact on understanding the broader scale in creative cities and cultural ecosystems. The results provide a multi-layered perspective on the interaction between place, identity, and creative production. There is a main research question formed as follows, what is the role of place in shaping the design output of Helsinki, and a sub question of, in what ways is place attachment reflected in the work of design professionals of Helsinki? The study found out that place attachment manifests in both subtle and strategic ways, in the work of Helsinki- based design professionals. Through a combined analysis of visual social media content and expert interviews, the research reveals how emotional connection to Helsinki's material environment, its values, and the institutional ecosys- tem shapes creative output. Design professionals navigate between personal place- bound identities, and global creative networks and influences. Helsinki was seen func- tioning as both lived environment and a symbolic brand. The findings further suggest that place in not just a passive entity, but an active element in creative processes of the design industry. By applying the place attachment framework by Scannell & Gifford, the research contributes to understanding how local context matters in the production and representation of design work.