Kaj Franck

Kaj Franck studied at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The recorded working language is Finnish. Places of work recorded in the authority are Helsinki. Employment is recorded with Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture and Arabia. Work by Kaj Franck is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Minneapolis Institute of Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Nationalmuseum and Design Museum Gent. Distinctions recorded are Prince Eugen Medal, Lunning Prize, Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland and Compasso d'Oro.

Franck was born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland to parents Kurt Franck and Genéviève "Vevi" Ahrenberg. He was a Swedish-speaking Finn, and he was of German descent through his father. Franck was artistic director of the Arabia ceramics company (now part of Iittala Group) and artistic director and teacher at the College of Applied Arts – the predecessor of the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now Aalto University) – since 1945, but created designs for other companies as well. He received the 1957 Compasso d'Oro Gran Premio Internazionale career prize, was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal in 1964. The Design Forum Finland awards the yearly Kaj Franck Design Prize to a designer or team of designers working in the spirit of the late Kaj Franck. Recipients of the prize include Oiva Toikka (1992), Yrjö Kukkapuro (1995), Heikki Orvola (1998), Eero Aarnio (2008), Simo Heikkilä (2011) and Harri Koskinen (2014). The Mint of Finland released a collector coin with the theme “Kaj Franck and Industrial Art” in January 2011. The coin commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. Franck died in Santorini, Greece in 1989 and is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.