Janne Kyttanen joined Grib. He is best known for his revolutionary work with 3D printing and is considered to be one of the most influential designers of his generation. His work has been featured in TIME Magazine’s “Design 100“, the people and ideas behind the world’s most influential design. Formerly, Janne was creative director at 3D Systems for 5 years (since 2011), when his company Freedom of Creation was acquired by 3D Systems Corporation. In 2016 Janne founded What the Future Venture Capital, a creative version of venture capital fund built by a team of serial entrepreneurs.

Janne joined Grib last June (2017) after meeting the co-founders Pouria Kay (CEO) and Juha Välimäki (CTO) at Aalto Design Factory. They first met back in 2015 when Janne was invited to Finland to be part of the jury announcing the “Young Designer of the Year” award to Pyry Taanila, co-founder of Catchbox.

“After that event, Pyry suggested that I talk with Janne. I am very happy that he introduced us. It is exciting to have Janne onboard. His knowledge and experience are very valuable for us.” – Pouria

Janne is born in Finland and has commenced his design studies in Spain and the Netherlands. During his studies, fascinated by Augmented Reality in the 1990s, Janne imagined a future in which only tactile products would be real, and everything else would become augmented reality. The technology was in its infancy then, yet Janne was able to envision the world in which consumers would customize products in virtual environments and then 3D print them locally. That laid the foundation for his company Freedom of Creation. Notably, he was the first designer to commercialize high volume 3D printed products including creating the world’s first 3D printed lights, footwear, consumer electronics, furniture and countless other products. His work has been extensively exhibited and integrated into permanent design collections at leading galleries and museums around the world.

Young Designer of the Year 2007, Design Museum, Helsinki | credit: Design Forum Finland

During his 5-year tenure as Creative Director of 3D Systems in the United States, Janne designed multiple award-winning 3D printers including the Cube®. This printer has won, among others, the American Technology Award (ATA) for outstanding achievement in Technology Manufacturing and Japan’s prestigious Good Design Award in 2013.

Leaf Wedges by Janne Kyttanen, 2013 | credit: 3D Systems

Despite the distance, Pouria remained in contact with Janne and asked him to join Grib as the company’s mission clicks with Janne’s area of interest and background.

“It has been 18 years since I started playing with AR. The equipment was very rough to say the least, but we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for real commercial applications. I recently joined Grib to cook something very interesting for the future of augmented reality and 3D printing.” – Janne

Learn about Grib’s community or join the co-creation workshops here at GribTown™.