Design Museum

The Design Museum had some nice pieces, but nothing mind blowing or particularly memorable. If you're in town for a long time and looking to fill a quiet afternoon, then sure, go have a look. It costs 20 euros per person, which felt steep for something that was honestly average at best. The staff at the ticket counter could have been a lot friendlier; mostly chatting among themselves or glued to their phones, not exactly helpful. Would definitely not go again.

As architects and design enthusiasts, we were genuinely excited to visit Helsinki’s Design Museum—in a city celebrated for its aesthetic clarity, clean lines, and functional beauty, we expected a world-class institution. Unfortunately, what we found was a disappointment cloaked in stylish lighting. Let’s start with the cost: the entry fee is one of the highest we’ve encountered in any museum anywhere, and certainly the steepest for what you actually get. Yes, Finland isn’t known for its bargains, but for a country that values design so deeply, the price-to-content ratio here feels way off. Inside, there were a few genuinely engaging moments. A well-thought-out exhibit on Finnish chair design showed the elegance and ingenuity of Scandinavian craftsmanship. A section on glass and ceramics was also strong, giving insight into materiality and manufacturing. But beyond that, the museum felt oddly vacant—curatorial restraint to the point of absence. Sparse walls, limited depth, and a surprising lack of major pieces or interactive installations that one might expect in a design capital. Your ticket also includes entry to the Museum of Finnish Architecture just across the street, which we’d hoped might redeem the experience. It didn’t. One exhibit, minimal content, and little more than a hallway of placards and models. As architects, we were craving plans, sections, urban context—something—but walked away shrugging. All in all, the ambition and price suggest a landmark. The reality feels more like a stylish placeholder. Helsinki deserves a design museum as strong as its output. This isn’t it—at least not yet.

Design Museum is a comparatively small museum with 2 floors of exhibit, the ticket also includes visit to the Architecture Museum which also has 2 floors of exhibit and is a separate building behind. The exhibition felt poorly designed for both the Design & Architecture Museum, few places missed providing any context for the display. There are only few artefacts of intrigue and felt like the collection was a miss opportunity to show the Finnish way - because the modern designs in use are quite thoughtful. It costs €20 a ticket for each adult which felt expensive for the whole experience. Some stories of the designers and architects like Alvo Aalto and Haaris were really good, but there are very few artefacts or context given into what they have designed. A better experience would be to roam around the design district and try out shops and restaurants instead of spending lot of time and money here.

I gave the Helsinki Design Museum four stars mainly for the excellent Maija Lavonen exhibition on the upper floor. Lavonen's evolving and innovative art is impressive, such as the sails piece and of course her more recent application of fibre optics woven into the textiles. But Lavonen's work is really modern art, not so much design, yet it consumes most of the museum dedicated to design. The actual "design" artifacts and displays were less satisfactory in the relatively small area on the main floor. These exhibits offer a tiny fragment of what Finland designers have created. Visitors were offered descriptions for a few designers (e.g., Nyman), but most of the displays offered minimal context. For example, how did the famous ball chair come to be, and did it influence other chair designers? Also, design isn't just chairs and glass vases; it includes household products (this museum does briefly mention the Nurmesniemi coffee pots etc.), vehicles, possibly architectural design, and even the aesthetics of ship interior design. So, after Lavonen's exhibition has ended (and hopefully displayed at other art museums), the Helsinki Design Museum needs to make effective use of the large upper floor to show the world with more variety and depth what great designs have emerged from Finnish creativity over the past century or two. Visited in August 2025

You can explore the design of different products. There is a video how angry bird game was designed and developed. It’s nice to explore. There is a cafe as well inside the museum. And after 4pm you can visit the same for free on every Thursday.

Absolutely a must, especially if you are interested in design at all. Very cool city planning interactive exhibit for kids!

Beautiful building with interesting and stylish exhibitions inside. Got to know how “Angry Bird” was invented and found the stories of old and classic design. Interesting place to go.

The Design Museum Helsinki offers a focused journey into Finnish design. Among the highlights are Alvar Aalto’s iconic bentwood stool and armchair, showcasing functional elegance; Marimekko’s bold textiles, with Maija Isola’s Unikko prints radiating playful color; and Eero Aarnio’s futuristic Ball Chair, a 1960s classic that still feels strikingly modern. The historic neo-Gothic building adds charm and atmosphere. The museum is, however, on the smaller side. Yet for design enthusiasts, especially those curious about Finland’s most celebrated names, it remains a rewarding and inspiring visit.

Neat museum, definitely worth a visit if you have an interest in modern design. I enjoyed learning about Finnish design in all it's various forms, from furniture (the ball chair!) to video games to jewelry that was worn in Star Wars. The museum isn't too big, so it's very easy to see everything in around one to two hours. There were even some interactive exhibits that were fun. This museum might not be your cup of tea if you aren't a fan of more contemporary art, but I found it very interesting!

A museum of Finnish design, how I could I possibly skip this? It was a fun and entertaining look at the progress of different facets of design in Finland in several different technological spaces. Clothing, of course. Architecture, too. And then there's technology, of which the big powerhouse is the mobile phone company Nokia that many people are surprised to learn is not Japanese but is actually a Finland company. Easily an hour here, you can stretch it to two without much trouble at all. [Review 10091 overall, 1677 of 2018.]

Really enjoyed our visit to the design museum! Most of the exhibits were very interactive and interesting. The virtual reality pet of the museum was was extremely cool! It was cool to learn about Finnish design and inventions that are still widely popular today. Also learning about the history behind their interesting glass vases and glassware. There was a lot to read about and see. We got the ticket that also grants you entry into the architecture museum across the street but in my opinion that was a waste of time and money. We only spent maybe 20 minutes in the architecture museum as there wasn't as much to see or learn about.

This Design Museum was my own personal slice of heaven. I had not planned to go here, but stumbled upon it one rainy day and was so glad I did! There was a large room of "new ideas" and their prototypes- everything from chairs to put on outdoor steps that look just like rocks, to tiny bunk bed rooms that one day you will be able to rent out to sleep in for a few hours. There were also displays about how certain clothing designs came to be, how Fisksar scissors were invented and there were many visual displays comparing the objects of the past to current objects (food boxes, toys, fashion, etc). Everything was very visual and interesting and we spent a solid three hours here, but the place isn't huge or overwhelming. You could go through it quicker as well! Cool gift shop too.

For a country that has become recognized around the world for its good culture of design, I was initially expecting Helsinki's Designmuseo to be something far bigger and bolder, on par with the size and scope of the other art museums in town. However, that is simply not the way this musem has been designed, and I actually appreciate the curated, more intimate scale of the collection and exhibits here. Spread across 3 floors of a lovely red building across from Saksalainen kirkko, the Designmuseo offers a visitor a glimpse into decades of Finnish design (think textiles, housewares, and other manufactured goods) in its permanent collection. The basement contains a gallery space for revolving exhibitions, and the top floor offered a beautiful show on the artist Kirsti Rantanen! Check out the small shop with adjoining cafe- both offer a nice reprieve from drooling over the lovely things to be found in this museum.

You should definitely come visit this museum in the Kaartinkaupunki neighborhood in Helsinki. Fascinating displays of Finnish design from the greats like Alvar Aalto, Marimekko, Iittala, Eero Aarnio among others. If you love funky Finnish design then this museum is perfect. There are even some interactive exhibits as well. It's not that big of a museum, for me it's the perfect size and I felt the €10 admission was worth it. Highly recommended and can't wait to come back.

Beautiful museum. We were fortunate enough to visit in December 2013, when there was no entrance fee charged! There was a great exhibition on contemporary graphic design upstairs. It showed today's movement in graphic design and posed numerous interesting questions on the topic. On the ground floor we found the museums regular exhibition on Finnish design. Well displayed and explained. In the basement there was an exhibition on jewelry. Not really our taste... But definitely "interesting"

I loved this museum! Thanks to the people of Reddit, I'm so glad we found out about this place and were able to stop by during our stay in Helsinki. The museum was only 10 euros, but we ended up paying 12 for entrance into both the design museum and architecture museum located nearby (not worth it in my opinion, although there is a cool "tiny" house in between the two buildings that is free to tour - go explore!). This museum offers a nice look into Finnish design history, through clothing, furniture, and housewares. It was pretty neat to read about and see all the different styles. And then of course, there was a huge section on the guy who created the bubble chair. His designs are really cool, and there was an entire floor dedicated to him and his designs. (This may be a temporary exhibit, not sure.) This museum probably isn't for everyone. I think it's more "modern" and contemporary art, versus the traditional and historical museums. But we loved it, and I definitely recommend it for anyone who is the least bit interested in interior design or art design.

Really loved this museum. Small but loved each and every exhibit. Kids are free. We decided to bundle with the architecture museum because it was right next door and only a few dollars more but wouldnt recommend it. See separate review.

Combine this with a trip to the branch in Arabia (much smaller collection out there). This is a compact museum, so it's possible to learn a lot in short amount of time. Small gift shop with a nice assortment, good cafe. I am impressed by the breadth of the collection, and the special exhibit on the history of Finnish design through the decades was well worth the trip.

What a disappointment. Finland has a great history of innovative and classic design work, and Helsinki has some good design shops, but the Design Museum itself well, the work on display there was basically rubbish by students. Most of the work there was 'experimental' style stuff, on a par with 18-year-old Foundation Art students in the UK- bad attempts at 'shock value' riddled with the idea that if art is confusing, then it has something to say. There were a couple of specialist displays from known artists as well, but these were rather forgettable. The only saving grace of the museum (and hence the 2 stars) was the permanent (I think) exhibition in the basement, which is a collection of clothes, furniture and other household items from the last 60 years or so of Finnish history, which tries to show the interesting ways in which Finnish culture has changed and been 'Europeanised' in recent times. On its own though I'm not sure the basement is worth the admission fee. One you could miss.

Weird. On every level just disappointing. I'm clearly just a spoiled snob, but this place lacked anything I will remember besides a preposterous misuse of space and a rude employee or two. The curator of this museum needs a dose of inspiration. Your job isn't to infuse your space with a museum brand of your making, it's to present compelling design exhibits This cannot be the culmination of Finnish design, this can't even be the culmination of Helsinki design.

My husband and I are enthusiastic fans of Finnish design, so this was a must on our trip to Helsinki. It's not terribly big, but they do pack a lot of cool stuff into the space. The permanent exhibit has the evolution of the native designs from the 1800s to present; we marveled over how contemporary even the older things looked. The basement, when we were there, had a temporary exhibit on the works of Alvar Aalto, and I enjoyed getting to know him a bit better. We skipped the top floor, a fashion showcase, simply because neither of us were terribly interested. The gift shop has some nifty stuff, and it's worth a look on the way out.

This museum is just ok. I liked seeing a few designs in the permanent collection, especially the Alvar Aalto stuff. However, I felt like the exhibits were not that impressively curated. I think I might have liked the museum better if there was a different exhibit going on the second floor. I'm not that much for 1980's post-modernism. It was interesting, but that aesthetic just doesn't really float my boat. This museum is also a lot smaller than expected. We breezed through it really quickly. The building is deceptively huge from the outside. I thought the reception area's interior design was more impressive than some of the actual exhibits I saw. Not sure this was worth the price of admission. We didn't have much time to visit any of the other art museums in the city, so I really wish I would've picked one of the larger art museums to visit instead. My expectations were not really met here. Finnish design is quite famous, and as a designer I would have liked to see something a bit more extensive and impressive. I was expecting more of a variety of design. This place mainly focused on designed objects and painting when I was here. Where was all the graphic design? The bold fashion prints that Finland is famous for? Cool Scandinavian Interior design? I think there should have been a wider scope in the permanent collections. I think they also need a larger building. If your going to have a museum about Finnish design ( something Finland is known for around the world), they should've done a much more entertaining and extensive job on the topic.

The Design museum (designmuseo) was absolutely amazing! What made it that way was the upper level (second floor) which held multiple huge exhibits of wide ranging inventions and ideas that the people of Europe (though most were from Scandinavia) were making. Everything on that floor was really cool and I could spend the whole day just doing that and I'll be perfectly fine. The ground floor (first floor) was pretty cool and it had many exhibits like a interactive history of telephones, a small exhibits about the incredibly popular app Angry Birds (FYI, they're from Finland), a small exhibits about Nokia and all of their products (Nokia is also from Finland), a small exhibits about Fiskers scissors (also from Finland), and others that I thought were pretty cool. I loved the upper level though, that was the best. But overall I really enjoyed the Design Museum and I highly recommend that people go there.

What a nice museum about design in Finland. It has a focus on design because it is a design museum. It's also in Finland. Finland is a country that isn't really in Scandinavia although some people think it is. The capital is Helsinki. This is in Helsinki.

nice ambiance, very good quick lunches, coffee and tea exquisite, as are the pastries and cakes