Ilkka Suppanen (born 1968) studied architecture at the Technical University of Helsinki and Interior and Furniture Design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. In 1995, he founded Studio Suppanen in Helsinki. The studio offers integrated strategic design in the fields of interior, product and concept design and architecture.
Ilkka Suppanen has taught design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki since 1996. Suppanen was Chairman of the Board at the International Alvar Aalto Design Seminar in 2007 and curator of the Hardcore exhibition in New York.
Suppanen's constant interest in production techniques and new materials and usages can be seen in many of his works. His expression is light, forward-looking and yet classically Scandinavian. He is one of the best-known contemporary Finnish designers. He has also received many international awards, most recently the Swedish Bruno Mathsson Prize 2006. In 1997, he founded the Snowcrash design cooperative together with his three colleagues. In 1997, Suppanen and his Snowcrash team got the Young Designer of the Year Award in Germany. In the following year, he was nominated for the Dedalus prize for young European Designers by Ettore Sottsass. In 2000, Design Forum awarded Ilkka Suppanen and Harri Koskinen the Young Designer of the Year prize.
Suppanen's work has been exhibited worldwide including the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Milan Furniture Fair and the MoMA in New York. His works have been widely reported by the international press and publications. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Cologne and others.