Karri Ojanen

Current

• Senior Experience Architect at Organic

Past

• Information Architect / UXD at Publicis Modem
• Concept Designer at Nitro FX
• Concept Designer and Project Manager at Valve Branding

• Concept Designer at Axel Digital Oy/Evia Helsinki Oy
• Concept Designer at Evia Helsinki / Axel Digital Oy Middle East
• Art Director at Starcut Ltd.
• Graphic Designer at Satama Interactive
• Journalist and program host at Yleisradio Oy, TV1

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Education

• Canadian Marketing Association
• Stadia - Helsinki Polytechnic University
• University of Cambridge

• Rastor/Tietomies
• DIAK - Diaconia University of Applied Sciences

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2 more...

Recommended

7 people have recommended Karri

Connections

428 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Karri Ojanen’s Summary

In philosophy, experience is defined as “the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.”

It takes a combination of strategic, tactical, and engineering thinking to create truly exceptional experiences, both on and offline. We can’t create great user experiences by not working together from the beginning of the process to the end.

I have over a decade of experience working in digital media, advertising, and digital and social product design first as graphic designer and art director, and then as concept designer – a role very similar to a creative director, but with a stronger focus on user experience design and marketing strategy. I’ve also worked as project manager, managing projects for clients like Nokia, the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones. I have gained experience in three different countries on three different continents: Finland, The United Arab Emirates, and Canada. Currently, I work as Senior Experience Architect at Organic, Inc in Toronto, Canada.

I work together with other strategists, creative directors, writers, designers and developers to create experiences that deliver exceptional value to clients and their customers.

Karri Ojanen’s Specialties:

Online concept development; ideation and strategies; information architecture + interaction design; usability evaluation; IA/UXD team management; process development; creative direction

Karri Ojanen’s Experience

• Senior Experience Architect

  Organic

  (Public Company; OMC; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  November 2008 — Present (1 year 2 months)

  Clients incl.
  - Bank of America
  - Nike (Canada)
  - Iams

• Information Architect / UXD

  Publicis Modem

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  February 2008 — November 2008 (10 months)

  Senior Information Architect at Publicis Modem in Toronto, Canada. Worked with the following clients:
  • Rogers (Wireless and Cable)
  • Purolator
  • Nestle Purina (Canada)
  • CIBC
  • Ontario Ministry of the Environment
  • Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
  • Labatt brands (Keith's, Blue and Lakeport)

• Concept Designer

  Nitro FX

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  February 2006 — August 2007 (1 year 7 months)

  Designing and managing web and mobile marketing campaigns, sites and services for global clients incl. Nokia, Fonecta (directory services) and Nordea (bank). Produced a major-scale campaign engine and website for an international fashion retailer that incorporates user-generated content in a ‘supermodel search’.

• Concept Designer and Project Manager

  Valve Branding

  (Privately Held; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  March 2004 — February 2006 (2 years )

  Gained the valuable experience of working as a designer in one of the most innovative small agencies in the country. Participated in numerous award-winning projects, including online fundraising site Village Life. Designed online customer product support demonstrations for Nokia. Developed scriptwriting skills writing marketing and technical copy in Finnish and English.

• Concept Designer

  Axel Digital Oy/Evia Helsinki Oy

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)

  February 2002 — March 2004 (2 years 2 months)

  Focused on e-learning materials and services for Nokia and educational institutions. Produced marketing and technical copy in Finnish and English. Produced scripts and storyboards for multimedia presentations. Created visual design for both web and print publications. Developed usability and information architecture for major global and local clients incl. Nokia, Stora Enso (forestry) and Elisa (mobile operator).

• Concept Designer

  Evia Helsinki / Axel Digital Oy Middle East

  (Public Company; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  August 2003 — February 2004 (7 months)

  Worked one-on-one with local clients to design and build e-learning materials for a government organization. Learned importance of good client relationships and working under extreme conditions.

• Art Director

  Starcut Ltd.

  (Privately Held; Wireless industry)

  November 2001 — February 2002 (4 months)

  Visual design of mobile graphics (icons and screensavers for cellular devices) and web graphics for Nokia consumer campaigns, sites, and online services.

• Graphic Designer

  Satama Interactive

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)

  August 2000 — November 2001 (1 year 4 months)

  Visual design for websites, online campaigns, and mobile graphics. Global and local clients incl. Nokia, Talentum (publishing) and SOK (major retail).

• Journalist and program host

  Yleisradio Oy, TV1

  (Broadcast Media industry)

  November 1997 — July 1999 (1 year 9 months)

  Host, editor, and web writer for a national television program for youth for the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

Karri Ojanen’s Education

• Canadian Marketing Association

  E-marketing Certificate , Search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, social media , 2008 — 2008

• Stadia - Helsinki Polytechnic University

  Bachelor of Arts , audiovisual production , 2006 — 2007

  Bachelor of Arts in audiovisual production (film, TV and radio) incl. storyboarding, copyright law, video and sound editing, camera work and directing. I wrote my thesis on the development of IPTV.

• University of Cambridge

  CPE , Certificate of Proficiency in English , 2004 — 2004

  CPE is the highest level Cambridge ESOL exam, at level C2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The certificate proves my ability to function effectively in almost any English-speaking context and that my language skills are close or similar to an educated native speaker.

• Rastor/Tietomies

  College Degree in Audiovisual Arts , Audiovisual arts (Multimedia and Web Design) , 2000 — 2002

  College Degree in Audiovisual Arts (Multimedia and Web Design), including Web and multimedia production, visual design, programming, and copyright law.

• DIAK - Diaconia University of Applied Sciences

  Bachelor of Arts , audiovisual production , 2000 — 2000

  Bachelor of Arts (started) in audiovisual production (film, TV and radio) incl. storyboarding, copyright law, video and sound editing, camera work and directing.

Additional Information

Karri Ojanen’s Groups:

Member of The Information Architecture Institute, http://iainstitute.org/
Member of The Interaction Design Association, http://www.ixda.org/

•    Inbound Marketers - For Marketing Professionals
•    Boxes and Arrows
•    UX Professionals
•    Organic Inc.
•    Front End of Innovation
•    Speakers and Panelists
•    ThoseinMedia
•    Information Architecture Institute (IAI)
•    Toronto Digital Marketing Professionals
•    Social Media Today
•    Social Media Marketing
•    Canadian Interactive Experts
•    FWA
•    User Experience Group
•    Information Architect, IA
•    Tweeple
•    UX Design / Information Architecture
•    Information Architecture
•    Tweeters
•    User Experience Professionals Network
•    Publicis Modem
•    Information Architects
•    Future Trends
•    Creative Mind Finland
•    Information Architects Association of Greater Toronto
•    Leading UX & UI professional Network
•    Satama Interactive Alumni
•    IxDA Helsinki
•    Interactive Ontario

Karri Ojanen’s Honors:

Vuoden Huiput 2006:
* 2nd Prize (digital media): Seppälä
(http://www.seppala.fi, client: Seppälä) (in co-operation with Bob Helsinki)
Project management (Nitro FX), concept design, user experience design

Grand One 2005:
* 1st Prize (the best consumer service): VillageLife
(http://www.villagelife.fi, client: The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission)
Concept design, user experience design, scriptwriting
* Honorary mention (the best consumer service): Nylanderi
(http://www.nylanderi.fi, client: The City of Espoo/WeeGee)
Copywriting, UXD

Vuoden Huiput 2004:
* 2nd Prize (digital media): Nylanderi
(http://www.nylanderi.fi, client: The City of Espoo/WeeGee)
Copywriting, UXD