Ecological traveling by train

Travelling by train is a far more ecological way to travel than flying, but it's image could use a facelift. 

These projects were created as a part of Aalto University’s Koe: Muutos (Experiment: Change) Visual Communication Design program's BA course that studied how to promote sustainable traveling with design. 

Course tutors: Tarja Nieminen and Arto Sivone

Train Brag

Since photos taken on a train can be quite bleak and dreary, we wanted to spice them up a little bit by designing a face filter -collection meant to be used exclusively on trains.  

The name of the collection comes from the Swedish term tågskryt, which is the name of an anti-flying movement that originated in Sweden in 2018. Tågskryt has been used as a hashtag on social media by people who travel by train and want to encourage other people to do the same.  

We wanted to take part in the movement by providing some fun and quirky face filters to those people, so their followers would find their posts more appealing and maybe consider traveling by train. We also hoped that the filters would make posting pictures and videos from train travels so fun, that people would like to do it more often and train traveling would become more visible in the social media. 

The team:

• Anni Tolvanen, Iina Silventoinen and Akseli Manner

Nexo - VR Travel Hub

Nexo Hub is a center, which offers travelling experiences for everyone without having to travel physically.

The concept brings the world's renowned attractions to anyone in an ecological and accessible manner through VR glasses and a installation room, which consist of various sensory impressions. You can for example experience the feel of the rain and sea waves, while enjoying a virtual experience of being abroad trough VR glasses. After the virtual installations at the Nexo Hub you may continue to a nearby hotel for a even relaxing holiday experience.

The solution was created especially for those who have no opportunity to travel abroad due to a illness or disability.

The team

• Ella Eskola, contact information: [email protected]

MIERO – A travel application that makes exploring Finland fun and surprising again

Traveling around Finland hasn’t appealed to young adults for a long time, even though there’s a lot to see and experience. Our aim is to encourage especially Finnish people to travel ecologically and near, but also give tourists more options than just Helsinki and Lapland.

MIERO is an app designed for people who want to escape the beaten track and see things that can’t really be described as your average tourist attractions. From the spooky abandoned houses to some Karelian grandma’s bakings, we want to show that Finland has some peculiar things to offer – and you don’t have to fly in order to reach these awesome destinations! 

MIERO offers information and tips on accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, restaurants, events and basically anything one needs to explore the amazing weirdness of Suomi Finland. The basis of the app is built on the community of the people using it and possible sponsors. The joint efforts to help people find some of the most original things of our homeland helps the app to grow, not to mention the places the app promotes. MIERO is a new way of getting to know Finland and finding the curious essence of the Finnish mindset and nature.

If MIERO were to become a popular app, it could encourage people to travel sustainably and appreciate things that are near them. It could also help boost the economies of small cities, towns and villages around Finland that have been otherwise ’forgotten’. It would also help small businesses thrive and emphasise the consumption of local and ecological products and services.

The team

• Miska Lehto, Veera Kesänen and Aino Salonen