ABOUT

Karoliina Pärnänen is a multidisciplinary Finnish digital designer based in Helsinki, working across digital culture & graphic design, and sound, interested in how emerging technologies shape human perception, behavior, and emotion.

WORK

A new culture festival in Helsinki where art, society & creative entrepreneurship collide.

Building a VR gaming startup together with Anton Tammi and a team of VR developers utilizing both Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro.

Head of all design related matters at Slush, Helsinki.

Internship in Amsterdam: 3D art, web design, coding and research.

  • Owner of club concept Alternate Frequency at Club Kaiku, Helsinki
  • Flow Festival X Garden (2026) curation & organization
  • Host of radio show Ancient Utopias in IDA Radio Helsinki and RRFM Amsterdam
  • Performances globally at venues such as De School (NL), KitKat (DE), Garage Noord (NL), Post Bar (FI), Ääniwalli (FI) & Kaiku (FI)
  • Performances at festivals such as Flow Festival (FI), Fiber Festival (NL), Kosmos Festival (FI) & Traumburg (DE)

Selected clients:

  • Starstuff (Unity worldbuilding)
  • Henkel (3D animation)
  • Lumi Tuomi, artist (publication design)
  • Tiia Kasurinen, performance artist (web design & coding)
  • Tuomas Rounakari (music album graphic design & production)
  • Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács, artists (3D modeling)
  • Anouk Kruithof, artist/photographer (web design, coding, sound)
  • Natalia Sliwowska, filmmaker (book design)
  • The Gathering / Michael Schmitz, wellness retreat (web design)
  • pilateslab-berlin / Anja Kursawe, yoga/pilates (graphic design)
  • University of Helsinki, Biotechnology Department (web design)

  • Answering RFIs and RFQs
  • In charge of the resource management tool
  • Gathering and analyzing information for business intelligence
  • Organizing and leading events and trips for Reaktor customers

EDUCATION

Information & Service Management. Grade: 5/5.

  • Master’s thesis: What Makes a Satisfying User Experience in the Context of Human-Computer Interaction? Grade: 5/5
  • Dean’s List Diploma (top 3% of all graduates)

Business Technology. Grade: 4/5.

  • Bachelor’s thesis: The Affect of Aesthetics on Usability. Grade: 5/5
  • Vice President & AD of KY-Ski ry
  • Illustrator, editor & photographer for Kylteri magazine

Grade: E. Diplomas for Psychology & Finnish.

EXHIBITIONS

Eight Gallery, Germany, 2024.

Traumburg Festival, Germany, 2023. Related project: Hydra.

Fiber Festival, the Netherlands, 2022.

Kunstkerk Utrecht, the Netherlands, 2022. Collaboration.

Melkweg Expo, the Netherlands, 2022. Collaboration.

Centraal Museum Utrecht, the Netherlands, 2021. Collaboration with Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács. Related project: Fix the Variable, Exclude the Accidental…

EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, 2019. Related project: Subliminal Transit.