I'm Niila Haapakoski, a 20-year-old graphic designer, photographer, and digital marketing professional from Tampere, Finland. At the moment, I'm serving my military service as a conscript graphic designer at the Defence Command, working in the editorial team of Ruotuväki, the official newspaper of the Finnish Defence Forces.
I'm a self-taught graphic designer, but despite my young age, I've already gained plenty of valuable experience through diverse and exciting projects. I specialize in creating album cover art, but I'm more than happy to take on all kinds of design work!
So far, the biggest project of my career has been creating graphics for the fitness campaign of the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, together with the Defence Forces. In addition to producing over a hundred cover artworks, I also designed the title logo for Cancel, the upcoming movie by Solar Films, Finland's largest film production company. I've also created a brand-new logo for the sports club Oriveden Tuisku, along with other sports graphics for various teams and athletes. On top of that, I designed the full visual identity for Return of the Legends, a major boxing event held at Helsinki Ice Hall.
Clients:
- Alexander Stubb (President of Finland, as a conscript)
- Robin Packalen (Artist, as a conscript)
- Solar Films (Movie production company)
- Ruotuväki / Puolustusvoimat (As a conscript)
- Lahden Pelicans (Ice hockey club)
- Oriveden Tuisku (Sports club)
- Seela Sella (Actor, as a conscript)
- Matti Vanhanen (Former Prime Minister of Finland, as a conscript)
- Korelon (Artist, Finland)
- Leyla (Artist, Finland)
- Blacflaco (Artist, Finland)
- Daniel javan (Artisti, Sweden)
- F2F Event Return Of The Legends / Replica Studios (Production company)
- Laura Põldvere (Artist, Estonia)
- Jomie (Artisti, USA)
- Markus Antonio (Artist)
- AG (Artist, Estonia)
- Hukas (Artist, FInland)
- Ale (Artist, Finland)
- AD22Busy (Artist, Finland)
- Wiilee (Rap-duo, Finland)
Background:
I started editing photos for the first time at the age of 11, using my mom's laptop. A couple of years later, I began editing pictures on my phone for an Instagram account where I posted a wide range of sports news. The account eventually grew to over 3,000 followers. When I turned 14, I received my own laptop as a gift, and that's when I started learning Photoshop. That was the moment I truly began my journey into graphic design.
I basically grew into that Instagram account—it was a big part of my life for many years. That's how I got interested in the media field at a young age, even before I knew which direction I'd take in it. After completing my 9th-grade work practice period at Orimattilan Sanomat, a local newspaper, I decided to leave writing behind and focus on graphic design. I started practicing more and began reaching out to artists myself, offering to create cover art for their upcoming singles and albums.
Not long after making that decision, I started to see results. By the age of 15, I was already working with a few artists—one of them being Daniel Javan, a Swedish artist who at the time was an up-and-comer and is now internationally known.
Now, at just 20 years old, I'm already working with many artists and different clients from across Finland and around the world. I've had the chance to work on some really exciting projects and meet incredible people along the way! Even though I'm still only at the early stages of my career, I'm deeply grateful for everything I've achieved and experienced so far.
And hey—I'd love to work with you. So don't hesitate to reach out, no matter what kind of project you've got in mind!
Pics of me :)
