Arja Karhumaa is a graphic designer, text artist, Doctor of Arts, and Associate Professor in Visual Communication Design at Aalto University ARTS, Finland. Their work spans across typography, design, and experimental writing in both poetry and academia.
To redirect contemporary visual communication, they seek to establish new modes of diffractive and sustainable academic practice beyond commercial interest. They focus on language and typography, publication as art/design practice, and redefining communication design in the context of new materiality. All of these areas are visible in their doctoral research Epä/igenesis (2021) featuring the bookwork Epägenesis: Katalogi X (2020), a catalogue of material and conceptual writing.
Karhumaa’s work has been published and exhibited in anthologies, galleries and festivals within Europe. They are a former board member of the Grafia Association, and have served at the editorial board of Grafia magazine. Since 2021 they are co-founder of the artist-led publishing collective Multipöly.
