Asko Künnap


Asko Künnap is an Estonian designer, writer, and artist.

Education

Asko Künnap attended and the Tartu Children’s Art School. He graduated from the in product- and graphic design, and studied interior architecture at the .

Career

Künnap has worked as a freelance illustrator and designer as well as creative director at the advertising agencies ZOOM Ogilvy and . He has received numerous nominations and prizes in competitions including the Effie Awards and the Estonian Golden Egg Competition.

Works

Design

Künnap has designed logos and corporate identities for customers including the Republic of Estonia and all its national ministries ; the Estonian national parks of Lahemaa, Matsalu, Vilsandi, Soomaa, and Karula ; the online news portal Delfi ; the Estonian Literature Information Center ; the ; ; , ; and others.
He has designed album covers for , :et:Lauri Saatpalu|Lauri Saatpalu, Tõnis Mägi, , Rein Rannap, The Johansons, Jaan Tätte, , Jäääär, JääBoiler, InBoil, Siim Aimla, Eepiline Eesti Orkester, Svjatra Vatra, , Sven Grünberg, Urmas Alender, Ruja, Bonzo, Kõrsikud, Aapo Ilves, Tõnu Timm and Jaanus Nõgisto, Concerto Contore, Pantokraator, Dynamite Vikings, and others.
In collaboration with Estonian writer and musician Jan Kaus, Künnap developed the concepts for Estonia’s booths at the 2007 Gothenburg Book Fair and the 2011 Helsinki Book Fair. He has also designed theater sets with and Heigo Ervin Seppel.
Künnap has designed and illustrated books for a wide range of publishers in Estonia, Finland, as well as for the Firenze Contemporary Jewellery School Alchimia, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others. He has received close to a dozen prizes in the annual Best-Looking Estonian Book Awards and was awarded the Prize for Best-Looking Baltic Book at the Riga Book Fair.
He is a member of the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association.

Literature

Künnap has written, designed, and published poetry: Pimeduse vastu ; Kokkusattumuste kaitseks ; Ja sisalikud vastasid ; Kõige ilusam sõda ; Su ööd on loetud ; Mardikate määraja and Mälestused. His poetry has also appeared in joint collections with Estonian poets Karl Martin Sinijärv, Jürgen Rooste, Triin Soomets, Jan Kaus, Maarja Kangro, and Elo Viiding. Künnap received the Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s Annual Prize for Poetry in 2003, the Estonian National Culture Fund’s Debut Prize in 2003, and the Looming Literary Magazine’s Annual Prize in 2016. He is a member of the Estonian Writers’ Union and the Estonian PEN Club.
Künnap’s poetry has been translated into and published in English, German, French, Italian, Hungarian, Slovenian, Serbian, Romanian, Arabic, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish. Examples include A Fine Line – New Poetry from Eastern & Central Europe, Tra ansia e finitude – La Nuova Europa dei poeti, and New European Poets. Hannu Oittinen received the 2015 Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s Annual Prize for Translated Literature for his translation of Künnap’s Su ööd on loetud into Finnish – Yösi ovat luetut.
Künnap has performed at a multitude of literary and music festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, the Ledbury Poetry Festival, the Young Euro Classic, Transpoesie, Medana, Vilenica, Baltoscandal, HeadRead, Prima Vista, Jazzkaar, and elsewhere. He has participated in poetry tournaments in the US, the UK, Germany, and Finland; and has performed at the Gothenburg, Helsinki, Turku, and London book fairs.
Künnap’s publishing house primarily prints contemporary Estonian poetry, including works by authors Hasso Krull, Karl Martin Sinijärv, Jürgen Rooste, Elo Viiding, Triin Soomets, Jan Kaus, Vahur Afanasjev, Veronika Kivisilla, Kaur Riismaa, Kristiina Ehin, Maarja Kangro, Lauri Saatpalu, Hannu Oittinen, and Liina Tammiste.
Künnap has written reviews on film, literature, and art for newspapers and cultural magazines.
He has translated poetry into Estonian from English, German, and Finnish, and was nominated for the Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s Annual Prize for Translated Literature in 2012.

Visual Art

Künnap has done works of photography, video, oil painting, silk printing, pencil drawing, digital graphic art, and digital collage. His art has been displayed in the solo exhibitions “Pimeduse vastu” ; “Kokkusattumuste kaitseks” ; “Seni parimad” ; “Sõnade ja sõnumite testimine” ; and “Su ööd on loetud”.

Board games

Through Publishing and in collaboration with Priit Isok, Künnap has designed and released the board games Saaremaa, Farlander, Levi, Metsa Peremees, Surres kõige rohkem asju, Lotte lauamäng, Kalale, , Danse Macabre, and Libahundid. Farlander was nominated for Game of the Year in Finland in 2005, and in Sweden in 2006. Ussisõnad was the highest-selling Estonian board game in 2009.

Comics and animation

Künnap wrote and drew the comic strip Kosmoserotid for the Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress in 1993; Ulg and Kultuuriminister for Estonian cultural newspaper Sirp in 2004 and 2006–2007, respectively; and Monsieur Le Nez ja Herr Schnabel for Estonian wine magazine Vine. In collaboration with Kaspar Jancis, he was the co-writer as well as background- and character artist for the animated film See viimane sigaret and the 2007 DVD of animated films Must lagi.

Music

Künnap has performed poetry together with a number of musicians and ensembles, including Estonian Dream Big Band, Eepiline Eesti Orkester, Siim Aimla, Paul Daniel, Heikki Kalle, Tõnu Timm, and others.

Personal life

Asko Künnap is married to jewellery artist Julia Maria Künnap, with whom he has two daughters: Hiie Mari and Kirke Lea. Künnap reads, walks, sketches labyrinths and coded messages, and watches dreams. He owns no television, reads no online commentaries, and belongs to no religious or political organizations.

Books