Katriina Heljakka
Doctor of Arts
katriina.heljakka@utu.fi |
Toy research; toys; play research; playthings; game research; games; playful environments; playful experiences
Toy researcher
Katriina Heljakka (Doctor of Arts, MA (Art history), M.Sc. (Econ.), holds a
post-doctoral position at University of Turku (digital culture studies) and
continues her research on toys and the visual, material, digital and social
cultures of play in the Academy of Finland project Centre of Excellence in Game
Culture Studies. Her current research interests include the emerging
toyification of contemporary culture, toy design and the hybrid and social
dimensions of ludic practices. During her career, Heljakka, who received her
doctorate from Aalto University, has worked in the toy industry as a game
designer and creative manager responsible for trend-related research and
concept creation. In parallel to being an academic, Heljakka has been involved
in character creation, authored children’s storybooks and participated in
multiple art exhibitions with her toy-related photography and playable art
installations both in Finland, Portugal and the U.S. To explore the discipline
of toy design education, Heljakka has visited and lectured (and played) at the
toy design programs of the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Delft
University, Shenkar College in Tel Aviv, MIT Game Lab, Fashion Institute of
Technology in New York and OTIS School of Design in Los Angeles. In 2017,
Heljakka visited the Strong National Institute of Play as a research fellow. She
currently acts as the Chief of Play at Pori Laboratory of Play (PLOP). Contact:
katriina.heljakka@utu.fi
Katriina Heljakka holds a post-doctoral position at
University of Turku (digital culture studies) and studies toys and the visual,
material, digital and social cultures of play at Pori Laboratory of Play. Her
current interests include the toyification of culture, toy design and the
hybrid and transgenerational dimensions of ludic practices.
Katriina Heljakka teaches courses on toys, games, playful experiences, play environments and the visual, material, digital and social cultures of play, designs and executes playful interventions such as playful workshops in other areas of study.
- Ratsastetut ja rakastetut. Kepparit mediaurheilullistuvan leikin välineinä2020
- Kulttuurintutkimus
- (2020) IDC '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference: Extended Abstracts Alejandro Catala, Cristina Sylla, Arzu Guneysu Ozgur, Pirita Ihamäki, Katriina Heljakka
- Toys That Mobilize: Past, Present and Future of Phygital Playful Technology (2020)
- Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
- (2020)
- Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association
- Toy tourism. From Travel Bugs to characters with wanderlust. (2020) Locating Imagination in Popular Culture Place, Tourism and Belonging Katriina Heljakka, Pirita Ihamäki
- (2019)
- WiderScreen
- From Displays and Dioramas to Doll Dramas Adult World Building and World Playing with Toys2019
- American Journal of Play
- Gamified Coding: Toy Robots and Playful Learning in Early Education (2019)
- International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence
- (2019) Adaptation and Convergence of Media 'High' Culture Intermediality Versus Popular Culture Intermediality Heljakka Katriina, Ihamäki Pirita
- Persuasive Toy Friends and Preschoolers: Playtesting IoToys (2019) The Internet of Toys : Practices, Affordances and the Political Economy of Children’s Smart Play Katriina Heljakka, Pirita Ihamäki
- Ready, Steady, Move! Coding Toys, Preschoolers, and Mobile Playful Learning (2019)
- International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
- Rethinking Adult Toy Play in the Age of Ludic Liberation: Imaginative, Visual and Social Object-Interactions of Mature PlayersThe Internet of Toys, Connectedness and Character-Based Play in Early Education: Volume 1 (2019) Proceedings of the 8th International Toy Research Association World Conference Toys and Material Culture: Hybridisation, Design and Consumption Heljakka Katriina
- (2019)
- Revista Lusófona de Educação
- The internet of art as a site for learning and fun – Playful experiences through augmented geocachingCome and play service designer with Us! – Co-creating a playable customer journey installation (2019)
- CEUR Workshop Proceedings
- (2019) Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2018 Pirita Ihamäki, Katriina Heljakka
- (2019)
- Tekniikan Waiheita: Teknik I TidenWiderScreen
- (2018)
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design
- Designing a Pervasive Adventure Gamescape: Avoiding the Pitfalls in Creating Augmented LBGs for Playful Learning (2018)
- Journal of digital media & interaction
- Disliked and demonized dollies: pediophobia and popular toys of the present (2018)
- Hybrid Social Play Final Report (2018) Paavilainen Janne, Heljakka Katriina, Arjoranta Jonne, Kankainen Ville, Lahdenperä Linda,
Koskinen Elina, Kinnunen Jani, Sihvonen Lilli, Nummenmaa Timo, Mäyrä Frans, Koskimaa Raine, Suominen Jaakko