Mika Launis (born 1949) is a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
illustrator and graphic designer who studied
graphic design at the
University of Art and Design in Helsinki. For his final project, he did the illustrations for a children's book written in
Northern Sámi. Launis has illustrated several books, mainly children's books. In addition, he has provided illustrations for
book cover
A book cover is any protective covering used to bind together the pages of a book. Beyond the familiar distinction between hardcovers and paperbacks, there are further alternatives and additions, such as dust jackets, ring-binding, and older ...
s, of which his most well-known are probably the covers of the Finnish versions of the
Harry Potter books. Some of his works have also been published as
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
s. Launis was the 1997 recipient of the
Rudolf Koivu Award, which is awarded to illustrations in children's and young adult books. Furthermore, he won the competition to design Finland's first Euro postage stamp.
Awards
*
Suomalainen kuvakirjapalkinto (The Finnish Award for Illustrated Books) (1997)
*
Rudolf Koivu Award (1997)
* short-listed for the
Hans Christian Andersen Award (1998 and 2002)
References
External links
Harry Potter book covers
Finnish illustrators
Finnish children's book illustrators
Finnish graphic designers
1949 births
Living people
{{Finland-artist-stub