Ira Nääppä

Ira brings design-thinking into city innovation. As a designer, she believes design isn’t just about how things look – it’s a powerful tool for creating systematic, collaborative and meaningful societal impact. At Demos Helsinki, Ira is the one to approach for creative problem-solving, systems thinking, empathy-driven methods, making abstract ideas visually tangible, and future-oriented design approaches that turn good intentions into real societal transformation.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design from LAB Institute of Design, specializing in service design. In her bachelor’s thesis, Ira explored how design activism can spark cross-sector collaboration and strengthen democracy in urban design. Before joining Demos Helsinki, she worked in the public sector in city planning, coordinating co-design processes and vision work in zoning projects to bring residents’ insights into planning decisions. Along the way, she has contributed to urban greening initiatives, innovation projects, and user experience research. On top of all that, Ira is side questing producing cultural and audiovisual events and festivals.

Outside the office, you’ll likely find Ira at the cinema or lifting heavy weights (yes, for fun) and lately she has started a new hobby as a beekeeper.