At the end of 2005, which was the year of design in Finland, Marimekko launched a design competition entitled "Design, meet the user!". The results of the competition were announced on 3 April 2006.

The purpose of the competition was to generate new designs for interior fabrics and ready-made products that would fit in with Marimekko's product portfolio as well as to promote good Finnish design. The competition was organised together with the Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo, and it was open to all designers and design students residing in Finland.

A total of 1,216 entries were submitted. The jury of the competition was impressed by the large number of participants and the high quality of the submissions. There were a lot of interesting new ideas among the entries. The first prize, €8,000, was awarded to Jenni Tuominen for her "Unessa" fabric print. Tuominen also received a special award of €3,000 from the Kirsti Paakkanen Foundation for her "Ruohikossa" print, and three other fabric designs by her won honourable mentions. Tuominen's works stood out for their freshness and originality. Her designs reflect the same values as Marimekko and are a perfect match for Marimekko's design philosophy.

The second prize, €6,000, went to Anna Ervamaa for her "Astro" fabric design and the third prize, €4,000, to Iiro A. Ahokas for his "Olon muodot" print. Three additional cash prizes of €1,000 each and six honourable mentions were also awarded.

The jury consisted of
- Kirsti Paakkanen, Chair, Marimekko Corporation
- Marja Hinttula, Marimekko Corporation
- James Irvine, designer
- Katja Lindroos, design journalist
- Saara Renvall, designer
- Ilkka Suppanen, designer
- Kirsi Valanti, interior designer.