Kaj Gabriel Franck was one of the leading figures of Finnish design between 1940 and 1980. Franck was artistic director of the Arabia ceramics company (now part of Iittala Group) and artistic director and teacher at the College of Applied Arts – the predecessor of the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now Aalto University) – since 1945. He was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal in 1964.

The Design Forum Finland awards the yearly Kaj Franck Design Prize to a designer or team of designers working in the spirit of the late Kaj Franck. Recipients of the prize include Oiva Toikka (1992), Yrjö Kukkapuro (1995), Heikki Orvola (1998), Eero Aarnio (2008), Simo Heikkilä (2011) and Harri Koskinen (2014).