Erik
Herrström

What led you into design?

When growing up, I was inspired by the skateboarding culture and how brands, both big and small, created expressions through various graphics, motion, and music. It created something that I desired to be a part of.

I started exploring interactive design in my early teenage years and completed my first commercial project at the age of 14. I continued to build websites alongside school, and after finishing high school, I managed to land my first full-time job.

What does a typical day look like?

I set my alarm clock quite early the night before in order to work out in the morning. It makes my day much better. After breakfast, I either bike or walk to the studio with my dog. It's 20 minutes away, which gives me enough time to clear my head before the day.

My days include a good variety of designing, managing, directing and organizing. Together with my co-lead and fellow Creative Director, Lukas, we divide the management and make sure that we together with our team help our clients in the best way possible. While we are based in Vienna, Austria, our project management team is in the U.S. as many of our clients are based there. It helps us push things forward around the clock.

I spend most evenings together with my fiancé, Kerstin. Either we go to a restaurant or an event, or simply spend it at home, cooking and watching a show to wind down.

What's your workstation setup?

Where do you go to get inspired?

I believe that my inspiration comes from the things around me or what I consume in my daily life. This can be everything from an architectural detail on a building, music I listen to, or typography on a street sign. The project we're working on helps me see or rediscover certain things I've observed.

What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?

I am always in awe of the products that Teenage Engineering is releasing.

What pieces of work are you most proud of?

Since starting Studio Herrström, I have had the great honor of designing brand identities for both Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley for Sony Music Entertainment. These were special in the sense that they are two of the most iconic artists to ever live.

When I first moved to New York City, I was part of the team at R/GA, which was tasked with redesigning Nike's digital ecosystem, bringing brand, commerce, and social into one destination. I learned a lot during this project that has influenced my career.

During my years at Spotify, I was fortunate to work on many interesting projects. One of the last projects I worked on was to help the brand to define a design system to unify Spotify’s global marketing work. It was interesting in many ways, but mostly because it had a truly global reach and was implemented in all markets.

Two projects that have significantly impacted my career are my involvement in the brand identities for both Spotify's New Music Friday and RapCaviar. They have had a substantial influence on the music industry.

One that was extra special was when we transformed the New York City subway station, Broadway-Lafayette in SoHo, into a museum exhibition paying homage to David Bowie.

During multiple years I also worked on the Spotify Wrapped campaign. Wrapped is where Spotify listeners dive into their top listening moments of the year, and in 2018 we created an interactive campaign that analyzed images to generate color schemes for your experience.

Naturally, all listed projects were team efforts. I've provided links within the list for more information and to identify the contributors.

What design challenges do you face at your company?

Our drive derives from the challenges we face in every project. We love a challenging brief that makes us think differently.

What music do you listen to while designing?

Any advice for ambitious designers?

Be active, do what you love, and put your work out in the world. The biggest moves in my career have happened when I show interest in other people and what they do. It's much more inspiring to speak to people than scrolling through feeds.

Anything you want to promote or plug?

We are in the midst of sharing some exciting projects in the coming months.
The best way to stay updated is through our social channels @studioherrstrom or at studioherrstrom.com.