Jakob Trollbäck

Jakob Trollbäck, the Swedish-born creative director and president of Trollbäck & Company, began his unusual career trajectory with a passion for music. An avid music collector, he established Nocturne, an avant-garde Stockholm club featuring music, theater, photography, art and dance. Promoting club events ultimately led him to open his first design company in Stockholm. In 1991, Trollbäck joined R/GA in New York and became creative director. In 1999, together with a small creative team, he established Trollbäck & Company. Bicoastal, the company has quickly risen to prominence designing and producing a diverse, graphically inventive mix of projects for HBO Films, TNT, AMC, Sundance Channel, Volvo and Sony. Film title credits include Monsoon Wedding, Tadpole and Hysterical Blindness, the last winning a 2003 Prime Time Emmy Award for outstanding main title design. For 2004, the company is relaunching the Lifetime network and designing titles for Mira Nair's much-anticipated film, Vanity Fair.
Do you have a design hero? I'm not so taken up by hero worship. Depending on how you look at it, I have many heroes or none at all. But visionaries from all walks of life - those rare people with seemingly unlimited energy to realize breakthrough concepts - never cease to inspire, especially once you stop idolizing and begin to understand the agony and mental stress behind bringing truly unique projects to fruition.
How and where do you find inspiration? Joseph Müller-Brockmann, graphic design; Richard Serra, sculpture; Kaj Franck, glass; Mies van der Rohe, architecture; Bill Viola, video; Akira Kurosawa, film; Bach, music; Apple, technology; John Maeda, interfaces; Edgar Varese, percussion; Gerhard Richter, paintings; Yohji Yamamoto, fashion; Hiroshi Sugimoto, photography.
What do you do in your time away from work? I try to be a good father to five year-old August and three-year-old Stina, and to be a good husband - and to make up for long work hours and frequent travel. Then, of course, I don't go to the gym and regret it daily. As often as possible, we go to our weekend house, where I build things, grill fish, play with wooden trains, drink white wine and gimlets.
What are you currently listening to, watching or reading? My iPod has 1600 artists. Stuff like Glen Gould, Miles, Coltrane, Messiaen, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, The Notwist, Bo Kaspers Orkester, Daniel Lanois, Jeff Buckley, Joao Gilberto, Prefuse 73, Astor Piazzolla, Monk, Charles Webster, Curtis Mayfield, Sun Ra, Dr. John, Everything But The Girl, Gil Scott-Heron, Henry Cow, Ibrahim Ferrer, John Martyn, John Lennon, Kronos Quartet, Les McCann, Macy Gray, Marvin Gaye, Akufen, Mingus, Mum, Nick Drake, Oregon, Iron & Wine, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Robert Wyatt, Mogwai, Squarepusher, Static, Stevie Wonder, Taj Mahal, Fela Kuti, Trygve Seim, Uberzone, Underworld, Wayne Shorter, Zappa, Young Disciples and the Dot Matrix Printer Orchestra. I always enjoy reading Umberto Eco.
Are you hopeful about 2004? Adversity fosters creativity, and designers are therefore becoming increasingly powerful. Now, let's make bolder statements with what and how we create - statements that compensate for media that more and more resembles an establishment mouthpiece. In 2003, we donated one percent of gross billings to staff-selected causes. It's a small initiative, but implicit is a friendly challenge to other design studios. The rigorous commitment of our creatives should award them the luxury of giving back to their community. And, yes, their unabashed passion for effecting change leads me to expect that 2004 will indeed be a great year.

Graham Hanson

Graham Hanson Design is a full-service, multidisciplinary design firm active in all areas of strategic design, from corporate identity, print collateral and electronic media, to exhibit design, architectural graphics and environmental and interior design. The firm's work strives for restraint, contextual relevance and, most importantly, effectiveness. Over the past several years, the firm has collaborated extensively with real estate developer Macklowe Properties to create a highly visible and distinctive visual language for a wide range of properties in New York City. During the same time, the firm has been actively involved in strategic print and electronic media projects for American Express, including substantial work for the Membership Rewards unit. Most recently, Hanson was commissioned by UNESCO and the Kuwaiti government to develop the identity, environmental design, exhibition and wayfinding masterplans for the Kuwait National Museum. Hanson, previously at Vignelli Associates, received a BFA from Iowa State University and studied at the Lorenzo de' Medici Institute in Florence, Italy. He began his career at de Harak & Poulin Associates. His work has been featured in numerous design books and publications. He is an adjunct professor and thesis advisor in the Graduate Design Communications program at Pratt Institute, and teaches a multidisciplinary senior-level seminar in the Parsons School of Design undergraduate program. He has served on the executive committee of AIGA/NY as vice president. A retrospective exhibition of his work, Breaking Boundaries/ Expanding Limits, was held at the Puck Building in Manhattan in 2001. Most recently, he was the recipient of the 2002 Design Achievement award from Iowa State University. He lives in Riverdale with his wife and two young daughters.
Do you have a design hero? Mies van Der Rohe, respected for what he said as well as what he designed. I try to work according to some of his more famous and well-known quotations: "Less is more" and "God is in the details." But I use the following quote as a guiding principle: "I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good." In the graphic design field, Paul Rand was equally effective at writing about good design.
How and where do you find inspiration? I find inspiration everywhere, but rarely in design-related contexts. I recommend reading the two How to See classics by George Nelson.
What do you do in your time away from work? I try to dedicate significant time to running, either solo or after one of my two young daughters.
Do you believe the economic recovery is finally here? I believe the economy has picked up where we left it in 1998. If you disregard the bubble of 1999-2001, things are pretty much status quo. If you acknowledge the bubble, things appear a bit depressed. I don't see any significant growth areas, industries or trends.
Are you hopeful about 2004? I try to stay hopeful in general. In the seven years we've been in business, we've been fortunate enough not to have had to dedicate resources towards marketing efforts. Although we're considering marketing efforts now, we firmly believe that there will always be a strong market for good, genuine, effective design work.

Michael Hodgson

Michael Hodgson studied at St. Martin's School of Art in London and Brighton College of Art, England. He was art director of Harpers & Queen magazine until 1979, when he moved to Santa Monica. In 1988, after freelancing for several years, mainly in the music business, he established Ph.D, a design office with Clive Piercy. Ph.D provides image development, identity systems, marketing materials and book design. In the role of creative advocate for his clients, Hodgson consistently strives to bring his work and that of his team to the highest standard of intelligence and production, at times redefining the way in which companies and industries look at themselves and expanding their view of what's possible. Their work has won numerous awards, including three Grammy nominations. Hodgson has taught at Art Center College of Design and Otis School of Art and Design, and is incoming president of the Los Angeles chapter of the AIGA. He is married, with "three beautiful daughters" named Lily, Maudie Rae and Lucie.
Do you have a design hero? My father Leslie Hodgson just died, and having heard so many wonderful stories in the last few days, my dad is my hero. He was a sound editor of films and worked with many great directors, including John Huston, Fred Zinneman, Zeffirelli and Coppola, and was admired and respected by all his colleagues and contemporaries. He was known for his tremendous integrity and work ethic. In addition, he had a great sense of humor. I realize now that he set a benchmark that I can only hope to come close to, and that if I could leave behind half such a legacy I would be happy.
What would be your dream project? The identity for the next Olympic Games that the U.S. hosts.
How and where do you find inspiration? From the world of design: Eric Gill, Charles and Ray Eames, Tibor, The Partners in London, Paul Landacre, Eric Ravillious, Bill Brandt, Terry Donovan, Mike Fink, Stephen Doyle, Sharon Werner, Stephan Sagmeister and, of course, my partner Clive Piercy and the designers at Ph.D. From my kids and their amazing view of the world around them. From their great drawings and ability to create without restrictions.
What do you do in your time away from work? I treasure time away with my wife, Gill, and my three daughters. For time on my own, I get on my bike and go for a ride in the hills around my house in Topanga.
What are you currently listening to, watching or reading? I listen to my iPod, of course. Steven Frye reading Harry Potter. Elephunk, BlackEyed Peas, I Can't Stop, Al Green, Jesse Stone, Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 3 in A Minor. I am watching The Office. And reading Disordered Minds, by Minette Walters; Need For The Bike, by Paul Fournel; to my kids, Camping Spree With Mr. Magee, by Chris Van Dusen.
Are you hopeful about 2004? I feel tremendously optimistic for 2004. Everyone is now ready for peace. Hopefully, this year will see the end of the Bush era and it will be a time to start rebuilding.