I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! Today I have the honour of presenting some of the most praiseworthy Scandinavian designer heroes & heroines here on The Scandinavialist; They are Swedish, they are multitalented and they are on fire, they are NOTE DESIGN STUDIO.

Since starting up in 2008, NOTE DESIGN STUDIO has indeed become one of the most noted design studios in Scandinavia, working with some of the biggest brands in the industry, they have made an international name for themselves, a big name.. so there is no stopping them now!

I've been lucky enough to get a slice of their time. In between their everyday creativeness and competition deadlines, I got a hold of one of the founders, Johannes Carlström, so to dig a little deeper into what NOTE is all about:

1 // Who are the people behind NOTE DESIGN STUDIO and what would be the most interesting thing to know about you?

We are Johannes, Cristiano, Sanna, Daniel, Kristoffer, Charlotte and Alexis. We discuss a lot and we laugh a lot!

2 // Who met who and started what and how did you design adventure evolve?

Cristiano and me (Johannes) met while working on a large interior project and found out that we wanted to do something new, something with a bigger perspective.

3 // What influenced you to start up your own design studio and what is your ultimate goal?

Our ultimate goal is to be the best design studio in the world! It started as a joke but has grown on us, we like the idea of working towards a goal like that.

4 // What lies behind the name NOTE DESIGN STUDIO?

'To note something', in many ways we are observers of the world around us and interpret it, that is what the NOTE in our name is about.

5 // You are a multi-disclipinary design studio and your work includes architecture, interiors, products, graphic design and design strategy.. Phew, that's pretty impressive! How do you then delegate work within the studio? Do you stick to your own fields of expertise or mix it all up?

We think it is very important to get different views on a project, so we always mix it up. But in the end the most knowledgable one within the specific field is the one managing the project and having the final call.

6 // What inspires you?

Everything inspires us, that is the short answer ;)

7 // What are the techniques you use to generate design and to get the creativity flowing?

We talk a lot in general, everything is up for discussion. We also do more traditional workshops, but normally we try to keep up the dialogue on an everyday basis.

8 // What is your favourite part of the creative process?

The startup process is always really nice, to learn new things and to get the ideas for the first time when everything is still possible.

9 // What would you say is your biggest advantage/talent and what makes you stand out from other Scandinavian design studios?

One simple thing is the fact that we put a lot of time and effort in when we work with colours, still that is not very common in Scandinavia. Another thing is that we don't see ourselves as Scandinavian designers designing for other Scandinavian people. We are more interested in comparing ourselves on the global scene and design things that people all over the world can find interesting.

10 // There are a little bunch of you in the studio, what do you do to keep up the good vibe?

We try to always keep a good mood in the studio. To be able to be creative you need to feel good, so the traditional 'carrot & stick' approach doesn't necessarily work very well with creatives.

11 // You already have a long merit list of designs, working with some big names in Scandinavia, but what is your biggest achievement yet?

The biggest achievement I would say is creating NOTE and getting to the point where we are now, it has been quite a journey!

12 // What has been the most exciting work you have done so far and what would be the ultimate project in the future?

We have done so many exciting projects that it is hard to pick only one.. We had a workshop just before Christmas where we talked about how we can develop as a studio and what we want to achieve, during that day everyone presented their No. 1 ultimate dream project, so we now have some dreams to fulfil in the next upcoming years!

13 // What career advice would you give to an aspiring Scandinavian designer wishing to follow in your footsteps?

Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to your dreams.

14 // Lastly, where are NOTE 10 years from now?

I hope there will be some more people at the office, with the same good vibes intact, creating stuff that matters on a global basis!

A massive thank you to NOTE DESIGN STUDIO for their limitless creativity and for taking the time to let us know a little bit more about what goes on on the inside. We're looking forward to more show-stopping design in the time coming!

Want more of the NOTE world? You'll find all you need here:

www.notedesignstudio.se | www.instagram.com/notedesignstudio | www.facebook.com/notedesignstudio

Images courtesy of NOTE DESIGN STUDIO

INTERVIEW // NOTE DESIGN STUDIO