S02/E19 - What Do You Want to Be Known For? Geri Kriechbaum on Self-Taught Design & Identity

Designer Erik Herrström on why starting a project on Pinterest leads every designer to the same work, and the research his studio uses instead. "If you start your project by going to those sites, you are gonna end up designing what all the other designers in the world are doing right now because it's fed to you by algorithms." In this bonus from his Creative Figures conversation, Erik answers what young designers should use instead of mood boards built on Pinterest, Savee, Are.na and other inspiration sites. Something can feel fresh on the morning you start, he explains, but most other designers are seeing the same thing at the same time. His studio starts with research instead: Reddit and YouTube to see how an audience talks and communicates, and sometimes Google Street View to understand a local area. That, he says, is often where the magic happens, and it makes more sense to clients than something that only looks shiny. Timestamps 00:00 Opening 00:13 What to use instead of mood boards 00:29 How algorithms make us design the same If you liked this episode, listen to the full conversation with Erik Herrström on Creative Figures. Erik Herrström STUDIO HERRSTRÖM: https://www.studioherrstrom.com/ The Echo: https://the-echo-book.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herrstrom/ Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioherrstrom/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikherrstrom/ Studio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-herrstrom/ Creative Figures Website https://creativefigures.fm YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeFiguresFM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/ Hosted by Alen Kapetanovic. © Alen Kapetanovic. Madrid, Spain. All rights reserved. This work may not be used to train AI or for automated data mining purposes, including under Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790.

llustrator and artist MURUGIAH on whether artists should reinvent themselves, and why he follows the fun instead. "Don't let what you did last get in the way of what you want to do in the future." In this bonus from his Creative Figures conversation, MURUGIAH answers whether artists should reinvent themselves every few years, the way Madonna does. He describes how he moved from digital work to analogue painting through small adjustments, keeping his motifs and line style while changing the surface. He talks about a 3D animation projection project with a collaborator working in Unreal Engine, and why collaboration means letting go of how your work has looked before. And he explains why he lets his past digital work speak for itself while he focuses on getting good at painting. If you liked this episode, listen to the full conversation with Murugiah on Creative Figures. MURUGIAH Website: https://murugiah.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_murugiah/ Creative Figures Website: https://creativefigures.fm YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeFiguresFM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/ Hosted by Alen Kapetanovic. © Alen Kapetanovic. Madrid, Spain. All rights reserved. This work may not be used to train AI or for automated data mining purposes, including under Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790.

Illustrator Nick Liefhebber on paper cuts, woodcut printmaking, going independent one day at a time, and why limitations shape his work. "When you just start making things you like, it doesn't feel like work." Nick Liefhebber is an illustrator, designer and printmaker based in the Netherlands. He started as a graphic designer, and his turning point came when he decided to make work he didn't have to explain, just for himself. He left his job gradually, from five days a week to four, then three, before going independent. He explains why almost all of his work starts with physical materials such as cut paper, how woodcut and linocut are pushing his colourful work towards black and white, and why he blocks time for personal work that later shapes his client work. He also talks about social media feeling more like work, why he compares the future of illustration to an artisanal bakery, and what he would tell his ten-year-old self: trust yourself. Timestamps If you liked this episode, listen to Murugiah on Creative Figures. Nick Liefhebber Website: http://www.liefhebber.biz/ Shop: https://liefhebber.bigcartel.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nick_liefhebber/ Behance: https://www.behance.net/Liefhebber/ Creative Figures 🔗 https://creativefigures.fm YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeFiguresFM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/ Hosted by Alen Kapetanovic. © Alen Kapetanovic. Madrid, Spain. All rights reserved. This work may not be used to train AI or for automated data mining purposes, including under Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790.

Designer Erik Herrström on his book The Echo, why his studio never shows clients a mood board, and designing identities for Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley. "We never show mood boards to our clients, ever." Erik Herrström grew up in a small village in the south of Sweden and built his first website at twelve. He interned at R/GA in New York on the redesign of Nike.com, later joined the team of a designer he had idolised as a teenager, and spent years at Spotify, where he worked on Spotify Wrapped. Six years ago he moved to Vienna, where he now runs STUDIO HERRSTRÖM. He talks about the David Bowie exhibition his team built in a SoHo subway station, creating identities with the estates of Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley, and why mood boards keep work measured against other people's references. He explains why he wrote The Echo, how beta readers changed its whole structure, and why he self-published it. He also shares his view on AI and brand design, and his advice for young designers: stay curious, avoid shortcuts, and ask to shadow someone experienced. Erik Herrström STUDIO HERRSTRÖM: https://www.studioherrstrom.com/ The Echo: https://the-echo-book.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herrstrom/ Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioherrstrom/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikherrstrom/ Studio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-herrstrom/ Creative Figures 🔗 https://creativefigures.fm YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeFiguresFM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/ Hosted by Alen Kapetanovic. © Alen Kapetanovic. Madrid, Spain. All rights reserved. This work may not be used to train AI or for automated data mining purposes, including under Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790.

Illustrator and artist MURUGIAH on leaving architecture, finding his own style, and opening the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration with his first solo museum show. "Everything you've done, it doesn't have to just end. It can be fuel for what you do next." MURUGIAH trained as an architect for seven years before turning to illustration. Born in Burton upon Trent and raised in South Wales with Sri Lankan heritage, he spent more than a decade searching for a style that felt his own. A mentor's advice during the pandemic led him to make work about his childhood search for identity, and a new piece every week built the visual language behind his commissions, posters, clothing collaborations and public sculpture. He talks about his debut solo exhibition, MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…, one of three shows that opened the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in 2026, and explains why he feels no guilt about leaving architecture. He also speaks about the slowdown in commercial illustration and how he works across public art, talks, workshops and his own products. For artists starting out, he recommends persistence, obsession with the subjects you love, and a simple two-column exercise for finding work no one else could make. MURUGIAH Website: https://murugiah.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_murugiah/ Creative Figures 🔗 https://creativefigures.fm YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeFiguresFM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/ Hosted by Alen Kapetanovic. © Alen Kapetanovic. Madrid, Spain. All rights reserved. This work may not be used to train AI or for automated data mining purposes, including under Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790.