96: Jakob Trollbäck - Creative Multiplication

Earlier this year at design Indaba I had the pleasure of talking to in my mind one of the most influential designers alive today. Swedish graphic designer Jakob Trollbäck is the main architect behind the communication language for the United Nations’ 17 Global Goals – an ambitious and inspiring agenda for a better world by 2030. With a client list that is impressive  – Apple, Google, Nike, Spotify, Volvo, BBC, ESPN, NBC, CBS and the TED conferences – his team has received a slew of creative industry awards over the years. But now since working on the Global Goals project he dedicates all his time at The New Division, his sustainability agency that focuses solely on work that promotes new thinking and sustainable values.

We discuss how the global goals project fundamentally changed his life, shifting his work focus, turning vegetarian and causing a complete life perspective change. We discuss the weight of the knowledge of the global issues that he now carries and how he deals with that on a daily basis. For me it felt like sitting down with an elder where I gained insights and left a better person for the conversation. Thank you Jacob.