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Erik Herrström

@herrstrom

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Founder + Creative Director
@studioherrstrom
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With the publication of THE ECHO: How To Design Brands That Move Culture, @studioherrstrom transforms years of branding experience into a practical guide for creatives looking to build brands with lasting cultural relevance. Written by founder and creative director Erik Herrström @herrstrom , the book introduces a structured framework designed to help designers, marketers, and brand builders create identities that generate connection instead of simply following trends. Published in April 2026, the book introduces a practical methodology for building brands that generate cultural relevance instead of following existing trends, offering designers, creatives, marketers, and brand leaders a framework developed through years of professional experience. Rather than relying on familiar references and safe creative decisions, THE ECHO encourages readers to rethink how brands are created from the ground up. Herrström argues that many branding processes begin with the same visual inspirations, producing identities that struggle to differentiate themselves in increasingly crowded markets. His proposed alternative focuses on creating stronger emotional connections, meaningful narratives, and long-term cultural resonance. Read More, Link in bio Use code BOUNTYHUNTERS10 for 10% off your copy. #bountyhuntersarchive #graphicdesign #book #designculture #graphicdesigncommunity by @herrstrom
33
3 months ago
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In collaboration with Spotify’s in-house Creative Team, we developed a refreshed visual identity for Discover Weekly’s 10-year anniversary — creating a dynamic system that celebrates a decade of discovery, embraces the ritual of weekly listening, and introduces new ways for listeners to shape their experience. Learn more on studioherrstrom.com or visiting Spotify’s newsroom. Credits STUDIO HERRSTRÖM: Erik Herrström, Lukas Haider, Alexander Raffl, Martin Carlsson, Marcell Gulyas, Marzena Płaszczyca, Jon Marsh, Wojciech Omiotek, Kara Griffin Cushman, Kerstin Herrström Spotify’s In-House Creative Team Hornet by @herrstrom
27
7 months ago
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Last Friday I got a text. 4 hours later I’m on stage in front of a crowd of 700. I had just come out of a panel discussion when I got a text from @fraustroem saying “Would you be open to speaking at Forward Festival tonight? Their headliner got sick.” I found myself refreshing a keynote I had presented earlier in the summer. Just the evening before, I had visited Forward Festival for a brilliant talk from Annie Atkins. A designer and creative I have deeply admired for many years but haven’t had a chance to see at past conferences. Her work has inspired me for years. The film prop work she has done for Wes Anderson and Steven Spielberg is second to none in execution. I knew that from before. But what I learned in her talk, was how much she values the research behind the work they do. They don’t just go online to see what’s trending, no. Annie and her team go back in time: researching photography, digging through books, and studying why certain techniques were used in specific environments. - Photos by @alexheuvink What stood out to me most is that they still build props using original methods. In an industry shaped by constant time pressure, staying that true to the craft is impressive. Finding myself on stage the very next night, sharing how we approach our work at STUDIO HERRSTRÖM by diving into cultural codes, symbolism and heritage, something clicked: This isn’t just a way of working I believe in. It’s the kind of work I’m personally driven to do. Because at the end of the day, we’re creating brands, identities and campaigns with the idea of connecting back to niche culture, but creating an appeal that can be around for the long term. We’re not here to take as many shortcuts as possible or settle for work we don’t truly care about. In my talk, I shared how designers and brand builders have a better opportunity than ever to create brands that genuinely resonate with people. But that won’t happen if we take every shortcut put in front of us. Instead we now actually need to use those new amazing tools at our disposal to boost our true creativity. It’s time to build the brand worlds we never could before. And do it in a way that truly gets peo taken in Vienna, Austria by @herrstrom
18
8 days ago
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"We never show mood boards to our clients, ever." Erik Herrström (@herrstrom), founder of STUDIO HERRSTRÖM (@studioherrstrom) in Vienna, explains why. When a client sees a mood board, they attach themselves to the references they like. From then on, every round of the project is measured against images made by someone else, and the work rarely ends up with a creation of its own. His studio presents conceptual ideas rooted in culture instead, built from cultural research and interviews with customers and audiences about what they believe in and value. It's the approach behind his identities for Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley, made in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment. In the full conversation, Erik talks about growing up in a small village in the south of Sweden, interning at R/GA on Nike.com, his years at Spotify, and why he wrote and self-published his book, The Echo: How to Design Brands That Move Culture. Full episode: link in bio. #CreativeFigures #BrandDesign #Branding #MoodBoards #TheEchoBook by @herrstrom
28
9 days ago
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We welcome the skillful @herrstrom ,the Founder and Creative Director of STUDIO HERRSTRÖM, a Vienna-based brand design studio. With 20+ years of experience, including as Brand Design Director at Spotify, Erik has shaped culture-led brands across music, entertainment, and technology. His work for Spotify, Nike, Discord, YouTube and projects for artists including Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley has earned 130+ industry awards, including honors from Cannes Lions, The Webby Awards, D&AD, The One Show and ADC. Erik is the author of THE ECHO: How to Design Brands That Move Culture and a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council. Driven by a desire to create what comes next in culture, Erik continues to share inspiration and resources with fellow creatives pursuing the same. 📍Sheraton Stockholm Hotel, Tegelbacken 6, 101 23 Stockholm Date: Friday, 6 November 13:00 - 18:00 TICKETS AVAILABLE IN BIO & SITE. YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS. by @herrstrom
3
12 days ago
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New project for Spotify! In collaboration with Spotify’s in-house Creative Team, we developed the visual and motion identity for Spotify Investor Day 2026. Held in New York City, Spotify’s third Investor Day brought together the financial community for a closer look at the company’s business performance, product strategy, and long-term vision during its 20th anniversary year. The event also marked the first Investor Day led by co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström, alongside members of Spotify’s global leadership team. Credits STUDIO HERRSTRÖM: Erik Herrström, Kara Griffin Cushman, Martin Carlsson, Marcell Gulyas, Kimelle Fleary, Floriane Rousselot, Kerstin Herrström Spotify’s In-House Creative Team taken in New York City by @herrstrom
19
25 days ago
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Earlier this summer, @herrstrom had a custom T-shirt made for speaking at @forwardfestivals and got many comments and messages about it. So @studioherrstrom decided to make it available for a limited time. The Age of Meaningless Shiny Things tee is a reference to the first chapter in Erik’s book THE ECHO: How To Design Brands That Move Culture. The T-shirt is made from 100% cotton with an oversized fit and comes as a regular or cropped tee in black or white. Featuring front, back and sleeve prints, each piece is sustainably printed in Austria by @leftkiss. Only available until August 31 at leftkiss.com/pages/the-echo Link in bio #bountyhuntersarchive #graphicdesign #graphicdesigncommunity by @herrstrom
11
2 months ago
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New work for Ray-Ban Meta out in the world 🌎 A huge team effort this across @studioherrstrom with Martin, Parker, Kara, Roberto, Kerstin, Marisa, Marcell, Victor and Carlos Agency Alto by @herrstrom
0
3 months ago
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You asked, we listened. So many of you messaged us about the t-shirt @herrstrom had custom-made, so we decided to make it available. The Age of Meaningless Shiny Things tee is made from 100% cotton with an oversized fit, and comes as a regular or cropped tee in black or white. Featuring front, back and sleeve prints, each piece is sustainably printed in Austria by @leftkiss Available for a short time only this summer at leftkiss.com/pages/the-echo or via the link in bio. 💎 White and black t-shirt saying “The Age of Meaningless Shiny Things” taken in Vienna, Austria by @herrstrom
19
3 months ago
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My third time speaking at Forward Festival in Frankfurt last week. Very grateful to everyone who came to the talk and stayed afterwards to pick up a signed copy of my book. A personal highlight was hearing from many designers that the way we challenge the creative process at STUDIO HERRSTRÖM felt intriguing and worth a deeper conversation. This means a lot to me. Thank you Frankfurt, and thank you @othmarhandl and the @forwardfestivals crew for having me. by @herrstrom
14
4 months ago
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@herrstrom’s debut book, THE ECHO, lays out a three-phase framework for building brands that shape culture rather than chase it.⁠ ⁠ The 218-page paperback goes against a habit Erik Herrström calls “aesthetic alignment,” where designers start projects on Pinterest and end up referencing the same images as everyone else. The book pushes the work back towards groundwork: cultural research through Reddit, Substacks and Discord, and questions like which tension a brand is responding to and who would care if it disappeared tomorrow.⁠ ⁠ Contributions from 18 leaders at MTV, Marshall, Boiler Room, Universal Music, Nothing and Crush Music sit alongside Herrström’s own writing, marked through the interior in a distinct yellow as ‘Insider Perspectives.’⁠ ⁠ ———⁠ ⁠ Get THE ECHO at our link in bio.⁠ ⁠ ———⁠ ⁠ CREDITS⁠ Design: @studioherrstrom⁠ Typography: Season by @xyz_displaay⁠ Photography: @mahreyoilic⁠, @lorakfilm and @goda_krastinaityte Writing: @herrstrom by @herrstrom
26
4 months ago
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There’s a big issue in our industry that we are not discussing. We say that we want to create brands that stand out. Brands that are unique. But at the same time, designers are starting their process by building moodboards with references from inspiration platforms rather than actually conceptually solving the brief in front of them. It is a huge missed opportunity that leads to a sea of sameness. At @forwardfestivals in Frankfurt, Erik will be sharing how his experience has made him think differently about branding and design. Not by chasing what’s already working, but by asking deeper and better questions. He will share insights from his recently published book, THE ECHO: How to Design Brands That Move Culture, recent work with clients within music, tech and entertainment and explain why STUDIO HERRSTRÖM has left behind conventional design habits. The talk will offer practical insights for designers and brands alike, showing why strong concepts consistently outlast surface-level visuals. And why this is more important than ever. See you on June 12 in Frankfurt. Link in bio for more details. taken in Frankfurt, Germany by @herrstrom
4
5 months ago
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