Becoming a Graphic and Digital Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, 5th Edition

Chapter 3Partners on Partnering

Ask any graphic designer and he or she will sing the praises of collaboration. In an interconnected, cross- platform creative profession, it is impossible to be a lone genius anymore. Granted, the genius will lead and others will follow, but working and playing well with others is more essential because the vast number of platforms and outlets require multiple expertises—more than one person can embody at the highest level. This may account for the growth of design studios and firms with two or more partners. It certainly is the reason for single-person studios to bring in a range of people to handle anything from conception to manufacture, from brainstorming to technologizing.

Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker

Not a Lot of Verbalizing

Icelander Hjalti Karlsson and German-born Jan Wilker started Karlssonwilker in 2000. They met at Stefan Sagmeister's office in 1999 when both worked there. When Stefan announced his first sabbatical, it meant that they would need to look for something else to do. It was a natural progression to start their own studio. Today, their specialties are identity and branding, environmental and experiential design, digital animation, graphics, and print. Over the years, Karlssonwilker grew from a studio of two to a studio of four full-time employees plus two interns. “We started with a heavy tilt toward print design,” Wilker says.

Dog Lamp

Client: In-House

2001–2011

How do you practice design as a partnership? ...