We were lucky to catch up with Fanny Nordmark recently and have shared our conversation below.

Fanny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

When it comes to design school and education, I feel that putting emphasis on the real world work life challenges needs to be put into focus. I went to Hyper Island, which is an experimental trade school in Sweden, where I am originally from. My program centered design, development and project management, but the main focus was on how to work with other people effectively and respectfully. Design tools such as programs you use and techniques you employ to complete your work is constantly changing as technology advances, so focusing the majority of the education program on learning those tools will make your skills outdated fairly quickly. Instead focusing on softer, more human skills such as how to give and receive feedback, how to lead or be led in a team and how to solve problems by collaborating with others gives a better ground to build your career on. I also believe that design programs are currently lacking other aspects that are an important part of a design role, such as building a resume, how to charge for freelance work, and how to set up a small freelance business, which the majority of people who work in creative services would benefit from in addition to the more creative aspects.

Fanny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Fanny Nordmark and I am a design director working at the brooklyn based studio Hugo & Marie. I am originally from Sweden, where I went to school at Hyper Island before moving to the US for an internship in 2011. My background and expertise lies in digital design, I love solving complex user experience problems while still maintaining an innovative and elegant design sensibility. When I was seeking out studios to work at, I found it rare to find design studios that focused equally on digital and design. Most of what was out there was very tech focused and all felt the same. Hugo & Marie is a design studio but also an artist representation agency, and the relationship between art and commerce was something that I had not seen elsewhere. I have worked with our small team since moving to New York, and have continued to refine our approach to design work in digital, branding and campaign spaces for primarily fashion, beauty and lifestyle clients. The combination of simple and elegant e-commerce and strong brand storytelling is what sets my work apart and what I find most interesting.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I think that the key to be a successful leader is to treat everyone that you interact with with respect. No matter what level or skillset people bring to the table, they can best contribute to the team if they feel heard and see that you are interested in their input. The most successful collaborations I have had with team members come from people who do not have a traditional design school background, since their ideas come less from a learned, expected place and more from intuitive and playful thinking. The ability to adjust how you communciate and deliver feedback to team members based on their personality is key to having a good relationship with people you are overseeing – getting to know your team members on a personal level can be super helpful in learning how to best tailor the information you want to give them to how they are best equipped to hear it. This will make working together more enjoyable but also will make your team want to work for you and do their best work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me, as a digitally focused designer is to receive a complex list of problems and painpoints from a client and to solve them in the most seamless and elegant way. People always say that the best interactions should feel invisible – if there is no friction on users interacting with your product you have succeeded. Being able to blend this approach of simple and intuitive interactions for users with the brand storytelling is really rewarding for me. Creating something for clients that they feel proud to share with their audience and they feel truly represents who they are, outside of trends and short lasting moments.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fannynordmark.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/fannynordmark
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fannynordmark

Image Credits

Hugo & Marie