I am a creative director who has designed brands, books, film posters and many other things for clients in Australia and in my native Scandinavia for almost 20 years.

In Norway I have been a been business owner and partner with Eivind S. Platou in the design duo Handverk in Norway for over a decade.

In Australia I have worked as a branding specialist for advertising and design agencies like Leo Burnett, M&C Saatchi, Clemenger BBDO, R/GA, Interbrand and Collider.

I also exhibits my work and I’ve had two solo exhibitions so far. The the most recent was at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney in December 2018.

kare@haikustudios.net
+61(0) 423 589 167

My approach to commercial work:
A haiku poem is for me a good example for how a piece of design should be executed. Haiku poems condense a powerful concept into the fewest but most concise words possible, with a surprise twist in the end. So I try to do the same with my design.

But firstly, I base the work that I’m involved in on as much sound strategy and research as possible. Without it design just becomes a decoration exercise. I have over the years worked with many great people who have taught me how to structure branding workshops. I know run these workshops myself and it has become vitally important to my work.

I always strive to end up with a result that feels simple and effortless. The journey getting to the end results is never simple but it should feel simple and clear to the user. I always try to come up with ideas or concepts that are singular. If the concept consist of too many components it hardly ever sings in harmony. Also, I always look for contrast or opposites. This creates the highest tension. That might be contrast in colour or texture but it can also be contrast in expectations or intent. Also, there is an enormous power in just being foolish. Putting your personal idiosyncrasies on the line can often be the elements that sets a project alight. If something feels a bit uncomfortable and too close to the bone it’s usually because it is meaningful. And that is ultimately what design is about. It’s not about how it looks but what is says.

From a production point of view I always fall towards executing my ideas as much as possible using my own two hands. I build, make and draw most of my final work. I find that not only does surprising things happen in the making process but the results have traces of humanity in it, something I find just carries more soul. I love technology (my Master Degree was in interactive installations), but it is most effective when it reinforces already existing human qualities.

My approach to personal work:
In my personal work I like to explore unstructured thinking. Catching the ideas that pop up when I least expect it and giving them a visual expression. I believe these ideas don’t come completely out of the blue. They lay dormant in a designer’s or artist’s brain, waiting to be reawakened, organised, used — echoes and shadows of thoughts and problems encountered during our daily grind. I often try and document those ideas and pursue them to it’s conclusion. Some fail but others have a little more to give and ultimately these exercises move my thinking about design a little bit further along.

Pursuing the path that the subconscious mind takes can sometimes open doors that the more controlled, structured state of mind cannot. This is what my last exhibition was about.