From a very young age, Carl-Gustaf loved mathematics and sketching. However, growing up in the small community of Hölåsen in the north of Sweden, becoming an industrial designer was not an obvious choice. “I had no idea when I was young that there was a thing called Industrial Designer. It was when my sister’s ex boyfriend brought home a course catalogue from his visit to NTNU in Trondheim that I discovered that possibility. I read the course description and thought – yeah, this might be something for me", CG says smilingly. 

"I spent much of my childhood dissembling and assembling things – with varying degrees of success. I guess what triggered my interest for design was my curiosity to understand how things work and how they're put together.”

In 2004, CG started the industrial design consultancy Kadabra together three fellow industrial design students. A few years later, they teamed up with, among others, Ulla Sommerfelt and Paal Holter, and founded what became EGGS in 2012.

Interested in mathematics and drawing from a young age

When asked what drives him as a designer, CG, after a thoughtful pause, answers: “Ultimately, it's the will to make things that work. I’ve always gotten frustrated with things that are poorly designed. It’s such a waste.” He continues, “But this goes beyond designing individual products well. Good design considers the big picture—surrounding products, services, brands, and business models—everything needs to be aligned and taken into consideration. A product can never be developed and designed in a vacuum.”

Great industrial design can never happen in a vacuum

As an industrial designer, CG often participates in creating brand-new products, both for the consumer market and B2B operations. On what opportunities he sees for influencing towards more sustainable design, he says “There’s definitely a clear role for designers, especially industrial designers, in crafting a circular economy. But to do so, both designers and businesses need to think about it holistically, and in the long-term perspective. It’s not about designing for quick fixes where the solutions are obvious. To succeed with circularity, we must go beyond product design, material choices, and recyclability. We need to look at the whole value chain – both socially, economically, and environmentally. And when we do that, we see that what’s needed are partnerships and entirely new business ecosystems. It's a big and complex challenge. But I think that those who start now and dare to think in terms of ecosystems rather than products will be the ones that succeed."

Ecosystems, design, and a holistic mindset are key to succeeding in the circular economy

Carl-Gustaf strongly believes that circularity is the answer to shifting towards a more sustainable future – both for business and the planet. But he also sees some of the challenges that this shift will bring. "One of the challenges I see businesses will have to overcome is to change how they communicate the value of what they're selling. If you used to market a product with a lifecycle of two years and will now, with new regulations and a circular business model, instead sell a product with a lifecycle of ten years, you won’t be able to sell it the same way as before. The value proposition – and price – is another, and that needs to become clear to the consumer. The way of interacting with consumers will have to become much more relational than it is today.”

Will require an entirely new value proposition to sell circular products

 MSc. Industrial Design Engineering from NTNU

 I spend most of my free time with my two teenage kids. Whenever I get a chance, I run in the forest or snowboard in the mountains.

 User-centric, attractive, and holistic. Everything has a purpose in good design.

 Kvikklunsj! The Swede in me has surrendered.

 I’m allergic to both, but if I had to choose, I’d say cat.

Meet Carl-Gustaf – the world-class industrial designer hiding from the spotlight