Jakob Trollbäck

At Design Indaba’s 25th anniversary, Swedish graphic designer and branding strategist Jakob Trollbäck delivered a message about the role of design in shaping a connected world. Founder of the New York-based studio Trollbäck+Company and sustainability agency The New Division, Trollbäck explored how branding, storytelling and visual systems can influence global behaviour and collective action. Trollbäck advocates for communication to be used as a force capable of mobilising positive cultural and societal change. Best known as the architect behind the visual identity and communication language for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Trollbäck reflected on the challenge of translating complex global ambitions into a simple, universally recognisable design system. The colourful SDG wheel and iconography have since become one of the world’s most widely adopted visual frameworks for sustainability, used by governments, NGOs, corporations and educational institutions across the globe. Trollbäck emphasised the importance of clarity, emotion and accessibility in communication design. Drawing from decades of experience, Trollbäck explained that successful design must balance “beauty and logic”, a philosophy that underpins both his practice. Reflecting on the growing responsibility designers hold in an era defined by climate crisis, misinformation and social fragmentation, Trollbäck suggested that sustainability has a “storytelling problem”, where data and urgency alone are often insufficient to inspire behavioural change. Change must be made attractive, aspirational and culturally engaging if it is to gain widespread public support. Blending strategic insight with optimism, Jakob Trollbäck’s talk shared a compelling vision of design as a language capable of connecting humanity around shared goals and futures.

Watch the full Design Indaba talk here.