Das Stockholmer Designstudio Snask liebt Pink und ist für seine originellen Brandings und Vorträge bekannt. Jetzt erschien die dritte Ausgabe ihres launigen Buches »Make Enemies & Gain Fans. The Snask Way of Becoming a Successful Creative Entrepreneur«.
Fünf Jahre nachdem Fredrik Öst und Magnus Berg Snask gegründet hatten (Erik Kockum kam etwas später dazu), erschien 2012 die erste Ausgabe des Buches – ein Mix aus Design-Bibel, Lebensweisheiten und einem Plädoyer für mehr Mut und weniger Angepasstheit. Drei Jahre später kam die zweite Ausgabe heraus und nun also die dritte. Das Cover ist mit einer Prägung und einer holografischen Folie in Regenbogenfarben versehen – und damit genau so schillernd wie der Inhalt. Neu ist das Intro und handgeschriebene Kommentare zu den alten Texten. Außerdem gibt es auf den 228 Seiten natürlich jede Menge neue Fotos und Projekte zu sehen. Wie schon die beiden vorangegangenen Ausgaben erscheint auch die dritte Edition beim August Dreesbach Verlag in München. Wer für 36 Euro ein Exemplar des sechsfarbig gedruckten Buchs haben möchte, sollte sich beeilen, erfahrungsgemäß sind die Bücher recht schnell vergriffen (ISBN 978-3-96395-043-8).
Warum bis zu diesem Buch fast zehn Jahre vergingen, warum es wahrscheinlich die letzte Ausgabe ist und wie die Ereignisse in der Welt die Kreativität beeinflussen beantworten uns Freddie Öst.
Fredrik Öst (links) und Erik Kockum, Snask, Stockholm
»In the book we share how we think, talk, feel, lie, sense and screw up in our industry. Through countless mistakes, we have gained insight and learnt our lesson.«
The second edition of the book was published in 2015, why has it now taken nearly ten years for the third edition to appear?
Hahaha great question. I think we got very busy and kind of forget that we had the possibility to make a third. I think it just popped up in our minds when we turned 15 and asked the publisher and they were all for it!
Why a German publisher for your books?
Because they’re the bestest. August Dreesbach Verlag is an amazing team of humans with a great passion for graphic design. So it was never a question. In 2015 they made their Frankfurter book fair booth all pink and gold and even dressed up in pink merch. Rumor has it that the launch of this third rainbow holographic edition will break all previous records for frenzy.
Why another book now?
We felt that ten years is a long time and that it’s time to do it. So much have happened since 2015 and we thought we should do one final edition that ends the series.
Das Cover des ersten Buchs war pink mit goldener Folie, das der zweiten Ausgabe ganz in Gold gehalten.
Why is this probably your last book? Are you retiring?
Not the last book, but the last edition of this book. We would love to retire but that won’t happen either. We’ve gained weight, years and jokes up our sleeves, but retiring now? We need cash for that. Writing books doesn’t get you rich, at least not us. So we would have to find another way to retire early.
You founded Snask with Magnus in 2007 and before that you two studied together. Some years ago Magnus has left Snask. Doesn’t that feel like losing a part of the family?
Yes of course! Every member of Snask leaving is like losing a family member, but it’s not like someone died so we can still meet! First founder leaving was Petter back in 2009, he now runs the insanely talented TGE studio. Then Magnus when we turned 10 years in 2017. He became a dad and had a lot of time to think and realised he wanted to do something else. Since then me and Erik have been running Snask, pushing down the pink pedal all the way to the floor!
The world has changed a lot in the 17 years since Snask was founded. Have the events of the last few years, the pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the shift to the right in many countries, the weakening economy and a second term of Donald Trump also changed the creative landscape? Are you noticing any differences, perhaps uncertainty among your customers, or is a good idea as much in demand as ever?
The pandemic has for sure changed the creative landscape with remote working being a wonderful consequence. The wars and the hugely disappointing fact that the majority of the US population voted for the biggest asshole in the world is very darkening. Not sure what effect it has on our industry but it does frighten us a lot. Not financially or in terms of getting clients. I think there will always be a need for our services. AI would be a bigger threat but that’s not that frightening. A difference is that people seem to believe that data and AI are two amazing things. We think they are ok but very boring. We wouldn’t hang a copy of Mona Lisa on our wall because it’s not made by a real human, it’s not the original painting. So why hang it in our living room, it would just look stupid. Same thing with AI, it can help out and assist but why would we ever be interested in art made by a machine? We hope art by elephants and dogs would be the next big thing. Much more interesting than tech companies.
Do you already have exciting projects planned for next year?
We have projects planned but not sure if they qualify as exciting. We have a few internal projects but that’s secret. We would love to rebrand Germany. Seems like you’re having the same problem as the rest of Europe. Can you help us out with a contact?
Nordkorea hat bereits ein neues Branding von Snask bekommen. Jetzt steht das Erscheinungsbild von Deutschland auf der Projektliste.
