Teodor Hässler

Current job

Creative Director at Tale Content Creators, working with campaigns, design and visual concepts, mostly for public sector clients and B2B. Also a co-founder of the food startup Nordic Noodles, and a frequent lecturer and coach at Berghs School of Communication.

Background

I have a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing, but I always craved more practical work. While studying, I dove into film and video editing and started freelancing on the side. Along the way I branched out and got increasingly into graphic design too. Berghs had always been on my mind since my mother was a graphic designer, but I never dared to expect I'd actually get in. Eventually I decided it was worth applying anyway, and I got in.

For many years Berghs was my home: first as a full-time student, then as an employed creative in the communication department. After staying close to the school a few years too many, I headed out into the agency world to widen my repertoire, working with everything from large government agencies to campaigns for major B2B companies, as well as smaller niche organisations. I've since then learnt a lot moving in the space between experience design and art direction, building concepts, producing content, and working on brand strategy. But I've always kept Berghs close, through guest lectures, being part of several courses, and eventually as a course director.

What inspires you?

Good and relentless craft, no matter the discipline: storytelling, cooking, writing, photography, you name it. I've always felt that most things become interesting if you take them far enough.

Do you have any hobbies/what do you do in your free time?

I'm lucky that my work is also a hobby: design, storytelling, and so on. But when I need to switch gears, I thoroughly enjoy cooking, martial arts, coffee, video games, and spending time with friends and family.

What's the best part about teaching at Berghs?

It keeps you on your toes. Teaching is the highest form of learning, and I believe teaching all these years has helped me develop enormously, both as a person and in my profession. And seeing students I taught years ago grow and take on really cool things makes me proud, even if it is just a small part of their journey.

Tell us about a fun memory from Berghs!

I've always said the devil is in the details. During my second week as an employee at Berghs, after my years as a student were behind me, I noticed the logotype was slightly skewed. You really had to be in outline mode and zoomed in ridiculously far to see it, but it became my personal crusade to fix it. I was all over my colleagues to make sure they used the updated version, but for obvious reasons very few even saw the difference (let alone thought it mattered, and they might have been right). As many of you know, once a file starts circulating, it's hard to kill it off completely. Few dared to show me a presentation they made for a while… Anyhow, It was one of several reasons I was happy that, in my last few months as an employee, we finally started the project to completely update the identity (including a new logo).

Outwork everyone and you'll do great. Few things beat the grind.

What don't we know about you?

I'm the co-founder of Nordic Noodles and I own a noodle factory south of Stockholm with a few friends. We produce fresh ramen noodles made from Swedish wheat, entirely from scratch, in our own factory. Restaurants, whole foods distributors, and a few stores are among our clients.