A well-known Zoomer is back

In September Sanna Hedberg returned to Zooma as a Senior Art Director after she left in 2005. In fact, she didn't really leave us, because she was around the whole time.

Sanna’s first weeks were a fast ride, so I asked her to sit down for an interview. I hope you enjoy it!

Sanna, tell us a little bit more about your background. How did your journey as an Art Director begin?

At a young age, I was already interested in drawing and colours. When I turned 16, my mother introduced me to her friend, who worked in a traditional advertising agency, where I did an internship and worked during the summer holidays. I was doing a bit of everything basically, and one of the things, was helping with adverts for ICA. It was more like handcrafted things. It was vastly different working in an agency in the ’90s than it is now. It was the time when design shifted from analogue to digital, and companies had new equipment like clunky computers in their offices. Not everything was digitalised in the same way as today.

I really enjoyed working there, so I decided to stay in that agency and become a trainee. After being a trainee, they offered to send me to the UK, which I gratefully accepted. I did a Diploma in Art & Design – Foundation Studies and an Honours Degree in Graphic Design, among other courses in the UK. During that time, I tried different things, such as sculpture, fine art, painting, graphic design and illustration, to find the right thing for me. It was great that I gained a lot of experience abroad at a young age. So this is how my journey as an Art Director begun.

Nice journey! How did you end up at Zooma?

After the years abroad I went back to Sweden and worked for two more years at the same agency as before. I then started to work in a film production company where I met Peter Ishii – one of the founders of Zooma. We produced a lot of web and film content and web design during that time, e.g. videos for events and the web.

Then I joined Zooma and was one of the original twelve who started the company.

At Zooma, I was working with web/graphic design and art direction. We did large scale photoshoots and lifestyle photography for large tech-clients in South Africa and Argentina.

Did you enjoy working globally? What was the biggest challenge?

Yes! I enjoyed working for global clients. It was enjoyable. But a lot of responsibility. The biggest challenge was to find all these different environments and the right models abroad. Because obviously, you couldn’t bring all the models. And of course to come back with excellent photos that the clients wanted. There were so many departments that had their own “wish list”. So it was a lot of work, and they were happy about it. And that’s why we kept doing that for two more years. During this time, I learned a lot about planning …

Tell us a little bit more about the Zooma logo that you have created.

Sure, I try to remember because it was a long time ago. My aim back then was to create a logo that would last over time. To be straightforward, simplistic and classic.

Do you have some advice for companies who want to create a logo?

First of all, think about what will happen with this logo in ten years. Will it last?
Keep it clean and simple. Less is more...

And then you left Zooma after a few years. Why was that?

I was always looking for the kind of freedom of doing what I wanted for a while. That’s why I started my own company. To grow and be my own boss. To be able to decide how much and when to work etc. I worked with different companies, so I was still part of a team. After several years of self-employment, I give birth to my first child, and I wanted time off and to be entirely focused on my family. So I took a break from work and stopped working with my clients because I couldn’t expect clients to wait for me. 

After my maternity leave, I was offered a place as an Art Director at Forsman & Bodenfors Factory and worked there for seven years with well-known clients such as Skanska, IKEA, KappAhl, Ellos, Universeum and Helly Hansen.

How did you find your way back to Zooma?

I have always maintained the relationship with Zooma and regularly worked as a freelancer. I felt it was time to move on from the traditional agencies to work somewhere more focused on results. I think advertising agencies are struggling now. I wanted to learn more about the inbound methodology and of course, collaborate and work with people that I already know and like.

What do you do now as an Art Director at Zooma?

Improve visual work, concept and achieve a higher quality level for the clients.

What do you do in your spare time?

I spend a lot of time with my family, in my garden and the outdoors. I love to plant vegetables. I also like to exercise. I started at a very young age to play hand-football, and regularly do CrossFit. My interests also include photography. So I’m taking a lot of photos, mainly about everyday life. and things that we do as a family.

Thank you, Sanna! We are happy to welcome you back as a Zoomer.