Alumni Talk: Phillip Lindberg

After visiting Helsinki for an exchange semester from Australia (and to pursue the love of his life), Phillip Lindberg returned to the University of Arts and Design (today’s Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture) for a degree in Product and Strategic Design with a minor in IDBM.

From the outset of his undergraduate studies in industrial design, Phillip was getting involved in design-related projects to finance his passions for surfing and snowboarding. Working with diverse stakeholders quickly made him understand that the bigger picture of business, technology and legal challenges needed to be considered in order to bring ideas to life successfully. It also made him realize that it wouldn’t be necessary to master all the facets at play in complex projects, but rather to develop a general understanding of the moving parts and their interrelations.

"IDBM supported me in developing an understanding for the broader context beyond my specific capabilities."

Entering his IDBM studies in 2001 and working with his team on the industry project, Phillip learned how differently the thinking and approaches of people with other educational background were. In the end, he concluded, it all comes down to the people and relationships that are built within a team – “You don’t just pull people out of boxes, put them together and say now you make some magic.”

"Use design to communicate and explore ideas."

After exploring a new sports product category in collaboration with Suunto during his thesis, Phillip went on to stay with the company for 4 years, before joining the Innovation and Insights team at Nokia. In 2011, he co-founded Tellybean, making it easier to reconnect families separated by the nature of modern life. Today, Phillip is consulting leading international companies as a Strategy and Design Director at Reaktor.