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Bhu Nyström-KandolaProduct Design Leader

Philosophy

I believe in growth.

I like being challenged. I like being wrong. And I believe the best work comes from understanding the problem before trying to solve it.

Whether I'm shaping a product, building a team or defining a new direction, my role is to create clarity, make decisions and help people do their best work.

Good design should move things forward.

Portrait of Bhu Nyström-Kandola seated by a window, holding a tablet

The journey

It started with objects.

I studied Industrial Design because I wanted to understand how ideas become things — how something could be thoughtful, useful and beautifully made.

My first years were spent working with Michael Anastassiades, surrounded by people obsessed with materials, proportion and detail. It was a formative experience and taught me the importance of restraint, detail and making things properly.

Over time, my curiosity shifted. I became less interested in the object itself and more interested in the systems around it — the experience, the product, the brand and the people behind it.

The medium changed. The curiosity didn't.

Today, I work at the intersection of design, product and business, helping organisations turn complexity into something people can understand and use.

Ball Light — a balanced brass mobile with opal glass spheres suspended against a plain wall
Tropical timber house interior with a slender pendant light above a round dining table
Technical elevation and section drawing of the CFL ceiling-mounted light, with studio title block
Open pavilion lit from within at dusk, pendant lights glowing under a wide concrete roof
Restaurant dining room with a cluster of brass and opal glass pendant lights above a laid table
Close detail of a brass joint and tensioned wire within a lighting structure
Exploded assembly drawing of the CFL ceiling-mounted light components, with studio title block
Two-tier metal chandelier with slim light tubes hanging in a mosaic-lined church interior

How I work

Strategy

Understand before designing.

I like to get close to the problem — the business, the people and the context — before jumping to solutions. Good strategy gives design somewhere meaningful to go.

Design

Make complexity feel simple.

Whether it's a product, service or system, I'm interested in creating clarity. The best experiences often come from making complicated things feel obvious.

Direction

Set a vision. Make decisions. Keep moving.

Design direction is as much about momentum as it is about aesthetics. My role is to create alignment, challenge assumptions and help teams move from thinking into making.

People

Build the conditions for good work.

I believe leadership is about enabling people. Giving designers clarity, trust and the right challenge — then helping them grow into the best version of themselves.

Selected experience

Volvo Cars

Design Director

2024–Present

McKinsey & Company / Veryday

Design Director

2021–2024

Werlabs

Head of Design

2019–2021

Advinans

Product Design Lead

2017–2019

MSCI

Senior Brand / Product Designer

2014–2017

DRC Group

UI / UX Designer

2010–2014

Studio Michael Anastassiades

Junior Product Designer

2008–2010

Community

I believe good design communities make better designers.

Alongside my day-to-day work, I mentor designers, teach at Hyper Island and Berghs, and contribute to Design Leadership Sweden.

Sharing knowledge has become as important to me as making the work itself.

Teaching at Hyper Island
Speaking about design leadership
Team visiting an art gallery