Industrial designer Joel Karlsson, born in Gothenburg, studied interior design and furniture design at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm, and received a degree in architecture at the Royal Technical University in Stockholm. He also studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York. Once he completed his degrees, Karlsson worked as an assistant to Konstantin Grcic in Munich, then became a partner at Krook & Tjäder Design in Gothenburg, which he founded with Niclas Jernström.

Their focus at Krook & Tjäder Design is on objects