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Designer's Life

Uh-huh! I nodded a perfunctory acknowledgement as a book title popped up on the internet during a hectic day at the studio. I had already mentally filed the matter away to mull over in a calmer moment. »Kreativität als Beruf – wenn die Kür zur Pflicht und der Ausnahmezustand zur Regel wird« (Professional creativity – dreaming under pressure in a perpetual crisis scenario). I pause for a moment – what does a book title like that have to say to me? I reel back along my designer timeline, through the many times spent dreaming and the many times of crisis. Start date 25 years ago – a happy time as a typesetting ap­prentice, even happier qualification as a master some years later. The new economy: going self-employed. Four years later, 35 employees, one year later, back to just me again. Crisis scenario! Credit crunch, agency crash. Wife, dog and I without an income, the rug simply pulled out from under our feet. Worlds fall apart. Finding inner strength from somewhere – somehow we carry on. My wife gets a job, I remain self-employed. Fortune in misfortune: jobs and loyal clients provide motivation, a diversion and hope, affirming our efforts. Not for another 10 years, however, do we regain our old self-confidence. Working from home, printing plates scattered across the living room floor, the couch becomes a conference corner. I meet clients in the ZKM, the cool centre for media technology, or at their offices. I need to get out. After two years in my home office, I find a smart 45 sqm studio – I take a deep breath, and onwards and upwards, dreaming in freestyle and in full flow – I’m having fun. Now: still in a smart studio, comfortably equipped for a maximum of eight people. The studio is becoming more successful every year, with a static staff of three. There have been plenty of crisis scenarios, freestyle-dreaming between critical situations and crucial decisions. Nowadays, I try to do something special every day. The crisis scenarios don’t really exist. After all, we aren’t in a state of war with our clients! I would rather refuse a job (if I can) than have that happen. I asked my designer colleagues for their thoughts on the matter …

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