Professional biography

Biography

Hey guys! Welcome to my professional career. Let me take you through the different stages of my career – from the first pixels to my current projects.

Tutorial Stage: The early years

My first insight into the world of graphics? A school internship in the pre-press department of a cardboard packaging printing company. But let’s be honest, I made my first creative attempts even earlier, when I got hold of a copy of Corel Draw in the 90s. That was my graphic door opener into a new world!

Level 1: Training as a media designer

The first big challenge was my apprenticeship in one of the last pure repro companies in northern Germany at the time. Here I not only improved my Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop skills, but also discovered classics such as film montage on the light table. And the SGI workstations? They were still really impressive back then! Along the way, I discovered my enthusiasm for Apple Macs – my faithful companions to this day.

Side Quest: Marburg print shop adventure

After my apprenticeship, I went on a side trip to a small print shop in Marburg. My main task was to operate a Nexpress digital printing press from Kodak, which was modern at the time. There were also classic pre-press tasks such as final artwork and CTP. But somehow I felt like a piece of the puzzle in the wrong place in Marburg – it just didn’t quite fit.

Grinding phase: Back home and the Hanover chapter

After a short time in my old home, I was drawn to Hanover. There I found a job as an image editor in advertising photography with a clear focus on eCommerce for fashion brands such as Esprit and Hugo Boss. Here I gained a lot of experience in image editing and retouching.

The Big Move: Münster – new hometown and love story

In search of new challenges, I ended up in Münster – the city that not only became my new home, but also where I met my partner for life, Stephan.

Mini-Game: Sales experience

My first Münster adventure? A job in sales for large format printing and textile finishing. Professionally interesting, but sales? Definitely not my thing. Nevertheless, experience is experience, and the know-how in large format printing was a nice bonus.

Open World: freelance time

With Stephan’s support, I ventured into the world of self-employment. My freelance life was varied: in addition to my own projects, I had a part-time job in an advertising agency and later even slipped into the role of “temporary hero” in an agency for packaging design – my special job as a freelancer for vacation replacements, so to speak.

Boss level: permanent position and art director

After my freelance adventure, I was taken on as a permanent employee by a long-term client. I worked my way up from marketing graphic designer to art director and took on more responsibility in product development. A special moment: one of my concepts won the German Design Award, the iF Award and a Red Dot Award. That was pretty cool!

New Game+: Current projects

After more than ten years in the world of luxury brands, I have decided to turn over a new page. My main job is back to my roots in packaging design. On the side, I work as a freelance graphic designer and explore the exciting world of AI and neural networks. I try to combine these new technologies with my classic graphic design skills – a bridge between old and new, so to speak.

One particular aspect that has always accompanied and enriched my creative work is my passion for pen & paper role-playing games. I have been an avid gamer and game master since the age of 14, which has strongly influenced my skills in storytelling, character development and visual narration. This experience often flows subtly but meaningfully into my design projects.

So, that was my professional career! From simple pixels to more complex graphic projects, it’s been an interesting journey. And like any good story, the adventure continues!

Vita

2023 – today

Freelancer (self employed), Münster.
Specialist for desktop publishig (DTP) and design aided by generative neural networks (artifical intelligence).

WLH Werbeagentur GmbH & Co. KG, Münster.
Media designer for food and non-food packaging design (full time).

2020 – 2023

MeisterSinger GmbH & Co. KG, Münster.
Art director for communication design and product development (full time).

Award: German Design Award 2021
German Design Award for the excellent product design of the MeisterSinger Astroscope wrist watch.

Award: iF Design Award 2021
iF Design Award in the discipline product design for the MeisterSinger Astroscope wrist watch.

Award: Red Dot Winner 2020
Red Dot Design Award for the outstanding design of the MeisterSinger Astroscope wrist watch.

2018 – 2020

MeisterSinger GmbH & Co. KG, Münster.
Graphic designer in marketing and product design (full time).

2012 – 2017

MeisterSinger GmbH & Co. KG, Münster.
Freelance graphic designer in the department of marketing.

2012 – 2014

Pilotfisch Werbeagentur, Warendorf.
Media designer for desktop publishing and image editing (part time).

2011 – 2017

Freelancer (self employed), Münster.
Media designer for desktop publishing and image editing.

2010 – 2011

IVM Sign Tex GmbH, Münster.
Media designer for desktop publishing, specialist for large format printing (full time).

Training: Roland DG
Large format Printing operator and colormanagement for large format printing applications (solvent/eco-solvent).

2008 – 2010

Pixelformplus GmbH, Hannover.
Media designer for image editing and photo retouching (full time).

2006 – 2007

Jobbing, Göttingen/Hannover.
Over a period of two years, i was unemployed or took on various jobs.

2004 – 2005

Druckerei+Verlang Wenzel, Marburg.
Media designer for Desktop Puplishing, pre-press and digital printing operator (full time).

Training: Kodak Nexpress
Digital printing operator as well as maintenance for Kodak Nexpress Computer-to-Print machines.

2001 – 2004

Certified Media Designer (DIHK)
Professional qualification as a media designer for digital and print media specialising in media operations certified by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

Marholdt Reproduktionstechnik GmbH,
Bad Lauterberg im Harz.
Trainee media designer for digital and print media specialising in media operations (full time).