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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1420529
You’ve recently had a book published by Design Studio Press called EXPLORER. How did the idea for this project come about? I was and still am a huge fan of Design Studio Press (DSP). Scott Robertson, the amazing Syd Mead, and many others all inspired me. But Daniel Simon, creator of Cosmic Motors, was from Germany as well and a huge inspiration I could relate to. I realized if I keep working hard I could do a book with DSP one day as well. So I kept dreaming and drawing over the years until my sketches were piling so high I thought I should do something with them. So, in 2016, I decided to do a one year sabbatical with the crazy goal of creating a book to be published by Design Studio Press. A goal that big pushed me every day! Did you approach the design in the book differently from other projects? Working nearly eight years for Audi, Lamborghini, Volkswagen, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Seat and Skoda gave me a lot of routine, skills, knowledge, and self-confidence but the professional daily routine is very different from my personal projects. The key factors are time, your vision, and your own critique. I had way more time with this personal project, so I tend to finish my designs to a certain degree, put them aside and start a new one. I do that with a lot of designs, because going back to a design that holds up after many months allowed me to continue or improve it. This is a cycle I use for all my personal projects, including my book design. More important than anything else was getting up every single day and pushing myself. How did you use it to improve your skills? The book was my way to learn a lot of new things. I had a vision on what the end product would look like but I didn’t have the software skills back then. When I started my sabbatical, I knew Alias and Photoshop very well and just a bit of KeyShot. When I finished my book in 2020, I had learned KeyShot, ZBrush, Fusion 360, Cinema 4D, World Creator, Octane, Daz3D, Marvelous Designer, MoI, Illustrator and InDesign on top of all the challenges that come up with creating a book. Because I spent 41 months without any income, split into three sabbaticals, in order to create EXPLORER, it also helped me with my time management and being efficient with money. Those 41 months were my third most valuable education after my Metal Worker apprenticeship, and my Product Design study. It helped me create a unique portfolio that is truly me and opened some amazing opportunities, like working for ZOOX under a brilliant CEO or on Hollywood blockbuster, The Batman, a childhood dream I thought was as far away as the moon!