After the video the talking began, where bits of inspirational wisdom were thrown out when you least expected it. “Would I like to work with one person or work with everyone I want to work with?” he remembers thinking of his first design job, “So I quit my job after one year and opened my own design studio called Hort.”
He went on to work with clients like Bauhaus [in Germany] and Nike, a client he continues to work with after “seven or eight years.” But when sticking to personal rules like “invest in relationships rather than money and success,” his broad knowledge, hard-working design team and impressive client list make sense. And just in case you were curious, here is the list of rules he lives by:1. Enjoy what you are doing
2. Get paid
3. Don’t work with assholes
4. Only accept work that challenges you and you can build up relation to
5. Don’t work ‘for’ people but ‘with’ [people]
6. Be honest [with] your client and yourself
Eike König
Graphic Designer, Owner of Hort (Berlin)
Hort emerged from the Frankfurt techno scene in 1994, originally founded by Eike König as "Eikes grafischer Hort". The studio moved to Berlin in 2007 and has been growing as a group ever since. Hort does art direction, branding, creative consultancy, editorial design, graphic design, illustration, lectures and workshops. Hort works with institutions such as Arte, Bauhaus Dessau, Bergen Assembly, Mousonturm, Frankfurter Positionen and Tanzplattform Deutschland, as well as brands like Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Nike, The New York Times and Universal Music. People working at Hort are Anne Büttner, Eike König, Elizabeth Legate, Tim Rehm, Tim Schmitt, Tim Sürken and Alan Woo, together with other freelancers and interns.
Photo: Cat Garcia
7. Keep on searching and exploring
8. Quit when you don’t enjoy it anymore
He concluded with these words of wisdom: “Don’t fear the future. Fear is the enemy of design. You have to be the brave one.”
Be brave. Stay curious.
