Luise F. Pusch
Sonja
Leslie Feinberg
Stone Butch Blues
Alison Bechdel
Dykes to Watch Out For
Audre Lorde
Zami
CV in Passport Photos
Shooting club
1989
Wuermeling-Pass
1990
Job application
1993
Job application
1993
Driver’s License USA, 1995
Driver’s License Germany
1996
Job application
1996
application for an apprenticeship
1997
youth group leader
1998
Student ID
1998
job application (short hair!)
1998
job application
1998
application internship
2000
application art school
2001
International Student ID
2004
Passport
2005
Carte Orange, Paris
2005
Student ID, Paris
2005
application Fulbright grant
2009
Visa USA
2010
?
Visa USA
2011
Student ID SAIC Chicago
2010
Visa India
2012
ID Card
2015
website update
2021
Education
There were two bookshops in Walsrode: one carried school supplies and one carried literarure. Guess in which of the two I did an apprenticeship as a bookseller after high school.
Across the street from the literary bookshop was the editorial office of our local newspaper, the Walsroder Zeitung. I always wanted to write, so one day I crossed the street and stammered: »I’m a bookseller in training, can I write book recommendations for you?«
I learned to write and take photos as a local reporter at a rate of 20 Pfennigs per line and 20 Marks per picture. Along the way, I became very good at writing proposal prose and managed to live abroad on scholarships, for a total of three and a half years, twice in Paris and twice in the USA.
Studies
After my apprenticeship, I wanted to study and was undecided—journalism or design? But drawing was the only thing I kept trying, even though I was never satisfied with the results. And because all the great picture books in the bookshop came from HAW Hamburg, that was where I went to study illustration.
I often found my classes superficial. Instead of compositional questions, I wanted to talk about what I actually do when I make pictures—do I depict reality or do I create it?
In order to pursue this question, I got myself a Fulbright grant and studied Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago after graduating. Above all, that meant reading Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes, for four semesters, in every course, in English.
Profession
After my master’s degree, I worked as a freelance graphic designer for companies and publishing houses like Gruner+Jahr.
In 2014, I decided to specialize in lettering and called my studio All Things Letters. This way, I no longer had to choose between writing and designing and could work on form and content at the same time.
Since then, I have designed everything with letters for publishers, agencies and companies. I wrote six books about lettering and type design and I also pass on my knowledge in workshops, lectures and on social media.
Besides my nerdy expertise for letters, I really enjoy creating spaces that allow people to meet and exchange ideas, both offline and in the virtual. That’s why I organize the bimonthly Typostammtisch meetup in Hamburg and founded the Berlin Letters Festival with three friends.
Chris Campe
Shooting club
1989
Wuermeling-Pass
1990
Job application
1993
Job application
1993
Driver’s License USA
1995
Driver’s License Germany
1996
Job application
1996
application for an apprenticeship
1997
youth group leader
1998
Student ID
1998
job application (short hair!)
1998
job application
1998
application internship
2000
application art school
2001
International Student ID
2004
Passport
2005
Carte Orange, Paris
2005
Student ID, Paris
2005
application Fulbright grant
2009
Visa USA
2010
?
Visa USA
2011
Student ID SAIC Chicago
2010
Visa India
2012
ID Card
2015
website update
2021
