Variety and a change of scenery are a constant feature of Katharina’s life. At one point, she was studying Italian and Spanish to become a teacher – but in the end, she graduated with a degree in English, American Studies and Media Studies. Before, during and after that, she constantly looked beyond the horizon: in Spain, England, Hamburg and Paris, she immersed herself in foreign languages and cultures, because travelling broadens one’s horizons and expands one’s comfort zone.
Added to this was the founding of her own travel book publishing house, an online magazine and a reflection journal, as well as organising retreats. At the university of applied sciences, she teaches inspiration, and otherwise Katharina’s curiosity knows no bounds. She proves this time and again by delving into the nuances, tones and concepts for all manner of clients, right down to the last detail. She loves old railway stations, beautiful books, bad puns, Italian scratch cards and the sea.
I’m learning both Yiddish and Swahili on Duolingo, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. With Yiddish, I’m fascinated by the script and just how quickly you can actually get used to a new writing system. It’s also interesting to see which words remind me of German in some way. With Swahili, I started with the Lion King vocabulary and have learnt, above all, that language can be interpreted in a completely different way. This has two contradictory effects: it stimulates me to think differently and, at the same time, liberates me, as I realise just how limited thinking in only one language really is.
The fact that our work has so much to do with translation. And by that I don’t mean from one language to another, but from a vague notion into something concrete, from ideas floating about into a grounded strategy. From a solid strategy into a creative concept, and from a concept into the various disciplines – language, design, photography, illustration. You often come up against this and might even get annoyed that this translation doesn’t go smoothly. But for me, that’s exactly where the magic lies.
Being on the move. Basically anywhere except at my desk. My best ideas come to me in those in-between moments. That could be during yoga, whilst cycling, just before falling asleep, in the shower, or even on the train as the world passes by. Movement is the key – why not go for a walk and let your ideas flow? In my experience, that’s often been more productive than writing down the 100th version of something in a Word document.