Interns and studies
It all began in 1995. Back then, I knew: “I want to become a graphic designer.” A small graphic design studio in the Stuttgart-West neighborhood gave me, a 16-year-old teenager, the opportunity to gain my first experience in graphic design on a computer.
The goal: be a graphic designer in Stuttgart
I had gained a foothold through my practical semester at a small agency in Stuttgart and continued working there throughout my final semesters. For the first two years after graduating in 2006 with a degree in Design (Diplom-Designer (FH)), I continued working as a freelancer for this agency. I liked the idea of gaining experience as a freelancer at agencies and thereby skipping the often unpaid internship. I had fulfilled my dream and was now a graphic designer in Stuttgart. The first year after graduation was shaped by the Stadtmuseum Neckarsulm project. This was followed immediately by the next major project: the German Pavilion at EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain.
Three more years of agency experience followed, working as a freelancer for clients of various sizes and across different industries. At the same time, I built up a small client base of my own, allowing me to work for my own clients and gain extensive experience.
M.A. in Illustration in Bournemouth, UK
After five years of professional experience, I went on to pursue a Master’s degree in England. The idea of doing a Master’s degree after my studies first came to me in 1998 at the International Festival of Animated Film in Stuttgart. There, I met Professor Joan Ashworth from the Royal College of Art. So, in 2008, I prepared my application and visited the Royal College of Art and the Arts Institute in Bournemouth to discuss my film project with the respective professors.
During the first trimester, I was introduced to screen printing in an evening class and was immediately fascinated by its possibilities.
With my master’s thesis, as in various previous works, I combined the themes of music, hip-hop, the street, and art, using visual references from various music videos of the 1990s.
The work was divided into two canvases measuring 200 × 80 cm. The yellow-and-black image depicts East Coast artists from the subgenre of conscious rap, while its red-and-black counterpart represents West Coast gangsta rap.
After returning from England, I actively participated in exhibitions over a period of 13 years, alongside my self-employment as a graphic designer and illustrator.
Lecturer at three universities
Another role involved passing on the knowledge I had gained through practical experience as a lecturer. I taught for the longest period at the Stuttgart Media University, but also spent two semesters at my former university in Pforzheim. Ultimately, however, I decided to focus exclusively on working as a graphic designer in Stuttgart.
For five years, from 2014 to 2018, I worked as a lecturer at Stuttgart Media University. There, I taught the courses Fundamentals of Graphic Design and Media Design II – Digital & Mobile (Responsive Web Design).
I also taught my passion, screen printing, for two semesters at my alma mater, Pforzheim University, in the Faculty of Design (Summer Semester 2015 and Winter Semester 2015/16).
Since the summer semester of 2014, Yves Findling has been teaching Digital & Mobile Media Design in the Digital Publishing degree program at Stuttgart Media University, alongside his work as a designer. Since 2017, he has also taught Fundamentals of Graphic Design in the Media Computer Science degree program.
In the winter semester of 2015/2016 and the summer semester of 2016, he also conducted two introductory screen printing workshops at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design.